Pope Names 23 New Cardinals
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VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI named 23 new cardinals today, tapping two Americans, the patriarch of Baghdad, and archbishops from five continents to join the elite ranks of the “princes” of the Roman Catholic Church.
Eighteen of the 23 are under age 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pontiff. Pope Benedict said he would elevate the prelates at a Vatican ceremony Nov. 24.
Among the under-80 new cardinals are the archbishops of Paris; Mumbai, India; Nairobi, Kenya; Valencia, Spain; Barcelona, Spain; Monterrey, Mexico; Dakar, Senegal; Sao Palo, Brazil; the primate of Ireland; and a handful of Italians.
The two Americans include Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, and Archbishop John Foley, a longtime Vatican official who was recently named grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, a lay religious community that aims to protect the rights of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land.
Archbishop DiNardo’s nomination was something of a surprise and appeared to be an indication of Pope Benedict’s desire to reach out to the large Latino community in Texas.
Archbishop DiNardo, who for six years worked at the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops, was only named archbishop last year. There are several other American archdioceses that usually have cardinals leading them, including Washington and Baltimore, but the pope did not elevate their archbishops.
In addition to the 18 electoral cardinals, Pope Benedict named five prelates over age 80 who he said deserved particular merit, including the Chaldean patriarch of Baghdad, Emmanuel III Delly.
Patriarch Delly has been outspoken about the need to protect minority Christians from Iraq’s spiraling violence — a concern voiced repeatedly by Benedict in recent months. Just this past Sunday, Pope Benedict appealed for the swift release of two priests kidnapped in Mosul.
The Christian community in Iraq is about 3% of the country’s estimated 26 million people.
Also named for commitment and service to the church was the emeritus archbishop of Parana, Argentina, Monsignor Estanislao Esteban Karlic. Benedict named another Argentine cardinal as well, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Eastern Churches.