Pope ‘simple, wise, shrewd’

Press, 20 September 1978, Page 3

Pope ‘simple, wise, shrewd’

PA Wellington Cardinal Delargey is back from the Papal election convinced that the “simple and natural, but wise and shrewd” man selected will bond Roman Catholicism. Pope John Paul 1 was the man who most suited the main concern of the Roman Catholic Church — contact between the church hierarchy and the ordinary man, said Cardinal Delargey after his return to Wellington.

The cardinals were keen that the visions of humble commitment and sharing with the people emphasised by Popes John and Paul would be continued by the new Pontiff.

“Pope John Paul is a man so thoroughly integrated in his own life that he moves in any group with ease,” said Cardinal Delargey of the former Cardinal Albino

Luciani, Patriarch of Venice. Cardinal Delargey condemns secular speculation over the selection of the new Pope and the inferences that political intrigue and international implications were the deciding factors. “The election was what I hoped for in faith, that God would guide and hear the prayers of his people,” he said.

Cardinal Luciani became the world’s 263rd Pope when on August 26 the 111 cardinal - electors from throughout the world chose him in a four-ballot, one-day conclave in Rome. The conclave was unusually short. Cardinal Delargey was unable under oath to discuss the secret discussion of the conclave but he said that each cardinal-elector was aware of the great responsibility of the election.