BERNARDIN'S SUCCESSOR SELECTED : OREGONIAN WILL LEAD CHICAGO CATHOLICS.

Byline: Gustav Niebuhr The New York Times

Offering an important indication of the type of leadership it is seeking for American Catholics, the Vatican announced Tuesday that it had selected Archbishop Francis George of Portland, Ore., a theologically conservative intellectual, as the new archbishop of Chicago.

George, 60, whose name was seldom mentioned in the months of speculation that preceded the announcement, succeeds Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, a nationally influential leader among church moderates, who died in November after a long bout with pancreatic cancer.

Authorities on the church said that in selecting George, who will be installed May 7, the Vatican had chosen an intellectual committed to defending traditional Catholic teaching but also interested in issues of social justice for the poor and others - a man, in other words, like Pope John Paul II.

The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University and author of ``Inside the Vatican'' (Harvard University Press, 1996), said, ``I think that this papacy is looking for bishops who are prominent as teachers, perhaps more than as pastors, who will proclaim and teach the doctrine of the church as this pope sees it.''

R. Scott Appleby, director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame, called George ``theologically right in line with the papacy, doctrinally in line, but socially progressive.''

The Chicago appointment was considered especially important because spiritual leaders of three other highly influential archdioceses - Cardinal John O'Connor of New York, Cardinal James Hickey of Washington and Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia - are either nearing or past the church's official retirement age of 75 and are expected to step down within the next few years. After they turn 75, bishops may continue to serve at the pope's request.

George, a Chicago native with Ph.D.s in theology and American philosophy, has a reputation as personable and witty. People familiar with Chicago's often independent-minded priests and laity say both qualities are needed in Bernardin's successor. The cardinal was admired for his pastoral skills and ability as a consensus-builder. It was partly through the latter quality that Bernardin earned a reputation as a moderate, in contrast with those bishops who would be more confrontational in defense of church teachings.

In a news conference in Chicago on Tuesday, George described himself as a prelate firmly loyal to Catholic orthodoxy, yet possessing a measure of pastoral sensitivity toward those who question some teachings, like the prohibition against women becoming priests.

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Photo: Francis George

Called `socially progressive'