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LaGrange Park pastor admires pope’s courage
Updated: February 18, 2013 6:08PM
LAGRANGE PARK — The Rev. Denis Condon, pastor of St. Louise de Marillac Church, said he admires the Pope Benedict’s courage in stepping down.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Condon said of the the pope’s surprise announcement Monday. “He’s the first one in 600 years. The fact that he cannot go on and had the courage to be able to step aside, it’s about time somebody did that.”
Condon said he was sorry to learn of the pope’s physical difficulties and health issues.
“It’s an extremely demanding job and an extremely important job,” he said.
Condon said he was impressed by the pontiff’s sincerity and honesty as leader of the world’s 1 billion Roman Catholics, as well as his embrace of technology, including email, Twitter and Facebook.
“He was trying to deal with what’s real,” Condon said.
On its website, St. Cletus Catholic Church in La Grange posted the letter of Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George reacting to the pope’s resignation, effective Feb. 28.
“He has taught with clarity and charity,” George wrote, and “placed the will of God of the good of the church before every other consideration.”
George is expected to be among the College of Cardinals convening in Rome in March to choose a successor.
