Catholic World News News Feature

The future cardinals: a closer look (Background) September 29, 2003

Among the 30 future cardinals named by Pope John Paul II on September 28, 26 will be eligible to vote in papal elections.

Nearly half of the new cardinals-- 14-- are European, including 6 Italians. There are also 2 from North America, 2 from South America, 3 from Africa, 3 from Asia, and 1 from Australia. (This account, of course, concerns only the 30 future cardinals whom the Pope identified; nothing is known about a 31st, who was named in pectore. .)

Four of the new cardinals are priests who have already passed their 80th birthdays, and thus will not be eligible to vote in a papal conclave. The Holy Father evidently chose to honor them for their service to the Church.

Here is some background information about the new cardinals:

Vatican officials (7)

• Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, the Secretary for Relations with States, is in effect the "foreign minister" of the Holy See. A French native, he has served at the Vatican for the past 13 years. He is now 60 years old, but is afflicted with Parkinson's disease and likely to retire early as his health limits his activities.
• Archbishop Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, previously served for 15 years as the Vatican's representative at the UN. The 70-year-old Italian prelate was particularly outspoken in his opposition to the recent war in Iraq, even suggesting that the just-war tradition was no longer useful.
• Archbishop Francesco Marchisano, 74, is the Pope's vicar-general for the Vatican and the archpriest of St. Peter's basilica. His predecessor in those posts, Virgilio Noe, is also a cardinal.
• Archbishop Attilio Nicora, 66, is president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, and has held several leadership positions in the Italian bishops' conference.
• Archbishop Julian Herranz, 73, is president of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts-- the Vatican's top canon-law agency. A Spanish native and member of Opus Dei, he is known as a specialist on moral questions.
• Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care, is a Mexican prelate whose work has brought him into the worldwide discussion of AIDS, drug abuse, and health concerns generally.
• Archbishop Stephen Fumio Hamao, 73, is president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants. The former Bishop of Yokohama, Japan, is particularly known for his efforts at inter-religious dialogue.

European diocesan archbishops (9)

• The Italian Archbishops Angelo Scola, Ennio Antonelli, and Tarcisio Bertone-- of Venice, Florence, and Genoa respectively-- were all expected to appear on the list of new cardinals. These three Italian cities are traditionally led by a cardinal; the Archbishop of Venice already carries the title of Patriarch.
• The two French Archbishops-- Bernard Panafieu of Marseille and Philippe Barbarin of Lyon-- were also expected choices, although it was a mild surprise that Archbishop Jean-Pierre Ricard of Bordeaux, the president of the French bishops' conference, was not on the Pope's list. The selection of Archbishop Barbarin, who is only 53, is a particular sign of favor for an athletic young prelate who has applied his considerable energies to his new assignment in Lyon, which is considered one of the most challenging archdiocesan posts in Europe.
• Eastern Europe will receive two new red hats, for Archbishop Josip Bozanic of Zagreb, Croatia; and Archbishop Peter Erdo of Budapest, Hungary. The latter, who is just 51, will become the youngest member of the College of Cardinals.
• Archbishop Carlos Amigo Vallejo of Seville, Spain, was not a surprise. For Scotland, Archbishop Keith O'Brien of Edinburgh was chosen rather than the more conservative Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow-- quite likely because O'Brien had served longer as an archbishop.

African diocesan archbishops (3)

• The selection of Khartoum's Archbishop Gabriel Zubeir Wako is a recognition for a prelate who has suffered considerably for the Church. The Sudanese archbishop has been a particular focus of hostility for the harsh Islamic regime, and a symbol of the Christians who have suffered through 20 years of civil war in Sudan.
• Archbishop Anthony Olumbunmi Okogie of Lagos, Nigeria, also represents a local Church where Catholics are threatened by militant Islam. The Nigerian prelate also has the distinction of having served in the same archdiocesan post since 1971!
• Archbishop Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson of Cape Coast will be the first cardinal in the history of Ghana.

Asian diocesan archbishops (2)

• The nomination of Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City may signal a move toward warmer relations with the government of Vietnam. That government has stalled many Vatican episcopal nominations, and the elevation of a Vietnamese cardinal could be a gesture appreciated by the government that allowed his appointment. [ It now appears that the appointment of Cardinal Man is not a sign of warming relations, as this later CWN story makes clear. ]
• Archbishop Telesphore Placidus Toppo of Ranchi, India, the first cardinal ever chosen from India's tribal minorities, has distinguished himself as a proponent of inter-religious dialogue, while at the same time courageously denouncing the violence inflicted on Christians by Hindu zealots.

Australian archbishop

Archbishop George Pell has been surrounded by controversy both in Sydney, where he is now archbishop, and at his previous assignment in Melbourne. His firm stands in favor of Church teachings have angered the enemies of the Church, while exciting new support among faithful Australian Catholics.

North American diocesan archbishops (2)

• Only one US prelate, Archbishop Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, was on the Pope's list. The omission of Boston's Archbishop Sean O'Malley, who recently replaced Cardinal Bernard Law in that scandal-plagued archdiocese, was noted by many American commentators. But the US already boasts 10 cardinal-electors (including Cardinal Law), and Rigali-- who had been Archbishop of St. Louis for several years before his moved to Philadelphia, and served for years before that as a senior Vatican official, working closely with Popes Paul VI and John Paul II-- was clearly first in line.
• Archbishop Marc Ouellet of Quebec City, who is 59, holds the title of Primate of Canada, since his see is the oldest in that country. He formerly served as secretary to the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.

South American diocesan archbishops (2)

After naming 11 Latin American cardinals in 2001, the Pope was left with relatively few eligible prelates in that region. He chose Rio de Janiero's Archbishop Eusebio Oscar Scheid, and Guatemala City's Rodolfo Quezada Toruno.

Priests (4) Four priests-- all above the age of 80-- will be honored for their years of ministry. Leading that list is Father George Marie Cottier, the Swiss theologian of the pontifical household. The others are Father Gustaaf Joos, a Belgian priest; Father Tomas Spidlik, a Czech; and Father Stanislaus Nagy, a Polish priest of the Sacred Heart congregation.

In Pectore

Pope John Paul announced that he would elevate "another worthy prelate as cardinal, reserving his name in pectore . Such a secret nomination usually means that the prelate could face persecution if his identity became public. In the past Pope John Paul has named Chinese cardinals in pectore, later revealing their names later when he deemed it opportune. A cardinal who is elevated secretly does not have the same rights and duties as other members of the College, since he cannot be identified. In many cases, such a cardinal is not identified until his death. And if the Pope himself dies before making the nomination public, the prelate's rank as a cardinal dies with him.

Some Vatican-watchers have speculated that the new unnamed cardinal could be Hong Kong's Archbishop Francis Xavier Zen, who has been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, and could face difficulties if he had the greater publicity that comes with the red hat. Others have guessed that the cardinal to be elevated in pectore might be Archbishop Taddeusz Kondrusiewicz of Moscow, since a public acknowledgement of such an appointment would undoubtedly provoke a furious reaction from the Russian Orthodox Church leadership. All such speculation could be completely inaccurate. The truth is that no one save the Pope knows the identity of the in pectore nominee.