Cardinal Hume, 76, Reveals He Has Cancer
Cardinal Basil Hume, Archbishop of Westminster since 1976 and one of the most prominent Roman Catholic officials in England, has announced he is suffering from cancer “and it is not in its early stages.”
In a letter to the priests of his archdiocese, Hume said he intended to carry on working “as much and as long as I can.”
“I have no intention of being an invalid until I have to submit to the illness,” he added. “But nevertheless I shall be a bit limited in what I can do.”
Asking, typically, for “no fuss,” Hume said he was determined to see the forthcoming Holy Year. The cardinal, who is 76, had submitted his resignation last year on reaching his 75th birthday--the mandatory retirement age for bishops--but was asked by Pope John Paul II to stay on to see in the new millennium.
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