The Pope and the Vatican

The Cardinals and consistory

Two Popes, 15 red hats

24/03/2006
Robert Mickens from Rome

List of Cardinals named by Pope Benedict XVI

The installation this week of 15 new cardinals reveals the thinking of Pope Benedict XVI and the legacy of his predecessor, John Paul II. In this article, written in February on the day the Pope announced the consistory, our Rome correspondent analyses the selection.

A year after his death, the long shadow of John Paul II still falls over the Vatican and the man who succeeded him. It is particularly apparent this week with the naming by Pope Benedict of 15 new cardinals from 11 countries and five continents. Although these are the first major set of appointments of his pontificate, Pope Benedict’s choice shows the considerable influence still of his predecessor, as it consists mainly of men the late John Paul II had already put in line to receive the “red hat”.

The new cardinals (see attached biographies) include the archbishops of Boston, Caracas, Hong Kong, Krakow, Manila, and Seoul. Smiling as he made the much anticipated announcement at the end of his weekly audience on 22 February, the Pope said the new cardinals reflect the universality of the Church: “In fact, they come from every part of the world and carry out diverse duties in service to the people of God.” Pope Benedict told several thousand people gathered in the Paul VI Hall that he would formally install the cardinals at a special consistory on 24 March. He added that a special meeting would be held with the entire College of Cardinals the day before the Consistory. The Pope will then concelebrate Mass with the cardinals on 25 March, the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord.

There were three exceptions to the list – the men who are Benedict’s own appointments: Archbishops William Levada (prefect of the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation), Stanislaw Dziwisz (Krakow), and Jorge Liberato Uroso Savino (Caracas). The Venezuelan and an 87-year-old archbishop from Ghana, Peter Proeku Dery, were the most surprising names on a list that was perhaps more notable for who was not on it. None of the three presidents of the pontifical councils – Archbishops John Foley, Stanislaw Rylko, and Paul Cordes – were named, despite long years of service in the Roman Curia. Neither was the Vicar General for Vatican City, Archbishop Angelo Comastri, named. In fact, only three Curia officials were on the list of the twelve electors, leaving the other nine slots for residential bishops.

The Pope offered a possible clue to the absence of other anticipated names by saying he had decided to create only enough cardinals under 80 so as to keep within the maximum limit of 120 electors set by Paul VI in 1973. But he also appointed three non-electors to the College for – as he said – “the service they have given to the Church with exemplary faithfulness and admirable dedication”.

Many Vatican analysts expected “red hats” to be given to the archbishops in Paris, Nairobi, and Dublin. And, surprisingly, two archdioceses in Brazil that have previously been headed by cardinals were also passed over. Pope Benedict displayed an apparent sensitivity to keeping the College representative of the geographical diversity of the Church. However, he did not name one new African cardinal among the electors, which will likely draw fierce criticism since there were several archdioceses that could have filled the bill. And by adding two Italians and two Americans to the elective body, he further boosted the disproportionate representation cardinals from these two countries already enjoy.

While speculation had swirled for several weeks about the February announcement, some observers were doubtful the Pope would hold a festive event like a Consistory during the penitential season of Lent. Actually, Pope John XXIII had two Lenten Consistories. Others felt Benedict XVI would not create new cardinals until after he re-organised and re-staffed the top spots in the Roman Curia. However, that would have posed a dilemma: how to adequately reward the new Curia heads without taking up the few available slots among the 120-member voting body.

Precisely because it is influenced by the previous pope, this consistory allows Pope Benedict to make only the smallest contribution to the make-up of the College of Cardinals. But it seems he has opted for different strategy. It is said that he intends to hold smaller and more recurrent consistories, perhaps annually, in order to gather the entire College together more frequently. It would at least be an attempt to answer to the complaint made by many of the men who entered last April’s Conclave, that the cardinals do not know each other very well.

List of Cardinals

William Joseph Levada, 69, Archbishop Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The former archbishop of San Francisco (1995-2005) was named to his present post last May, in what was the new Pope’s first major appointment. He did his theology studies at Rome’s Gregorian University before being ordained a priest in 1961 and then worked at the CDF from 1976-1982 where he forged his friendship with then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Levada has also served as auxiliary bishop in Los Angeles (1983-86) and archbishop of Portland, Oregon (1986-95). He has a reputation of being a doctrinal conservative, but pragmatic pastorally.
Franc Rodé CM, 71, Archbishop Prefect of the Congregation for Religious since 2004. A member of the Vincentians, he was born in Ljublijana (Slovenia) where he served as archbishop from 1997-2004. Before that he worked from 1987-1993 as the second-ranking official at the Vatican’s former office for non-believers and the current Pontifical Council for Culture. Agostino Vallini, 65, Archbishop Prefect of the Apostolic Segnatura since May 2004. A priest from the Archdiocese of Naples, where he served as auxiliary bishop from 1989-1999, he currently heads the Church’s supreme tribunal. He was Bishop of Albano outside of Rome for nearly five years before being named to his current post.
Jorge Urosa Savino, 63, Archbishop of Caracas (Venezuela) since September 2005, is one of only three of the new cardinals promoted to his current position by Pope Benedict. He has made a considerable impact in Caracas, working to improve strained relations between the Church and the left-wing government of President Hugo Chávez. He has urged Venezuelan bishops to remain aloof from political controversy, and in January he took part in a first round of talks with the President. Gaudencio Borbon Rosales, 73, Archbishop of Manila and Primate of the Philippines since September 2003. A native Filipino, he was ordained a priest in 1958 and after working in seminary formation and parish ministry he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Manila in 1974. He headed two other dioceses – Malaybalay and his native Archdiocese of Lipa – between 1992 and his return to the capital in 2003. He has attended three Synods in Rome (1990, 1997, and 2001) and has led the Philippine’s mission society.
Jean-Pierre Ricard, 61, Archbishop of Bordeaux (France) since December 2001. The Marseille native was appointed auxiliary bishop of Grenoble in 1993 and three years later was named ordinary of Montpellier before being elevated to Bordeaux. Spiritual son to the late Cardinal Robert Coffy, he is currently president of the French Bishops’ Conference and has been given high marks for his kindness, analytical mind, and pragmatism. He is also a member of the Vatican’s “Ecclesia Dei Commission” that deals with Neo-Tridentine groups and the Lefebvrist movement, and has even ordained priests in the Tridentine Rite. He is close to Pope’s thinking on the need for the Church to unambiguously – but charitably – challenge European culture.
Antonio Cañizares Llovera, 60, Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain since October 2002. He is vice-president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference. Before his current post, he headed the Diocese of Avila (1992) and the Archdiocese of Granada (1996). He has been an outspoken critic of secularising efforts in Spain and Europe. He was one of the most prominent Spanish church leaders to support a huge march last year in support of the family and in protest against the legalisation of gay partnerships.
Nicholas Cheong Jin-Suk, 74, Archbishop of Seoul (South Korea) and apostolic administrator of Pyeongyang (North Korea) since 1998. A Seoul native, he has been a bishop for more than 35 years and is a past president of the national bishops’ conference. He earned a degree in Canon Law in 1970 at the Pontifical Urban College in Rome.

Sean Patrick O’Malley OFM Cap., 61, Archbishop of Boston (USA) since July 2003. The bearded Capuchin friar, who wears his brown habit and sandals, has been a bishop for more than 21 years. But since 1992 he has been sent to three different dioceses – including Boston – to help the local church re-emerge from sexual abuse scandals. He won praise for his labours in Fall River (MA) and Palm Beach (FLA), but he has been harshly criticised in his current post. His appointment is recognition for his efforts and also an effort to boost the sagging morale among Bostonian Catholics.

Stanislaw Dziwisz, 66, Archbishop of Krakow (Poland) since June 2005. The former long-serving personal secretary of Pope John Paul II needs little introduction. “Don Stanislaw” is a native son of the archdiocese he now heads, having been ordained both a priest (1963) and bishop (1998) by the late Pope. Pope Benedict’s decision to make him a cardinal is seen as a tribute to Pope John Paul as well as the man who served as his most trusted aide for more than forty years.

Carlo Caffarra, 67, Archbishop of Bologna (Italy) since December 2003. One of the Church’s best-known conservative moral theologians. In 1980 he became the first president of the “John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family” and in 1995 was appointed archbishop of the northern city of Ferrara. He has been a university professor, a prolific writer, and is currently a member Pontifical Council for the Family and the Academy for Life.
Joseph Zen Ze-kiun SDB, 74, Bishop of Hong Kong (China). This outspoken Shanghai native – a Salesian of Don Bosco – was named coadjutor of Hong Kong in 1996, but did not become the ordinary until six years later when the gentle Cardinal John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung died. Bishop Zen is known for his condemnation of injustices and has long been critical of Beijing’s control of Hong Kong. It is rumoured that he was the un-revealed cardinal named, “in pectore”, by John Paul II in the last consistory.
The three new-named cardinals who are over the age of 80 and thus ineligible to vote in a Conclave:
Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, 80, Archpriest of the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls since 2005. This life-long papal diplomatic comes from an aristocratic Italian family from Turin and has served as the Pope’s ambassador in ten different countries, including the Holy Land, Central America, and Italy. He designed Pope Benedict’s coat-of-arms.
Peter Proeku Dery, 87, Emeritus Archbishop of Tamale (Ghana); retired in 1994. He has been a bishop for nearly 46 years, having been ordained to the episcopacy in 1960 by Pope John XXIII.
Fr Albert Vanhoye SJ, 82, former rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. A French Jesuit, he was also previously secretary of the International Biblical Commission headed by the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. On announcing his name, the Pope called him a “great exegete”.