CARDINAL Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, Has Cancer

By Gerard O'Connell
Vatican Insider
August 21, 2012

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/world-news/detail/articolo/17564/

Cardinal Francis George

Cardinal Francis George has cancer, for the second time. He is planning a course of medical treatment after doctors found cancerous cells in his kidney and liver, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced last Friday.

A brief statement released by the archdiocese on August 17 said the cardinal had learned the results of the tests on that same day following an examination two days earlier at the city’s Loyola University Medical Center.

Cardinal George was first treated for cancer in 2006. Doctors then operated on him and removed his bladder and prostate. They believed they had removed all the cancer at that time, but there is speculation now that his new cancer could have actually spread from his bladder to his kidney.

Last week’s statement – posted on the website of the archdiocese, said the test results showed “there were cancerous cells in the kidney and in a nodule, which was removed from the liver.”

It said, “His doctors will work with the Cardinal to plan a course of treatment.”

It revealed that the cardinal intended to rest at home over the past weekend and planned to go on retreat this week. The statement did not say whether he will continue working after the forthcoming treatment for cancer, or whether he will opt for retirement.

On January 16 of this year, George reached the age of 75, the statutory age for bishops to retire in the Catholic Church. As a cardinal, however, he could expect that the Pope would grant him an additional two years as archbishop of this diocese of 2.3 million Catholics. While some sources think he may opt to retire given this new and difficult situation, the archdiocesan statement gave no hint of his early retirement. It simply said, “We have no further information at this time.”

George, the first native of Chicago to become archbishop of the city, has had to struggle with other serious health problems in the past. As a young boy he contracted polio at the age of 13, as a result of which his legs suffered permanent damage.

A member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, George was installed as archbishop of Chicago in 1997 after serving as bishop first in Yakima and later in Portland. Pope John Paul II gave him the red hat in 1998, making him the sixth cardinal to lead the archdiocese.

During his years as archbishop of Chicago he held prominent positions on the US Catholic Bishops Conference, and served as its president from 2007 to 2010.