Cardinal George recovering well, set to leave hospital

Chicago, Ill., Aug 14, 2006 / 22:00 pm

The Archdiocese of Chicago announced Monday, that Cardinal Francis George is recovering well and will leave the hospital sometime today.

Archdiocesan spokeswoman, Colleen Dolan told the Chicago Tribune that the decision was made yesterday that the cardinal would leave Loyola University Medical Center by midmorning Tuesday.

Cardinal George has been recovering from two surgeries to remove a cancerous bladder as well as parts of other organs.  The Cardinal had suffered a few slight set backs after bleeding was discovered following the first surgery.  A second surgery was undertaken to stop the bleeding and George has been recuperating since that time.

Dolan told the Tribune that the cardinal has been keeping tabs on the archdiocese while at the hospital and will continue to ease back into his duties from home, as doctors monitor his progress.  

"He has been working from the hospital, being consulted and being involved in the decision-making of the diocese, and he will continue to do that," Dolan said.

A diocesan press release says that over the last weekend his condition continued to improve and he practiced walking up and down stairs. The cardinal’s vital signs are reportedly stable, and he is not running a fever.

After several weeks in the hospital, George is excited to return home, Dolan said.

Last week the cardinal contributed his weekly column in the archdiocesan paper, The Catholic New World.  In his article George reflected on the meaning of suffering and encouraged all to attempt to recognize human sufferings within the sufferings of Christ.  The cardinal said that he took great solace in remembering the examples of the founder of his religious order, who died of cancer, and of Pope John Paul II who, he said, “showed us so well how to love the world in Christ’s name and how suffering contributes to the building up of the Body of Christ.”