From Pittsburgh comes this very comprehensive look at a man who will soon be called Cardinal:

When Cardinal-designate Donald Wuerl receives a red hat Saturday, he will also receive the opportunity to advise the highest levels of the Catholic Church.

Those who know the 70-year-old Mount Washington native and former bishop of Pittsburgh say he will bring insight and broad perspective to the greatest challenges the church faces. The archbishop of Washington, D.C., since 2006, he has long demonstrated priorities that include removing sexual predators from ministry and strengthening relationships with non-Catholics.

He will join 23 other men whom Pope Benedict XVI will elevate to cardinal. More than 350 well-wishers are traveling to Rome to celebrate…

…Those who have watched Cardinal-designate Wuerl’s quiet diplomacy among the U.S. bishops believe his elevation may produce more nuanced, less volatile statements from Rome.

“Wuerl is the kind of guy who loves operating behind the scenes,” said John Allen, the Vatican analyst for the National Catholic Reporter. “A lot of bishops will tell you that Donald Wuerl has been the dead center of the conference. He is where the majority of the bishops would be and he holds things together.”

Cardinals have rarely met as a body apart from papal elections. But Pope Benedict is about to revive a practice Pope John Paul II tried early in his pontificate. He will gather all cardinals and cardinals-designate Friday to reflect on five issues.

“He is taking very seriously the role of cardinals as direct advisers to him,” Cardinal-designate Wuerl said…

Then there’s this revealing detail about his relationship with a man who appears to be his polar opposite, another Cardinal-designate, Raymond Burke:

Cardinal-designate Burke is now the point man for those who believe that Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be banned from Communion. Cardinal-designate Wuerl was an architect of the U.S. bishops guidelines, which discourage such bans but call for efforts to change the politician’s mind. He says priests can’t make snap judgments at Mass about whether someone has repented, and that politicizing the sacraments is a counterproductive misuse of canon law.

In March 2009, anti-abortion activist Randall Terry went to Rome with a petition to remove Archbishop Wuerl for allowing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to receive Communion. He videotaped an interview with Archbishop Burke, who said canon law forbids Communion for anyone in “grave sin,” including support for abortion. Archbishop Burke didn’t question Mr. Terry’s call for Archbishop Wuerl’s ouster. Mr. Terry then played the tape at the National Press Club. Archbishop Burke issued an apology.

Cardinal-designate Wuerl says the conflict isn’t personal. He said he called to congratulate Cardinal-designate Burke. They will have lunch in Rome.

“Disagreement doesn’t mean that you cannot be friends,” he said. “We’ve never had a personal problem. We don’t see some questions of application the same way. But we both share the same faith, we both share the same goals.”

Check out the rest. It’s quite good.