away" Pope John Paul II appointed 31 new cardinals on Tuesday, October 21, who will most likely vote his successor.
They included Primate Peter Erdos from Hungary, which hopes to join the European Union next year and wants to start a new era after decades of Communism when an active Christian life was discouraged.
This ninth consistory of Pope John Paul’s papacy was held in Saint Peter’s Square under cloudy skies. The 83-year old pontiff managed only to utter some words and he was not able to read the names of the elected cardinals himself.
Instead the Vatican’s secretary of state, Angelo Sodano read out the pope’s message. "The scarlet of a cardinal’s robes evokes the color of blood and recalls the heroism of the martyrs," he said.
DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
The pope also said the new cardinals, from 22 different countries, reflect the multiplicity of the races and the cultures that characterize Christian people.
The name of one of the 31 new cardinals was kept secret, an option normally used to protect a cardinal from possible hostile reaction in an anti-Vatican environment, reports said.
Under Pope John Paul, the College of Cardinals has become more international and less Italian. But Europe retains the biggest bloc, followed by Latin America.
Although it is often referred to as the last remaining superpower, the United States has only one American among the newly ordained cardinals, the archbishop from Philadelphia.
LONELY AMERICAN
"I never dreamed I would be standing here today," Archbishop Justin Rigali told The Associated Press, Tuesday, Oct. 21. The 63-year-old Rigali has been a priest for 40 years.
He was installed as archbishop of Philadelphia earlier this month after transferring from Saint Louis, where he had served as archbishop for the past nine years.
The latest additions raised the number in the College of Cardinals to 194, but of these, only 135 are under 80 years of age and therefore eligible to vote for a successor to the pope.
CONSERVATIVE
Due to the pope’s failing health, analysts say this was the pope’s last chance to ensure his conservative stamp remains imprinted on the church.
The Pope has been criticized for his tough stance on abortion and free distribution of condoms in a world plagued by AIDS and overpopulation. However the pontiff also received praise from his views, both from inside and outside the Catholic Church among Evangelicals and other Christians.
All but five of the existing cardinals have been appointed by Pope John Paul, making it likely that any immediate successors to the papacy will have his same views.
NEW POPE
Even Vatican officials say both privately and publicly that the moment of electing a new pope seems near.
Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, the Archbishop of Vienna and reportedly often spoken of as a future pope, was the first high ranking church official to use the word "dying" in reference to the pope’s health earlier this month in an interview with Austrian radio.
"The whole world is experiencing a pope who is sick, handicapped and dying — I don’t know how close to death he is – who is approaching the last days and months of his life," he added.
