Pope Francis on Cardinal George: a ‘wise and gentle pastor’

Pope Francis has sent his condolences on the death of Cardinal Francis George, calling the late cardinal “a wise and gentle pastor.”

The message, addressed to Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich and signed “Francis PP,” was delivered by telegram, Vatican Radio announced Saturday.

Here it is in full:

In his statementFriday on the passing of Cardinal Francis George, Cupich had noted his successor “served the Church universal as a Cardinal and offered his counsel and support to three Popes and their collaborators in the Roman congregations.”

“In this way, he contributed to the governance of the Church worldwide,” he said.

George had been named archbishop by the first of those popes, Pope John Paul II, in April 1997.

He then participated in the conclaves that elected Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, two pontiffs worlds apart in style, though the cardinal drew comparisons to both.

As George celebrated his Jubilee, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, described the then-Archbishop of Chicago as “intelligent and articulate, courageous and curious, humble, zealous.”

“Like Pope Francis, we see in you a generous heart and zealous missionary spirit . . . a humble man of vision,” Kurtz said.

Vatican expert and associate editor of the Boston Globe’s Crux John L. Allen, Jr., on the other hand, has called the cardinal the “American Ratzinger” after Joseph Ratzinger, the cardinal who became Benedict. Allen points to their shared intellect and commitment to Catholic tradition.

Like the pope emeritus, the archbishop emeritus’ service came sandwiched between a wildly popular predecessor and a successor who already appears to be eschewing the trappings of the office. Both shepherded the church during tumultuous times: falling church attendance, hot-button issues like immigration, challenges to the church’s traditional teachings on marriage and family and the priest sex abuse scandal on which he became a point person to the Vatican.

George himself told NBC 5 last year the latter was among the “piles of regrets” he has from his time as archbishop.

“We thought we had it nailed down tight. Well, it didn’t work. I have deep regret there,” he said.

The New York Times pointed to Francis’ appointment of Cupich to lead Chicago’s 2.2 million Catholics as the latest sign of change in the Church under the current pontiff. Like the pope, Cupich has forgone the more opulent living quarters traditionally available to the archbishop and picked up the mantle of social justice.

But George himself had floated the idea of selling the mansion that has been home to seven Catholic archbishops, according to a 2002 New York Times article. A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Chicago quoted him in that article as saying, “How can I call on my priests to display humility in their lives if I’m living in a mansion like that?”

And in 2001, the cardinal published “Dwell in My Love: A Pastoral Letter on Racism” to mark the 33rd anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It included the words, “We are called not only to a radical conversion of heart but a transformation of socially sinful structures as well.”

Still, George at times seemed a bit puzzled by the current pontiff, and in interviews he gave at the time of his retirement, he admitted he had a lot of questions for Francis.

“I’d like to sit down with him and say, Holy Father, first of all, thank you for letting me retire. And could I ask you a few questions about your intentions?” he told the New York Times.

He elaborated to Crux: Does Francis realize “what has happened just by that phrase, ‘Who am I to judge?’ ”

Why doesn’t the pope clarify his more ambiguous statements? Why does he leave it to apologists to put “the best possible face” on them? Doesn’t he realize the repercussions?

In the end, though, he told the website, “You’re supposed to govern in communion with the successor of Peter, so it’s important to have some meeting of minds.”