Cardinal George says Mass with Pope Benedict

The Chicago Tribune, via Rocco:

On his second day in Rome, as planned, [Cardnial] George attended the canonization of Mother Theodore Guerin of Indiana, the first U.S. saint in six years.

What wasn't planned, he said, was an invitation that day to concelebrate mass with the pope ..."I hadn't expected that, and I was very pleased to do that," he said.

...

George said the pope was worried about the state of the church in the United States.

"He was very concerned about the seminary system and the morale of priests who have been ordained for some years, especially in the current crisis," he said.

Happily, the Cardinal's recovery is going well:

Nearly three months after undergoing treatment for bladder cancer, George said he felt fairly well in Rome.

"I took a nap every afternoon," he said. "That helped a lot, but then that's a Roman custom anyway."