By JAMES BREIG
Editor
Bishop Howard J. Hubbard praised the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago as "a consummate conciliator" and "the epitome of a Churchman" during an interview this week with The Evangelist.
Cardinal Bernardin died Nov. 14. while the American bishops were gathered in Washington, D.C., for their annual meeting.
The Bishop and Cardinal crossed paths often over the years. "He succeeded me as chairman of the bishops' Committee on Marriage Family Life," said Bishop Hubbard, "and asked me to stay on the committee for continuity. I worked closely with him on two symposiums -- on marriage and family life, and on preparation for the synod on the laity."
Bishop Hubbard assessed Cardinal Bernardin's demeanor at the annual meeting of bishops as "very outgoing, gracious, down-to-earth and eager to reach out to everyone, especially newer bishops. He was the epitome of a Churchman, in the best sense of that term: a gentle man, a man of faith and prayer, a consummate conciliator able to see all sides of an issue and bring about a consensus that heard all sides and that all sides could live with."
Although Cardinal Bernardin held significant positions in the American Church hierarchy, he "remained humble and approachable," the Bishop said.
Shortly after the Cardinal was falsely accused of sexually molesting a teenager, the Bishop and he had a series of meetings together.
"I couldn't conceive of the pressure and stress he was under," Bishop Hubbard said, alluding to the scores of reporters who dogged the Cardinal. "Yet he remained a man of calm and equanimity. That stress might have contributed to the disease that finally claimed him."