Cleric denies he wants Pope to go

Mechelen - A Belgian Catholic cardinal who said that he would not be surprised if Pope John Paul II opted to abdicate next year…

Mechelen - A Belgian Catholic cardinal who said that he would not be surprised if Pope John Paul II opted to abdicate next year denied yesterday that he wished the Pope would do so.

"What I did not want to say is that it would be wishful for this Pope to abdicate, or that I would like to have him abdicate or that he is no longer doing his job well," Cardinal Godfried Danneels told a news conference.

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