PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
February 11, 2013
By Ann Rodgers / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The announcement by Pope Benedict XVI that he would step down Feb. 28 came as a surprise to many. Even people with insider connections at the Vatican were blindsided by the news.
Nothing was posted on Catholic news media sites. The Rev. Louis Vallone, a pastor in McKees Rocks who is a close friend of Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, had spoken to him last week when the cardinal was in Rome and heard no hint of any major impending change.
“It caught everybody off guard,” said Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh, who heard it from the TV news on his way to early morning Mass at St. Paul’s seminary in Pittsburgh’s East Carnegie neighborhood. “There is a certain sadness I feel because of his resignation. I do admire him. I admire the teaching that he shared so much with the church. I think he wouldn’t come to a decision that was as important as this one without a considerable amount of prayer. He wants only the very best for the church and would submit his resignation based on his love for the church.”
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