Monday, August 06, 2007

Cardinal Lustiger Dies

From Reuters:

Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, a Jew who converted to Roman Catholicism and became archbishop of Paris, has died of cancer aged 80, the Paris archdiocese said on Sunday.

The son of Polish refugees, he was close to the late Pope John Paul II. His appointment as archbishop in 1981 gave him one of the highest ever positions for a convert to the French Catholic church.

"He had a notable role in our society and in the intellectual debates of our time," the diocese said.