Father Peter Harman, the rector of the North American College (NAC) in Rome, will remain in office for six months beyond the expiration of his term on January 31, because of a failure to reach agreement on his replacement, the Pillar site reports.
The NAC is the American seminary in Rome, where some of the most promising candidates for the priesthood are trained.
The governing board of the NAC had chosen a candidate to replace Father Harman, but the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education balked at the appointment, asking for other candidates—apparently reflecting differences between the Vatican and the US bishops on the best models of seminary formation.
Father Harman had completed a 5-year term as rector in 2021; that term had already been extended by a year because of the Covid lockdown. His tenure has been marred by a lawsuit alleging a cover-up of sexual misconduct by students and staff.