VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI named 24 new cardinals,
including two from the United States: Archbishop Raymond L.
Burke, head of the Vatican’s highest tribunal, and Archbishop
Donald W. Wuerl of Washington.
Statement
of Bishop Loverde on Cardinal-designate Wuerl’s
appointment.
The pope announced the names at the end of his weekly general
audience Oct. 20 and said he would formally install the
cardinals during a special consistory at the Vatican Nov. 20.
“The universality of the church is reflected in the list of
new cardinals. In fact, they come from various parts of the
world and fulfill different tasks in the service of the Holy
See or in direct contact with the people of God as fathers
and pastors of particular churches,” the pope said.
The new cardinals come from 13 countries on five continents,
and their number included 10 Italians. The pope named 10
Roman Curia officials – a higher number than expected – along
with 10 residential archbishops and four prelates over the
age of 80. One unusual aspect of the pope’s list was that two
of the residential archbishops were retired.
The November ceremony will mark the third time Pope Benedict
has created cardinals since his election in April 2005. After
the consistory, he will have appointed about 40 percent of
the cardinals currently under the age of 80 and therefore
eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope.
The elevation of Cardinal-designates Burke and Wuerl will
bring the number of U.S. cardinals to 18. Of that number, 13
are voting-age – matching a historically high number for the
United States.
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York was not on the list
of new cardinals; his retired predecessor in New York,
Cardinal Edward M. Egan, is still under 80, and tradition
generally holds against two voting-age cardinals from the
same diocese.
The consistory will leave the College of Cardinals with 203
members, a new record. Of those, 121 will be under age 80,
one more than a numerical limit of 120 that has often been
waived. Seven cardinals will turn 80 over the next six
months.
Pope Benedict’s latest appointments left geographical
balances relatively unchanged among voting members of the
College of Cardinals, although it bolstered the European
presence, which will have 62 of the 121 potential cardinal
electors. The new voting-age cardinals included 11 from
Europe, 2 from Latin America, 2 from North America, 4 from
Africa and 1 from Asia.
Eight of the under-80 cardinals named were Italians, leaving
Italy with 25 voting-age cardinals, by far the largest number
from a single country. Italy will have 48 cardinals overall.
Ten of the new cardinals are Roman Curia officials, which
means that Roman Curia elector cardinals would number 37,
about 30 percent of the total.
Cardinal-designate Burke, 62, is prefect of the Vatican’s
highest tribunal, the Supreme Court of the Apostolic
Signature. While the court’s work is generally shrouded in
secrecy, when it comes to moral and political issues –
especially abortion and same-sex marriage –
Cardinal-designate Burke has been one of the most outspoken
U.S. bishops.
Before the November 2008 U.S. presidential election, he said
the Democratic Party “risks transforming itself definitively
into a ‘party of death.'”
In 2004, he was the first U.S. bishop to say publicly that he
would withhold Communion from Catholic politicians with
voting records that contradicted church teaching on
fundamental moral issues. He was serving as archbishop of St.
Louis when Pope Benedict named him head of the Apostolic
Signature in 2008.
Cardinal-designate Wuerl, 69, is known for his commitment to
promoting Catholic religious education and Catholic schools.
As head of the archdiocese that includes the U.S. capital, he
also has been a leader in defending Catholic values in public
life.
The pope named three Africans as cardinals, including Coptic
Patriarch Antonios Naguib of Alexandria, Egypt, who has been
in the spotlight recently as the recording secretary for the
Oct. 10-24 Synod of Bishops for the Middle East.
Also named were Congolese Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo
Pasinya of Kinshasa, 71, a biblical scholar and activist in
justice and peace issues; Guinean Archbishop Robert Sarah,
president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, 65; and retired
Zambian Archbishop Medardo Joseph Mazombwe, 79, who has
helped mediate political disputes in his country.
The pope named a single Asian, a former collaborator in the
Roman Curia: Sri Lankan Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith
Patabendige Don of Colombo, 62. He was formerly a secretary
of the Vatican’s worship congregation.
In Latin America, the pope named Brazilian Archbishop
Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida, 73, as well as
Ecuadorean Archbishop Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, 76, who
retired as archbishop of Quito in September.
European residential archbishops among the new cardinals
included Italian Archbishop Paolo Romeo of Palermo, 72,
Polish Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw, 60, and German
Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, 57.
In addition to Cardinal-designates Burke and Sarah, the Roman
Curia officials named included Italian Archbishop Angelo
Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes;
Italian Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, prefect of the
Congregation for Clergy; Swiss Archbishop Kurt Koch,
president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian
Unity; Italian Archbishop Fortunato Baldelli, head of the
Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican tribunal; and Italian
Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, president of the Prefecture for
the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, who was recently named
as an interim leader of the Legionaries of Christ while the
order undergoes a reorganization.
“I ask you to pray for the new cardinals, asking the
intercession of the most holy mother of God so they
fruitfully fulfill their ministry in the church,” the pope
said.
The pope named four cardinals who are over the age of 80,
prelates he said were “distinguished for their generosity and
dedication in service of the church.”
They included Italian Bishop Elio Sgreccia, retired president
of the Pontifical Academy for Life, 82, who for years was one
of the Vatican’s chief experts on bioethical issues. The
others were Spanish Archbishop Jose Manuel Estepa Llaurens,
former military ordinary of Spain, 84; German Msgr. Walter
Brandmuller, retired president of the Pontifical Committee
for Historical Sciences, 81; and Italian Msgr. Domenico
Bartolucci, retired director of the Sistine Chapel Choir, 93.
