A signal that O'Malley is here for the long haul

From the moment Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley arrived in Boston with a reputation as an itinerant troubleshooter, some priests and lay people thought he would settle the abuse lawsuits, close the struggling parishes, and move on.

No more. Many observers said yesterday that they view the selection of O'Malley as cardinal as a strong signal that he will be archbishop of Boston for the long haul and that Boston Catholics should now accept that the unassuming and enigmatic friar is here to stay.

''Boston and O'Malley have to make this marriage work," said James M. Weiss, an associate professor of church history at Boston College. ''It's no secret that O'Malley has expressed discouragement and that lay leaders, clergy, and the local media have expressed unhappiness with him, but this is the Vatican saying to him, 'You're not moving,' and to local Catholics, 'You have to work with him.' "

Unlike many new bishops and in sharp contrast to the experience of Cardinal Bernard F. Law, who arrived in Boston in 1984, O'Malley has had essentially no honeymoon period here. As a result, the public perception of him has been shaped by ongoing controversies over parish closings, same-sex marriage, abuse lawsuits, priest transfers, and multiple other controversies that have dominated O'Malley's first 2 1/2 years in office.

''He came in with such high hopes and good press, and at his sermon the day he was installed people had a sense that he struck just the right tone after the long scandal and Law's role in that," said James O'Toole, a history professor at Boston College. ''But then with the parish consolidation, he lost a lot of the capital that he had built up, because there was a lot of dissatisfaction with the way it was done."

People who have worked with O'Malley invariably describe him as prayerful, humble, even holy, but also as remote and at times noncommunicative.

''We have to remember that he faced amazing, extraordinary challenges when he came to this archdiocese, with the sex abuse and the reconfiguration process, and in my experience he was always willing to listen, and he weighed decisions carefully," said Sister Janet Eisner, president of Emmanuel College in Boston. ''He had to build up the church, and he hasn't finished in a long shot, but he is very reflective and prayerful and simple and willing to listen."

O'Malley has clearly signaled that he is far less comfortable in the worlds of politics, the media, and at social functions than was Law. He has been largely invisible on Beacon Hill, eschews the formal dress of an archbishop for the brown habit of a friar, and only reluctantly makes himself available to the news media.

''He is, first of all, an individual who doesn't seek the limelight," said the Rev. William P. Leahy, president of Boston College. ''There are many people still looking to see what he does here. They like him as a person, but people are kind of waiting to see what happens as the rest of the reconfiguration takes place and the schools are reorganized. I don't think he's put his plans forth."

That sense, that O'Malley has yet to outline where he wants to lead the archdiocese, is broadly held.

''We still haven't seen a clear vision for what he would do in terms of leading the archdiocese into the future, which is somewhat unfortunate," said Richard Santagati, president of Merrimack College in North Andover. ''We've never seen him in his role as a priest, as a shepherd, and now he's gone to the next level when we don't know anything about his vision for the diocese. All he's done is a lot of housekeeping."

Several O'Malley observers say he will now face the challenge of building a stronger administration that can execute his wishes when he is out of town. All of O'Malley's auxiliary bishops were appointed during Law's tenure, as was his legal counsel and many of his top lay staff. But two top chancery officials have said they plan to depart this year, two auxiliary bishops are reaching retirement age, and Bishop Richard G. Lennon, the vicar general, is widely expected to be transferred to another diocese.

''Archbishop O'Malley has to assess what kind of management structure exists here for the times when he is away in Rome," said Peter Meade, a healthcare executive who cochaired a committee reviewing parish closings and served as chairman of Catholic Charities under O'Malley. ''And he's going to need more staff himself. These are the kinds of things that will have to be examined."

Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.