Council (1962–1965), and sat on its Board of Presidency. Ruffini was also part of the conservative-minded study group Coetus Internationalis Patrum at the council. He was forced to intervene in a heated discussion between Cardinals Alfredo Ottaviani and Augustin Bea in the course of the last preparatory session of the Council. During the discussion on the Council's proposed declaration against anti-Semitism, Cardinal Ruffini accused the document of being overly kind to the Jews, whom he saw as hostile to Christianity. He also disapproved of Gaudium et spes, Sacrosanctum Concilium, and Dignitatis humanae. Cardinal Ruffini was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 1963 papal conclave, which selected Pope Paul VI. He died from a heart attack in Palermo, at age 79. Ruffini is buried in the shrine of Madonna dei Rimedi. Miscellaneous While still a priest, Ruffini also served as president of the Academy of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He collaborated with John XXIII in deciding to convene the Second Vatican Council. Ruffini was a creationist. Publications The Theory of Evolution Judged by Reason and Faith (Translated by Rev. Francis O'Hanlon, 1959) References Giuseppe Petralia: Il Cardinale Ernesto Ruffini, arcivescovo di Palermo. Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 1989. Angelo Romano: Ernesto Ruffini. Sciascia, Caltanissetta 2002. External links 1888 births 1967 deaths Clergy from the Province of Mantua 20th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Pius XII Christian creationists Roman Catholic archbishops of Palermo Participants in the Second Vatican Council Coetus Internationalis Patrum Members of the Congregation for Catholic Education Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Academic staff of the Pontifical Biblical Institute 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops