text: U.S. Cardinal Bernardin says has terminal cancer . CHICAGO 1996-08-30 Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin , head of the second-largest U.S. Roman Catholic archdiocese , said on Friday his doctors had diagnosed him as having liver cancer and he had a year or less to live . Bernardin , 68 , underwent extensive surgery for pancreatic cancer in June 1995 followed by months of chemotherapy , which he said made him more aware of his own vulnerabilities and the need to minister to the sick . " On Wednesday , examinations indicated that the cancer has returned , this time in the liver . I am told that it is terminal and that my life expectancy is one year or less , " a composed Bernardin told a news conference . In 14 years as Chicago 's archbishop , he built a prayerful , saintly image and was deeply involved in world church issues and publicly committed to rooting out abuses by clergy . " I have been assured that I still have some quality time left , " he said , saying he would undergo a new form of chemotherapy but his doctors have told him there was only a slim chance of a cure and the liver cancer was inoperable . " It 's not going to be easy to say goodbye to everybody . Death does have some sad dimensions to it but I am a man of faith , " he said . " Death is a natural phenomenom . " He said he would " serve until the end " as cardinal . Pancreatic cancer is among the most deadly forms of the disease , although Bernardin 's case was caught early . Surgeons removed a cancerous kidney , parts of his pancreas and stomach , small intestine , bile duct and surrounding tissues . He made a rapid recovery and resumed most of his duties , but then developed a deteriorating condition in his spine that caused him great pain and shortened his height by several inches . He was scheduled to undergo back surgery next month , but that was cancelled when the cancer was discovered in his liver in order to avoid delaying the start of chemotherapy . The spare , soft-spoken son of an Italian stonecutter took over the Chicago archdiocese , the nation 's second-largest after Los Angeles , with 2.3 million parishioners , in 1982 . Ironically , Bernardin , who developed a progressive , much-praised programme to deal with pedophilia involving priests , became the highest-ranking church official ever accused of sexual improprieties when a former seminary student leveled charges in 1993 that he had been sexually abused by Bernardin during the 1970s . Bernardin steadfastly denied the charges and the former student later recanted his tale of abuse . Bernardin prayed with him before he died from AIDS last year . Bernardin , who became archbishop of Cincinnati in 1972 , played an increasingly prominent role in the U.S. church as a moderate voice of compromise among liberals and conservatives in the ranks of the bishops . This month , he announced that he would oversee a series of conferences to find " common ground " among American Catholics . Previously , he was instrumental in drafting church policy on war , peace and nuclear arms , and for seven years he headed the bishops ' anti-abortion policy committee , espousing a policy describing human life as a " seamless garment . "