CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Herald
[with video]
Madhu Krishnamurthy
“A sense of relief” is how Cardinal Francis George described his emotions as he introduced his successor, Bishop Blase Cupich, of Spokane, Washington, who will head the Archdiocese of Chicago come November.
At a news conference Saturday, Cardinal George, the first archbishop of Chicago to retire in office after leading the diocese for 17 years, expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis for speeding up the appointment of a new archbishop and allowing him to tend to his own health.
“I leave this church in better hands than mine,” said the 77-year-old prelate, who continues to struggle with health issues related to his bladder cancer and a new experimental treatment he is undergoing.
Cupich said Saturday people should not read too much into Pope Francis’ decision to appoint him being a harbinger of the American Catholic Church’s future direction. …
“We would not have zero tolerance with regard to child protection if it were not for this man here,” Cupich said. “Not only do we have that in the church of the United States, we have it universally now.”
However, a statement by the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests criticized Cupich for not doing enough on his home turf of Spokane, where more than 200 victims have come forward, according to the Spokesman-Review newspaper. “Prudent people will remain skeptical and let Cupich hopefully prove through his deeds (not his words) that he is committed to the safety of children,” the group said in a news release.
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