Europe has lost two important Church leaders in the space of two days. They are the archbishop emeritus of Zagreb, Card. Franjo Kuharic, who died on 11 March, and Card. Louis-Marie Billé, archbishop of Lyons and former president of the French Bishops’ Conference, who died following a serious illness on 12 March. Card. Kuharic was a “man writes John Paul II in a telegram of condolence completely dedicated to the cause of the Gospel” who in the years of the regime and of the civil war was “indefatigable in instilling trust and courage in the faithful during the harsh trials to which the land of Croatia was subjected”. France too is mourning the death of Card. Louis-Marie Billé. The Pope remembers him as a “man of high spirituality”. He was 64 years old and had been suffering from cancer for several months. In spite of medical treatment, his condition deteriorated, forcing him to offer his resignation as president of the French Bishops’ Conference a year before the expiry of his term.
