What is he waiting for?

According to Catholic-Hierarchy, Daniel DiNardo was appointed as Coadjutor Bishop of Galveston-Houston on January 16, 2004. Since that day, the See of Sioux City, from which Bishop DiNardo was appointed, has been vacant.

At present, the diocese of Sioux City is just about two months shy of being leaderless for two full years. Much has been said that the Holy Father is exerting direct control over the selection of bishops. Since his election in April, Benedict XVI has appointed new bishops to sees all over the world. So why is Sioux City, a diocese of 94,480 souls, still waiting?

Let's look back.
Yesterday (November 4th), the Holy Father appointed Tommaso Valentinetti as Archbishop of Pescara-Penne, Italy, the same day that Valentinetti's predecessor officially retired. The archdiocese had a population of 292,000 Catholics in 2003.

On October 25th, the Holy Father appointed Juan Carlos Romanin as Bishop of Río Gallegos, Argentina, the same day that Romanin's predecessor officially retired. The diocese had a population of 200,000 Catholics in 2003.

On October 19th, the Holy Father appointed Guillermo Rodrigo Teodoro Ortiz Mondragon as Bishop of Bishop of Cuautitlán, México. Ortiz Mondragón's predecessor died on June 26th of this year and the see had been vacant for just short of four months. The diocese had a population of 3,392,000 Catholics in 2003.

On October 10th, the Holy Father appointed Jabulani Nxumalo as the Archbishop of Bloemfontein, South Africa. The see of Bloemfontein had been vacant since April 6th, 2003, a slightly longer vacancy than Sioux City. The archdiocese had a population of 112,706 Catholics in 2003.

On September 28th, the Holy Father appointed Ruy Rendón Leal as Bishop Prelate of El Salto, Mexico, the same day that Rendón Leal's predecessor officially retired. The prelature had a population of 304,000 Catholics in 2003.

Note, these are the last five appointments of actual ordinaries.

The diocese of Sioux City consists of parishes located in small towns with populations from 100 or less on up to cities like Sioux City with over 50,000 people. Though Catholics are widespread, they are not the largest group, as western Iowa was heavily settled by Lutherans and other Protestant groups.