Did Pope veto cardinal's entry into House of Lords?
December 15, 2009
Vatican journalist Paolo Rodari has reported that Pope Benedict XVI intervened to dissuade Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor from accepting a seat in the House of Lords upon his retirement as Archbishop of Westminster.
When he stepped down in April at the age of 76, Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor said that he had mixed feelings about an invitation to join the House of Lords; he would have become the first Catholic prelate to serve in that body since the Reformation. Rodari now reports that the British cardinal decided to accept the invitation, but the Pope’s intervention stopped the process.
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Further information:
- Pope 'personally blocked' Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor from joining House of Lords (Daily Telegraph)
- Cosi il Papa ferma il cardinale sulla soglia della camera dei lords (Paolo Rodari)
- English cardinal weighs joining House of Lords (CWN 4/15)
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