Local Religious Leaders and Parishioners React to Pope Benedict Resignation
The 85-year-old pope's decision to step down surprised local clerics.
The Rev. Thomas Burke happened to be listening to the radio before morning Mass when he heard that Pope Benedict XVI was resigning "I was very surprised," said Burke, pastor of St. James Parish in Sewickley, which has roughly 5,000 parishioners. He wasn't alone. Cardinal Donald Wuerl said he was so surprised that he called Rome to confirm it. That is what the former bishop of the Pittsburgh Diocese told NewsRadio 1020 KDKA Monday morning. Wuerl, now the archbishop of Washington, D.C., will be one of 120 cardinals to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI at a March conclave. He said the announcement that the pope is resigning, effective Feb. 28, came as "very surprising news", according to KDKA. The 85-year-old pope's decision surprised …
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