Pope sends condolences on death of cardinal who worked in Zambia

Published: 2007-09-28

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI sent condolences on the death of Cardinal Adam Kozlowiecki, a Jesuit who worked more than 50 years as a missionary in Zambia. The pope praised Cardinal Kozlowiecki in a telegram to church officials in Lusaka, the Zambian capital where the cardinal died Sept. 28 at the age of 96. Cardinal Kozlowiecki was the first archbishop of Lusaka but gave up his post in 1969 because he thought an African should take his place. He headed back into the bush and resumed his missionary work. The African who took over in Lusaka was Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, whose conflicts with the Vatican -- over his healing ministry, his own short-lived marriage and his ordination of married men as bishops -- led to his excommunication last year. The papal telegram praised Cardinal Kozlowiecki's zealous service as a missionary and bishop and his "unwavering commitment to the spread of the Gospel."

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