CHICAGO - Cardinal Francis George, spiritual leader of the nation's third largest diocese, has been diagnosed with bladder cancer and was scheduled to have his bladder removed Thursday, church officials said.
George, 69, is expected to remain hospitalized at least eight days after surgery, then recuperate at his Chicago residence for six to eight weeks, archdiocese spokeswoman Colleen Dolan said.
George, who was diagnosed last week, sounded upbeat and even chuckled about the prospect of dying as he left his residence Wednesday for Loyola University Medical Center.
"The idea of meeting him is, while disquieting, is not something that I've become afraid of," he said. "I'm more afraid of the operation and the complications of life without a bladder than I am of death itself."
He said he has been told he can expect to make a full recovery.
While he recovers, the Rev. John Canary - the Vicar General - will handle the Chicago Archdiocese's day-to-day operation.
George, who became a cardinal in 1998, took a leading role in addressing the clergy abuse scandal as vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He helped write the U.S. church law that gives bishops broader power to discipline sexually abusive priests.
But earlier this year, the diocese and George came under harsh criticism for not removing a priest suspected of molesting five boys from a Chicago parish until several months after an allegation was made. George accepted blame, saying that officials should have acted more aggressively to remove the priest.
George was archbishop of Portland, Ore., before he came to Chicago in April 1997, five months after the death of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.
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