Cardinal Trujillo has died
The president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo died on Sunday at the age of 72. The Colombian cardinal died at a hospital in Rome where he was admitted in March. The funeral Mass will be conducted in the Vatican Basilica on Wednesday by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, with other members of the college. Pope Benedict will preside over the funeral liturgy, pronounce the homily, and administer the burial rites. Cardinal Trujillo was among the most outspoken Vatican critics of the "culture of death." He had repeatedly denounced abortion and same-sex marriage, condemned the exploitation of human embryos and the trend toward acceptance of euthanasia, and argued strenuously against the promotion of condom use as a means of curbing the spread of AIDS, Catholic World News reported. "His wide-ranging ministerial work - as priest and auxiliary bishop of Bogota, as archbishop of Medellin, secretary and president of the Latin American Episcopal Council, president of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia and, finally, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family - is clear evidence of his profound love for the Church and his dedication to the noble cause of promoting marriage and the Christian family, the pope said. With the death of Cardinal Trujillo, there are now 195 members of the College of Cardinals, including 118 who are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to participate in a papal conclave. Source: VIS