The "diplomatic incident" in which the Cardinal Archbishop of Lisbon, Jose da Cruz Policarpo
was involved in recent weeks, following the release of some opening
statements in relation to women priests, seems to have been permanently
dismissed.
As reported by Vatican Radio, the Pope, in fact sent him a
letter expressing his wishes on the occasion of the fiftieth
anniversary of the Archbishop’s priestly ordination.
In the letter, he
recognized the Cardinal’s "sound doctrine," among other things.
The Portuguese Cardinal has been defined by Pope Benedict XVI, as a "steward of the richness of Christ and faithful minister of the Church."
The Pope recalls that Policarpo was appointed auxiliary bishop of
Lisbon by Paul VI and then became the Patriarch of Lisbon, during the
pontificate of John Paul II.
In the letter, Benedict XVI wrote that
Cardinal Policarpo in recent years has distinguished himself for the
"sound doctrine," “the clear understanding of church discipline" and
“for the hard work" in his diocese.
It also
recalled his commitment to the whole Nation, as President of the
Portuguese Episcopal Conference and the Apostolic Center, as a member of
the College of Cardinals and of other Vatican departments.
The
Pope therefore asked the Lord to reward Cardinal Policarpo with
generosity for his merits and to support him in his pastoral ministry.
At
the end of the letter, the Pope imparted his apostolic blessing to the
Cardinal and extended it to the whole community of believers in Lisbon.
Policarpo had raised alarm bells in the Vatican,
when, in a recent interview with the monthly 'Ordem dos Advogados', he
allegedly declared himself to be "open" to the idea of women priests.
However, what the Cardinal had actually said, was that he saw no "major obstacle" to the priestly ordination of women.
On 6 July, Cardinal
Policarpo retracted the statement with an official note, in which he
stated: "The reaction to that interview forced me to consider the issue
more carefully, and I found that, I was in fact responsible for causing
these reactions especially as I did not take into account the latest
pronouncements of the Magisterium on the theme."
The
Portuguese press also reported that the Patriarch of Lisbon had been
called by the Vatican with a confidential letter by Cardinal William
Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and
with an invitation to a private meeting by the Secretary of State
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
A meeting took place in recent days at Castel
Gandolfo, and that has cleared up any doubts that existed.