II appointed González an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston and titular bishop of Ursona. He received his episcopal consecration in Boston on October 3, 1988, from Cardinal Bernard Law, with two cardinals as co-consecrators: John O'Connor of New York and Luis Aponte Martínez of San Juan. On May 16, 1995, González was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi in Texas by John Paul II. On April 1, 1997, he succeeded as bishop of the diocese upon the retirement of Bishop René Gracida. He served on two committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Hispanic Affairs and the Church in Latin America. Archbishop of San Juan On March 26, 1999, González was appointed archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Juan by John Paul II. He was installed as archbishop on May 8, 1999. Attendees included the mayor of San Juan, Sila Calderón and former Governor Carlos Romero Barceló. González' retiring predecessor, Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez, observed that the ceremony marked the first time that a Puerto Rican archbishop handed the see over to another Puerto Rican archbishop. Almost immediately, González raised his profile across the island. In September 1999, he joined Rev. Jesse Jackson at an interfaith prayer service in East Harlem in New York City, where he preached in Spanish on themes of Puerto Rican nationalism and anti-colonialism. He distanced himself from any specific position on the legal status of Puerto Rico, but said he favored institutions that "foster the national identity of the Puerto Rican people". He has articulated outspoken and often controversial views, particularly in defense of the US Navy-Vieques protests and in his denunciation of homosexuality, among other things. His actions in the Vieques protests won him international notoriety, and he has been viewed as a strong Latin-American leader of the Catholic Church. González has proclaimed his pride in being Puerto Rican, has asked the U.S. Government to work hard to preserve the national identity of Puerto Ricans, and criticized political corruption in Puerto Rico. During the spring of 2006, along with several Protestant leaders, he was instrumental in persuading Puerto Rican Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Senate President Kenneth McClintock, and House Speaker José Aponte Hernández to resolve Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis, which had sparked a two-week-long government shutdown. Apostolic visitation In 2011, González was the target of charges that he was mismanaging the archdiocese. The Congregation for the Clergy,