The pope's condolences on Cardinal Foley's death

by Joshua J. McElwee on Dec. 12, 2011

Vatican Radio has the text of a telegram sent to Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia on the death of Cardinal John Foley, who passed away last night:

Having learned with sadness of the death of Cardinal John Patrick Foley, Grand Master Emeritus of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, I offer you my heartfelt condolences. As I recall with gratitude the late Cardinal’s years of priestly ministry in his beloved Archdiocese of Philadephia, his distinguished service to the Holy See as President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, and most recently his labors on behalf of the Christian communities of the Holy Land, I willingly join you in commending his noble soul to God, the Father of all mercies. I also pray that his lifelong commitment to the Church’s presence in the media will inspire others to take up this apostolate so essential to the proclamation of the Gospel and the progress of the new evangelization. To all who mourn Cardinal Foley in the hope of the Resurrection, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of consolation and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

May his soul rest with the

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Dec. 12, 2011.

May his soul rest with the angels and the saints!

Having had the opportunity to

Submitted by CWG (not verified) on Dec. 12, 2011.

Having had the opportunity to meet and talk with His Eminence, Cardinal Foley, numerous times and to dine with on more than one occasion, I can only echo what some have said so far, that this was a man who truly demonstrated the joy of the Christian life. The Cardinal was clearly a man of God, deeply in love with Our Lord, and as a result was very much a person of great hope and optimism. I never saw the Cardinal without a smile on his face and a ready joke or witticism at hand.

That is not to say that he did not understand and take seriously the difficulties and challenges the Church was faced with. However, he did not allow those difficulties and challenges to define him or his Church -- he clearly understood that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that, as St. Julian of Norwich famously said, "all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well".

Far too many people associate being a Catholic with being dour and serious, Cardinal Foley demonstrated with his life that, if one is truly Catholic, it is impossible to be without joy in one's heart and that joy will spread to every person we meet.

Many in the other hand

Submitted by charles j scanlon (not verified) on Dec. 12, 2011.

Many in the other hand associate being Catholic with feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, granting sanctuary to the illegalized immigrant, liberating the prisoner, loving the enemy, bearing one another burden's and so fulfilling the Law of Christ, therein our joy everlasting

We will miss his lovely voice

Submitted by Michael Bindner (not verified) on Dec. 12, 2011.

We will miss his lovely voice and narraration watching Midnight Mass from Rome.

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