Mar 21, 2006 5:28 pm US/Eastern
O'Malley Prepared For Calling As Cardinal
by Lisa Hughes
(CBS4)
Three day before he will be elevated to a cardinal in the Catholic Church, Boston Archbishop Sean O'Malley seemed rested relaxed and prepared for a very busy week.
O'Malley spoke with the media Tuesday at the Catholic North American College in Rome, where a number of Boston area priests have studied.
"Having a cardinal as archbishop once again is a sign that kind of connectedness with the church does continue and we need to move forward," O'Malley told reporters.
But in moving forward O'Malley does not want to move away from his simple life as a friar. Cardinals carry great prestige and O'Malley is not entirely comfortable with that attention.
What does he think will be the most difficult aspects of this new role? "I think that's sort of an anomaly that one has to live with," O'Malley said. "But it's part of our commitment to be available for whatever the church asks us to do."
This week the church may be asking a lot. While he seemed relaxed in front of reporters Tuesday, the 61 year-old archbishop is entertaining family and friends, meeting with the pope and leading tours for the media, all before he becomes a cardinal on Friday.
The archbishop chuckled when asked what he thinks of his new title, Your Eminence. "It takes some getting used to. When I went as bishop in the West Indies I said the two hardest things to get used to were driving on the left and being called Your Lordship."
As a cardinal, O'Malley will also be named head of a church in Rome. It is largely symbolic, but he will be expected to raise money for that church around the world.
He found out the name of that church Tuesday, but at the request of the pope, he is keeping it secret until Friday.
CBS4's Lisa Hughes will be in Rome all week, leading up to Friday's elevation ceremony. You can watch that ceremony live Friday morning at 4:30am on CBS4 and CBS4Boston.com.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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