Boston's Catholics have a new leader in Henning, as Cardinal O'Malley retires

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has a new leader for the first time in over 20 years.

Richard Henning was installed as archbishop Thursday afternoon at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross. He's replacing Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who announced his retirement in early August.

Henning spent the last year as the bishop of Providence, Rhode Island. Before that, he served as an auxiliary bishop on Long Island, New York.

During his remarks at the installation Mass, Henning said since coming to Boston, he gets asked one question more than any other: "Have you ever been, are you now, or will you ever be a Red Sox fan?" he said.

He didn't directly answer the question, saying it's more important people know his beliefs on religion.

Henning, 60, is replacing 80-year-old O'Malley, who the Vatican appointed to the role in 2003 in the wake of the clergy sexual abuse scandal.

O'Malley has been a key advisor in Pope Francis' commission to end the abuse in the church. The commission's first annual report was released Wednesday, listing the church's abuse prevention efforts and recommendations. Survivors and their supporters greeted the panel's report with criticism and skepticism, telling The Boston Globe the church cannot be trusted to handle future child sexual abuse cases.

When Henning's appointment was announced in August, Henning was asked about his message for victims of clergy sex abuse. He promised to listen to them as the leader of the church in Boston.

"I think those survivors, they deserve a listening heart," he said. "In some ways, they often have as much to proclaim to us about the Gospel as we do to them."

During the Mass on Thursday, demonstrators decrying the church's history of sexual abuse protested outside.

Melanie McLaughlin said she hopes to see a change with the new archbishop.

"We're hoping with this new cardinal, with this new appointment that there'll be more transparency and accountability," she said. "We'd like to see the Massachusetts' attorney general's report released."

Abuse survivors have been calling for the state to release the results of a wide-ranging investigation into clergy sexual abuse in the Worcester, Fall River and Springfield dioceses that began when now-Gov. Maura Healey was attorney general.

As The Associated Press reported previously, the Boston Archdiocese is the fourth largest in the country, with more than 1.8 million members. Its operating expenses were over $350 million in fiscal year 2023.