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The sobriquet refers to the archbishop's reported disapproval of some practices he has encountered, from the order in which lay ministers received communion at one parish to the absence of kneelers in a seminary chapel....

Boy, these are some serious issues the Cardinal should be commended for taking a firm stand on. I can't imagine how many souls must have been endangered by Mary Smith getting her eucharist before Bob Williams. :-)

George's intervention in the debate in Oak Park over gay rights, his insistence that priests wear gray vestments at funerals and comments he supposedly made regarding foreign priests -- comments the archdiocese has since asserted were misreported....

And on the one issue which was actually WORTH a hoot, the archdiocese backpedals from the statements -- the issue over Oak Park "gay rights." I'm sorry, this doesn't sound like a hard-core faithful Cardinal; it sounds more like the wishy-washy bishop depicted in the letters that started this thread. I went to the link you provided, and read it; and then it occurred to me that the one thing on there that was of substance that he had allegedly taken a firm stand on (earning himself what has become a desirable nickname from the perspective of orthodox Catholics) -- the school textbook -- he pleaded innocence and said that he was merely critical of it. It doesn't sound to me like he deserves his nickname.

Can you tell me some things that he has actually done that are meritorious, in your opinion, for holding firm to the faith? He obviously failed on protecting the souls of his flock, with regard to the General Absolution. And neither of the articles you posted really present anything of real weighty substance that he's had to take a firm stand on. What gives you the opinion of his greatness? (BTW - I know that my post has had some sarcasm in it, certainly not directed at you, but I'm asking this question in sincerity -- I would really like my opinion of the Cardinal to be corrected by facts that you can provide)

I would really like my opinion of the Cardinal to be corrected by facts

One of the big "facts" is that Chicago had v. weak religious leadership before Cardinal George. One of the Church "leaders" was awarded in 1996 the Presidential Medal of Freedom. You know who was the Cardinal and the President back then? Also 1996 was marked by the invention of the, so called "Partial Birth Abortion." The same Church "leader" called Ann Landers to his deathbed, requested a "gay men’s choir" to sing at his funeral, and enlisted pall bearers from the local Masonic lodge.
Cardinal George came into a no-win situation, a huge mess built up for decades. He's got a lot of painful and slow clean-up to do. He needs our prayers and support.

God bless you dear Cardinal.

Can you tell me some things that he has actually done that are meritorious, in your opinion, for holding firm to the faith?

I’ll give you one example. He was invited to speak before one of the umbrella groups for gay Catholics. He got up and promptly started lecturing them about the Catholic view of homosexuality, right down the line. You may not like that he hasn’t shut enough of these groups down, but he clearly holds firm to the faith, and is not afraid to speak it.

patent +AMDG