Comment on the consistory

The list is out.

I was pleased to see that one of my profs from the Augustinianum was on the list, though he is over 80, Prosper Grech, OSA.  Trappé never had the red hat.

I was sad that good old Archbp. Luigi De Magistris was not included. It is a heavy burden.

No, Archbishop Chaput wasn’t named, but there are two living Cardinal Archbishops of Philadelphia, one of whom can still vote.  Archbishop Nichols of Westminster will remain without the red hat for a while longer, for his predecessor is still of voting age.  Archbishop Dolan is president of the conference and his predecessor is just a few months from turning 80.

Lot’s of Italians, which I don’t think is a great move.

Pray for the new Cardinals.

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26 Comments

  1. RichR says:

    Glad to see Dolan is on the list. I predict, if BXVI’s pattern holds, that Chaput and Gomez will get red hats, too. Apparently, those who bleed for the Church and the Pope get “rewarded” like this. I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse to have that kind of responsibility, but God’s grace supplies for our defects. These men need a LOT of prayers. Faithful shepherds are attacked from all sides.

  2. It would have been nice to see Bp Schneider get a red hat.

  3. BaedaBenedictus says:

    You think Archbishop Nichols will get left out next time, thanks to the controversial things he has done and said especially re: gay Masses, civil unions, etc.? It’ll be interesting to see Damian Thompson’s take on it.

  4. No Earth-shattering surprises on this list.

    The best news it contained, in my personal and private opinion, is that the legendary Professor of Dogmatics at the Greg, Fr. Karl J. Becker SJ, will get a red hat.

  5. irishgirl says:

    Amen to what you said, RichR! Prayers all around for the new Cardinals, especially our two Americans, Dolan and O’Brien!

  6. Johnny Domer says:

    George Allencherry, the Syro-Malabar major archbishop, is an excellent choice. Though not of the Roman Rite, he has gone out of his way to be friendly to supporters of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

  7. GregH says:

    What’s wrong with a lot of Italians?

  8. Tim Ferguson says:

    I suspect Bishop Schneider would have to get his own diocese before getting a red hat. I know of no historical situations where an auxiliary bishop was made a Cardinal while his superior prelate is not. It would certainly make seating at the dining table awkward, at least.

  9. Parochus says:

    I, too, was delighted to see Fr. Karl Becker, S.J. named to receive the red hat. He is an excellent theologian, a superb professor, a loyal son of the Church, and a Jesuit worthy of the name and the tradition. He has educated countless future priests in sacramental theology and the theology of grace, and served with distinction for many years as a consultor to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. BTW, Fr. Prosper Grech also served as a consultor to CDF on matters relating to English liturgical translations; to him much is owed as well. To both of them: Ad multos et felicissimos annos!

  10. TNCath says:

    I noticed that once again the Holy Father did not appoint his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, a cardinal as has been rumored might be the case someday. Prayers for the cardinals indeed, for the color of their vesture is a reminder that they are called upon to shed blood for the Faith if necessary. Given the times in which we live, this may not be completely out of the question.

  11. JonathanCatholic says:

    I have to ask the sane question as GregH: Father, what’s wrong with Italian Cardinals? I’m sure that there is some reason but for the life of me I can’t think of it.

  12. leonugent2005 says:

    TNCath I suppose that if Benedict appointed his brother it would have been to reminiscent of the renascence popes who would appoint their son’s to the post.

  13. digdigby says:

    Too many Italians impairs the Catholicity of the universal church in the eyes of the faithful of South America, Africa, Asia, N. America as well as most definitely in the eyes of the Eastern churches and wavering Anglicans and Lutherans. I’m not saying it is necessarily true.

  14. Ioannes Andreades says:

    What strikes me as a little weird is that no Philippino archbishop was named Cardinal. The Philippines is the third largest Catholic country in the world, and its only cardinal elector is going to turn 80 this August. Meanwhile, 5 Italian curial officials were named.

  15. Simon_GNR says:

    So, Archbishop Nichols misses out because Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor is still of voting age. Is there actually a *rule* that says that England and Wales can have no more than one voting cardinal? Some countries, e.g. Italy and the U.S.A. have several cardinals.

    Is there also a rule that if England and Wales is to get a new cardinal it has to be the Primate i.e. the Archbishop of Westminster? Could the Holy See make another bishop or archbishop in England or Wales a cardinal, leaving Archbishop Nichols “passed over”? I’m wondering whether the Archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley, might be considered a more suitable candidate for a cardinal’s hat, especially after the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School fiasco.

  16. mrose says:

    Glad to see that Achbp. Nichols was passed over, at least for now. As well as the new Achbp. of Manila.

  17. Centristian says:

    “Lot’s of Italians, which I don’t think is a great move.”

    Oh, come on; if there were no Italians we wouldn’t be able to delight in the name “Cardinal Coccopalmerio”.

    Timothy Cardinal Dolan. What sort of a cardinal would he support in a conclave, I wonder?

    Glad Toronto’s getting a red hat; it will seem like a real city, again.

  18. wmeyer says:

    “Too many Italians impairs the Catholicity of the universal church in the eyes of the faithful of South America, Africa, Asia, N. America as well as most definitely in the eyes of the Eastern churches and wavering Anglicans and Lutherans.”

    Hmmmmmm…. So the Holy Father should make his decisions based on the perceptions of those who do not know who merits the appointments? Sounds a very PC approach to me. I think I would prefer to trust in the judgment of the Holy Father.

  19. digdigby says:

    wmeyer-
    I, of course AGREE with you. I was stating a ‘point of view’, not necessarily my own.

  20. Pingback: Maybe Next Time: Chaput and Nichols « Fr Stephen Smuts Blog

  21. benedictgal says:

    I have an interesting take on the matter. Not only does the new cardinal receive a red hat, he also receives a ring, as well. In his speech to the USCCB, Archbishop Dolan noted that he saw 300 of his brethren wearing rings. Some four years earlier, Pope Benedict XVI commented on the significance of the rings during a homily that he preached at his first consistory.

  22. 1. Choirmasters have already been God and Sensei to generations of people. Why would a choir director ever want to become a mere cardinal?

    2. The pope’s brother is old, blind, deaf, and likes to stay home a lot. I don’t think he wants to go to the trouble and tiredness of it all, even if his brother were offering — which he’s probably not.

    3. It’s a bit insulting, given the waiting list, to make a guy a cardinal solely for service in his own diocese as a monsignor on the cathedral support staff and a sort of local choirschool principal. It also diminishes the meaning of that service, as if everything the guy did in Munich was not good enough, so his little brother has to make him a cardinal to bring him up in the world.

  23. leonugent2005 says:

    Centristian Timothy Cardinal Dolan would support a good one, a real good one!

  24. jlduskey says:

    The American appointments to the College of Cardinals lead us to examine cities that have had Cardinals, but whose present Archbishop is not a Cardinal: LA, Phila, NY, Balt, and Detroit. (I’ve been told that St.Louis has become such a small city that it should not be on this list.) The previous Cardinal – Archbishops of LA and Phila are 75-76 years old, so Abps. Gomez and Chaput have to wait. Card. Egan is nearly 80, so NY Archbishop Dolan gets a red hat. Right now the see of Baltimore is vacant, as former Abp. O’Brien has moved to Rome and is getting a red hat. But, in Detroit, Abp.Vigneron was passed over, even th0ugh his predecessor, Card. Maida, is over 80.

  25. Mrs. Bear says:

    Was not surprised to see our Archbishop here in Toronto receive the nod.
    Very happy that it happened!
    Though I was hoping that we might get another cardinal or two – one out in Vancouver and another in the Nation’s Capital – Ottawa.
    Maybe next time!

  26. jesusthroughmary says:

    I was hoping to see His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, on this list. At 41 years old, he would have been the youngest Cardinal since Cardinal Merry del Val.

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