Benedict XVI today announced the names of 22 new cardinals, including 18 under the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote for the next pope. The consistory, the event in which these nominees will formally enter the College of Cardinals, is set for Rome on Feb. 18-19.
Once again, Benedict’s choices are top-heavy with Italians (seven of the 18 voting cardinals), Vatican officials (ten) and Europeans (twelve). Three also come from North America, including Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto along with Dolan and O’Brien (US).
Only three of the new cardinals come from outside the West: João Bráz de Aviz, a Brazilian who heads the Vatican office for religious life; John Tong Hon, bishop of Hong Kong; and George Alencherry, archbishop of the Syro-Malabar church in India.
The following is the complete list of new cardinals announced today by the pontiff, during his Angelus address marking the Feast of the Epiphany.
18 new cardinal electors
1. Fernando Filoni (Italian), Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
2. Manuel Monteiro de Castro (Portuguese), Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary
3. Santos Abril y Castelló (Spanish) , Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major
4. Antonio Maria Vegliò (Italian), President of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Refugees
5. Giuseppe Bertello (Italian), President of the Government of the Vatican City State
6. Francesco Coccopalmerio (Italian), President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
7. João Bráz de Aviz (Brazilian), Prefect of the Congregation for Religious
8. Edwin O’Brien (American), Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
9. Domenico Calcagno (Italian), President of the Apostolic Patrimony of the Holy See
10. Giuseppe Versaldi (Italian), President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See
11. George Alencherry (Indian), Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church in India
12. Thomas Collins (Canadian), Archbishop of Toronto
13. Dominik Duka (Czech), Archbishop of Prague
14. Wim Eijk (Dutch), Archbishop of Utrecht
15. Giuseppe Bettori (Italian), Archbishop of Florence
16. Timothy Dolan (American), Archbishop of New York
17. Rainer Maria Woelki (German), Archbishop of Berlin
18. John Tong Hon (Chinese), Bishop of Hong Kong
In keeping with papal custom, Benedict XVI also named four new cardinals who are already over 80 years old, and hence ineligible to take part in a future conclave. These are often called "honorary" appointments, used to recognize lifelong service to the church in some capacity.
Four honorary cardinals:
1. Archbishop Lucian Mureşan, Major Archbishop of Făgăraş şi Alba Iulia (Romanian)
2. Monsignor Julien Ries (Belgian)
3. Augustinian Fr. Prosper Grech (Maltese)
4. Jesuit Fr. Karl Becker (German)
Today’s appointments bring the total number of voting-age cardinals to 126, six more than the ceiling of 120 established by Pope Paul VI. That number should drop back down to 120 on July 26, when American Cardinal James Francis Stafford turns 80; five more cardinals will have crossed the threshold of 80 by that stage.
In terms of notable omissions, neither the new Archbishop of Manila in the Philippines, Luis Antonio Tagle, nor the Archbishop of Westminster in the U.K., Vincent Nichols, were on the list. In both cases, the informal rule that a new cardinal is not created until the retired cardinal of that archdiocese turns 80 may have been in force, as both of the previous incumbents won’t pass the 80 threshold until August. Strikingly, Benedict XVI named Dolan a cardinal despite the fact that his predecessor, Egan, won’t turn 80 until April 2.
(Source: John L Allen Jr, NCR Today)
