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Issue: Q3, 2006 — Table of Contents: | › Home | › Feast of St. Vincent de Paul |
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› Disaster Preparedness | ||
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› Cardinal Francis George | ||
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| Cardinal Francis George, O.M.I. Archbishop of Chicago | |
| By Bill Nelson | |
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As the Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal George has always made himself accessible
to the people through many means of communication. As a mainstay, the Cardinal
publishes articles in Chicago Catolico and The Catholic New World. The Chicago
Archdiocese sponsors both of these publications and they are an excellent way to
stay in tune with the Chicago Catholic population. He also contributes to
broadcasts on AM 820 for the “Catholic Community of Faith” program and on cable
channel 25 for “The Church, The Cardinal and You” (every Friday at 7 p.m.).
During the TV show, the Cardinal shares his thoughts and views on contemporary
subjects and education topics of the Church, such as the significance of the
Eucharistic liturgy. Cardinal Francis Eugene George was born in 1937 on the northwest side of Chicago. As the eighth Archbishop of Chicago, he has the distinction of being the first to be from this area. After spending his school years here, he studied at the University of Ottawa and Catholic University for his college and graduate degrees. He went on to receive a doctorate in philosophy from Tulane University in New Orleans. The Cardinal has always been considered a very knowledgeable and intellectual thinker both in and outside the Catholic faith. On his way to becoming the Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal George has served the Church in many ways. He taught philosophy at a seminary in Mississippi before starting his parish service in Minnesota. He then spent 12 years in Rome both working for the Vatican and continuing his studies. The Cardinal was then the Bishop of Yakima and Archbishop of Portland before returning to Chicago. His service as Archbishop of Portland was less than a year, because Pope John Paul II called upon him to fill the post in Chicago left vacant by the death of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. There has been much news recently about Cardinal Francis George due to his battle with cancer. The Cardinal has successfully undergone surgery to remove his bladder and prostate as a proactive means of eliminating the cancer from his body. During his surgery and recovery, the Catholic... |
...community prayed for the health of their home-grown Cardinal. So what is
in store for the Cardinal over the next few years? First and foremost, he will
continue to recover from the surgery and undergo therapy to return to a normal
life. Reports from the Archdiocese are the Cardinal will return to his duties
full time in some point September, baring any further setbacks to his health.
Most importantly with Cardinal George’s recovery is the survival rate from
cancer. Doctors estimate his survival rate over the short team (5 years) to be
very good at 85%. Five years is also the time left for the Cardinal to serve as
Archbishop of Chicago. At that time, Cardinal George will be 75 years old, and
in keeping with precedent and pending approval from Rome, he will tender his
resignation. Projects that he plans to finish during this time include his
oversight of the translation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal. He also
plans to continue his writings and publications on Catholic matters in addition
to his daily duties as Archbishop of Chicago. He will continue to promote the
peaceful existence of people around the world and had that thought in mind
during his last publication before surgery. In an excerpt, he writes |
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