Francis Cardinal George -- 50 Years a Priest!

 

Over at First Things (here) George Weigel has a beautiful tribue to Chicago's Cardinal-Archbishop, Francis Eugene George, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of George's ordination to the priesthood.  I have had the opportunity to work with Cardinal George on a number of occasions.  His broad knowledge and keen intellect make him an astute observer of matters both cultural and ecclesiastical.  Whenever he speaks I always find myself learning something new, or seeing something I have thought about in a new way.  More importantly, however, he is a disciple of Christ who tries to bring others to the love and mercy of the Risen Lord.  As Weigel puts it:

"He may well be the most intellectually sophisticated bishop in U.S. Catholic history; he certainly has shown keen insight into the sources of America’s current crisis of public culture. Yet as he marks the 50th anniversary of the day when he became a priest of the Church, an icon of the eternal priesthood of Christ, it is as a brother in Christ whose faith-based Christian courage gives courage to others that I wish to salute him."