There's another twist to this -- the refusal of priests to become bishops.
Around 1993, I had the opportunity to have a frank one-on-one discussion with a very well connected priest. At one point in the discussion I asked him why John Paul didn't appoint better bishops.
He replied that the Pope had a very difficult time of getting priests to take on the burden of being a bishop. Over 2/3 of the the priests offered the position refused the Pope's offer according to this priest.
I have no reason to doubt this good priest.
This rattled something in my memory (though not completely enough). Wasn't there a phrase "Nolo episcopare (sp?)," meaning "I do not want to be a bishop" that was used in the early church maybe? I don't recall the details or where I heard it, but the point was that those who want power should be disqualified from handling it. Power should be granted only to those who don't want it.
Maybe someone remembers more about this.
Perhaps GOOD priests don't want to be sucked into the good ol' boy network they see the bishops circulating in. We have a saying around here: If you see a priest wearing French cuffs, he's bucking for a promotion. Good priests know that if they become bishops, they lose touch with their people. It really is a hard decision to make.
Unless things have changed in the last twenty years, I find this priest's observation to be VERY hard to believe.
Human nature would accept a promotion, would it not?