Jewish Cardinal dies

Yes, you read correctly. Cardinal Lustiger, born Jewish, and who always claimed he was Jewish notwithstanding his baptism and rise to a Cardinal in France - and who was at one time touted as successor to Pope Paul II - died in Paris last Sunday.

By all accounts he was an extraordinary man. He was certainly fascinating to listen to.

"As he lay dying last week in a Paris hospice, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger reached out to his longtime friend Rabbi Israel Singer.

The Jewish-born Catholic official, who served for decades as a conduit between the Vatican and the Jewish community, called Singer, a former senior official

"He was completely conscious and aware," said Singer, who called Lustiger by his Hebrew name. "Some of the conversations were 25 years old. They were very moving."

Born Aaron Lustiger in Paris in 1926, he was the first child of secular Polish-Jewish emigres. In 1940 he was sent with his sister to live with a Catholic woman following the German occupation of France. In August of that year, at age 13, he was baptized, adding Jean-Marie to his name."

So reports the JTA here. The IHT has its take on the Cardinal here.

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