TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Bishop who leads the Catholic Diocese of Tucson says the Pope’s cancer diagnosis is a test of faith for the Pope and the people he leads.
As the Pope was in surgery, Bishop James Misko led a service praying for the Pope and everyone on his medical team. Not long after that he got the word that the surgery was more than serious—that it confirmed Pope Leo had lung cancer.
“You know, one of the things I always think about is that when something like this happens, it really is an opportunity for grace, and it sounds counterintuitive, but when we are met with something as serious as cancer, it's an opportunity to give yourself over to God and to come to the realization that “God will never leave you to face your challenges alone.”
Bishop Misko says he met the Pope briefly a few weeks ago.
“He's very pastoral and what I mean by that is that he is very calm. He listens. He looks right at you when you're speaking to him, and you really feel a supportive spirit in him. And in fact, as I left, I really felt quite supported as the bishop in Tucson, Arizona as he leads the church in Rome.”
But what does it say, that cancer would strike the Pope?
“Well, I would say that, you know, God does not stop cancer. Otherwise he would have already stopped it. God allows cancer and he only allows it for one reason, to purify our faith so that our faith will be qualified so that we will have a quality of faith In the midst of something that's very difficult, and so I would think that the Holy Father, even right now as he's convalescing in the hospital, is beginning to piece together how he is going to use this as part of his ministry of teaching the world what it's like to have cancer and to remain faithful. “
