Cardinal discusses new pope's personal side in address to journalists

Published: 2005-07-13

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In a July 11 talk at the National Press Club, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington said media portrayals of Pope Benedict XVI as a doctrinal enforcer miss the mark. In his luncheon address Cardinal McCarrick focused on the personal qualities of the German-born pontiff, who before his April 19 election to the papacy was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals and prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. "He's friendly but shy, engaging and utterly competent, humble and holy," the cardinal said. He called the new pope "a great priest, an extraordinary bishop and theologian, and I believe, a gift to the church as the Holy Father."

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