Pope Benedict XVI has announced 15 new cardinals, to be given their red hats in late March. This raises the total number to 193 with the maximum of 120 has electors (under the age of 80).
There were no solid surprises here. Archbp. Levada, recently from San Francisco, who is currently Prefect of the CDF, Archbp. Sean O’Malley and Archbp. Stanislaw Dziwisz are three everyone knew was coming. The first two positions are normally held by Cardinals and Archbp. Dziwisz served most of his career as Pope John Paul II’s personal secretary.
Fr. Albert Vanhoye S.J., formerly rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute and secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, is the only non-prelate on the list of cardinals. It is standard that a man who is named a Cardinal is ordained a bishop, if he isn’t one already, as part of the package. However, the Church does not require this to occur, namely among those Cardinals, like Fr. Vanhoye, who are over 80 at the time. (NB: Popes have often used the Cardinal title as an honorific for those over 80 years of age as a sign of thanksgiving for all of their dedicated work in the church).
The last Cardinal to not accept the mitre was another Jesuit, Avery Cardinal Dulles, when he was named a Cardinal in 2001.
There were no solid surprises here. Archbp. Levada, recently from San Francisco, who is currently Prefect of the CDF, Archbp. Sean O’Malley and Archbp. Stanislaw Dziwisz are three everyone knew was coming. The first two positions are normally held by Cardinals and Archbp. Dziwisz served most of his career as Pope John Paul II’s personal secretary.
Fr. Albert Vanhoye S.J., formerly rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute and secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, is the only non-prelate on the list of cardinals. It is standard that a man who is named a Cardinal is ordained a bishop, if he isn’t one already, as part of the package. However, the Church does not require this to occur, namely among those Cardinals, like Fr. Vanhoye, who are over 80 at the time. (NB: Popes have often used the Cardinal title as an honorific for those over 80 years of age as a sign of thanksgiving for all of their dedicated work in the church).
The last Cardinal to not accept the mitre was another Jesuit, Avery Cardinal Dulles, when he was named a Cardinal in 2001.
Leave a Reply