Enquirer Editorial
''I will pray for him.''
With those words, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin laid a soothing touch of Christlike kindness on American culture. It might have been his finest moment -- but there are so many.
Cardinal Bernardin, beloved by Cincinnati where he was archbishop for 10 years, died Thursday morning at age 68. Even in his own final suffering, he reached out to others who were terminally ill, demonstrating by selfless courage that death is not to be feared.
''We can look at death in two ways, as an enemy or as a friend,'' he said when he announced that his pancreatic cancer was terminal. ''As a person of faith, I see death as a friend, as the transition from earthly life to life eternal.''
His prayers and eloquent example made him an inspiration and solace to the dying -- a healer all of his life.
Maybe his finest hours were those he spent struggling to heal conflicts, acting as a bridge between rancorous factions of the Roman Catholic Church.
He was a healer for the rest of society, as well.
On issues such as abortion and euthanasia, his own unswerving opposition was expressed by appealing not to anger and righteousness, but by addressing the nobler side of the human spirit.
His legacy was a long and largely unrewarded struggle to find Common Ground on some of the most bitterly divisive issues facing the church, religion and society.
And when he was falsely accused of sodomy by a young man who was dying of AIDS, Cardinal Bernardin's response jolted our shallow culture and transcended the walls between religious and secular society.
He prayed for his accuser. He prayed with his accuser.
''It was a manifestation of God's love, forgiveness and healing which I will never forget,'' the cardinal said.
Healer. Teacher. Spiritual leader. Some say saint.
He was described almost as a definition of faith itself: ''a friend in high places who believed in us... cared about us, and he was always approachable.''
Cardinal Bernardin not only preached the Gospel, he lived it.
Published Nov. 15, 1996.
