Two More Years

Three days after his 75th birthday, Cardinal Miroslav Vlk of Prague already got his response to his age-induced mandatory resignation letter: B16 wants him on 'til 2009.

He said that he perceives the rejection of his resignation as a satisfaction.

"I think that many expected me to leave. Because they considered me an obstacle in ceratin negotiations, it is definitely a satisfaction for me that I remain here," Vlk told the radio.

He said that those opposed to him will have "to reconcile themselves with that I will continue to participate in the negotiations as far as my powers allow it."

The cardinal -- who, as an underground cleric in the days of Czechoslovakia's Communist rule, worked as a window-washer in public -- was ordained archbishop of Prague in 1990 and became a cardinal in 1994.

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