I can't say that Msgr. Bartchak is particularly traditional (I don't know that for certain one way or the other) but I certainly never got the impression that he is a liberal.
Count me among the optimistic.
Yes, he is Judicial Vicar and works in Canon Law. I would imagine Cardinal Burke is familiar with him given that background, and Cardinal Burke is serving on the Congregation for Bishops, so I think its safe to assume he was properly vetted for the position.
POPE NAMES PENNSYLVANIA PRIEST BISHOP OF ALTOONA-JOHNSTOWN, ACCEPTS RESIGNATION OF BISHOP ADAMEC, NAMES INDIANAPOLIS AUXILIARY
WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI named Msgr. Mark L. Bartchak, a priest of the Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania, bishop of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and accepted the resignation of Bishop Joseph Adamec, who reached the retirement age of 75. The pope also named Father Christopher J. Coyne, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, assigning him the Titular See of Mopta.
The appointments were publicized in Washington by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Mark L. Bartchak was born January 1, 1955 in Cleveland. He attended Catholic grade schools and high school in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania and attended St. Mark Seminary of Gannon University in Erie and Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, New York. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Erie on May 15, 1981. He holds a licentiate and doctorate in Canon Law from The Catholic University of America.
Since ordination, he’s served as parochial vicar at St. Francis Church in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, and St. Leo Magnus in Ridgway, Pennsylvania. He served as diocesan vicar for canonical affairs from 2004-2006 and judicial vicar from 1992-present. He is also a past president of the Canon Law Society of America.
Bishop Joseph Adamec was born August 13, 1935 and ordained a priest July 3, 1960. He’s served as bishop of Altoona-Johnstown since 1987. The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown covers 6,674 square miles in the State of Pennsylvania. It has a total population of 638,969 of whom 94, 284, or 15 percent, are Catholic.
As a past president of the Canon Law Society of America, he certainly would have known Cardinal Burke.