PHILADELPHIA,None — A retired cardinal who was once the bishop in Pittsburgh has passed away.
Retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who also served as head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for more than 15 years, has died. He was 88.
Spokeswoman Donna Farrell said Bevilacqua died Tuesday night in his sleep at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, where he lived. He had been battling dementia and an undisclosed form of cancer.
Pope Benedict XVI offered his "heartfelt condolences" over the death of Bevilacqua. In a telegram to Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput the pope praised Bevilacqua's "long standing commitment to social justice and the pastoral care of immigrants, and his expert contribution to the revision of the church's law" after the Second Vatican Council.
Bevilacqua was criticized but never charged by two grand juries investigating child sex abuse in the Roman Catholic church.
He was the spiritual leader of the 1.5 million-member Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1988 until his retirement in 2003.
Bevilacqua's death comes just days after lawyers battled in court over his competency as a witness in an upcoming church-abuse case involving his longtime aide.
WPXI
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