Posted on 11/24/2012 6:10:45 AM PST by NYer
Vatican City, (VIS) - In St. Peter's Basilica at 11 a.m. today, Benedict XVI celebrated an ordinary public consistory for the creation of six new cardinals: James Michael Harvey, Bechara Boutros Rai O.M.M., Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, Ruben Salazar Gomez and Luis Antonio G. Tagle. Following the new appointments the College of Cardinals will be composed of 211 members of whom 120, being under the age of eighty, are eligible to vote in a conclave for the election of a new Pope.
After the opening prayer and the proclamation of the Gospel, the Holy Father pronounced his homily, following which he solemnly pronounced the the formula of creation of the new cardinals, their names and the diaconate or presbyteral order to which they have been assigned. The new cardinals then recited the Creed and swore their faithfulness and obedience to the Pope and his successors.
Each new cardinal then knelt before the Pope to received his biretta. The Pope said "you must be ready to conduct yourselves with fortitude, even to the shedding of your blood, for the increase of the Christian faith, for the peace and well-being of the people of God". He then also consigned to them a ring, saying, "Know that with the love of the Prince of the Apostles your love for the Church is reinforced", and he assigned to each one a titular or diaconate church in Rome as a sign of their participation in the Holy Father's pastoral care of Rome. The Pope then handed over the Bull of Creation as cardinal, assigned the title or diaconate and exchanged an embrace of peace with the new members of the College of Cardinals. The cardinals also exchanged such a sign among themselves. The rite concluded with the Prayer of the Faithful, the recitation of the Our Father and the final blessing.
Extracts from Benedict XVI's homily are given below:
"'I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church'. … These words, which the new Cardinals are soon to proclaim in the course of their solemn profession of faith, come from the Niceno-Constantinopolitan creed, the synthesis of the Church’s faith that each of us receives at baptism. Only by professing and preserving this rule of truth intact can we be authentic disciples of the Lord. In this consistory, I would like to reflect in particular on the meaning of the word 'catholic', a word which indicates an essential feature of the Church and her mission. … What makes the Church catholic is the fact that Christ in His saving mission embraces all humanity. While during His earthly life Jesus’ mission was limited to the Jewish people, 'to the lost sheep of the house of Israel' from the beginning it was meant to bring the light of the Gospel to all peoples and lead all nations into the kingdom of God".
"This universalist perspective can be seen, among other things, from the way Jesus applied to Himself not only the title 'Son of David', but also 'Son of Man'. … Jesus takes up this rich and complex expression and refers it to Himself in order to manifest the true character of His Messianism: a mission directed to the whole man and to every man, transcending all ethnic, national and religious particularities. And it is actually by following Jesus, by allowing oneself to be drawn into His humanity and hence into communion with God, that one enters this new kingdom proclaimed and anticipated by the Church, a kingdom that conquers fragmentation and dispersal.
"Jesus sends His Church not to a single group, then, but to the whole human race, and thus He unites it, in faith, in one people, in order to save it. … This universal character emerges clearly on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fills the first Christian community with His presence, so that the Gospel may spread to all nations, causing the one People of God to grow in all peoples. … From that day, in the 'power of the Holy Spirit', according to Jesus’ promise, the Church proclaims the dead and risen Lord 'in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth'. The Church’s universal mission does not arise from below, but descends from above, from the Holy Spirit: from the beginning it seeks to express itself in every culture so as to form the one People of God. Rather than beginning as a local community that slowly grows and spreads outwards, it is directed towards a universal horizon, towards the whole: universality is inscribed within it.
"'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation'; 'make disciples of all nations'. With these words, Jesus sends the Apostles to all creation, so that God’s saving action may reach everywhere ... and giving them both a promise and a task: He promises that they will be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and He confers upon them the task of bearing witness to Him all over the world, transcending the cultural and religious confines within which they were accustomed to think and live, so as to open themselves to the universal Kingdom of God. At the beginning of the Church’s journey, the Apostles and disciples set off without any human security, purely in the strength of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel and the faith. This is the yeast that spreads round the world, enters into different events and into a wide range of cultural and social contexts, while remaining a single Church. Around the Apostles, Christian communities spring up, but these are 'the' Church which is always the same, one and universal, whether in Jerusalem, Antioch, or Rome".
"Situated within the context and the perspective of the Church’s unity and universality is the College of Cardinals: it presents a variety of faces, because it expresses the face of the universal Church. In this Consistory, I want to highlight in particular the fact that the Church is the Church of all peoples, and so she speaks in the various cultures of the different continents. She is the Church of Pentecost: amid the polyphony of the various voices, she raises a single harmonious song to the living God".
New Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai of Lebanon, Patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church
New Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Philippines, who became physically emotional after the pope's embrace.
New Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Nigeria
The Gospel reading was Mark 10:32-45
If you missed this morning's live telecast, it will be repeated today at noon, on EWTN.
Vatican City, (VIS) - Given below are the names of the six new cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI in this morning's consistory, and the titular or diaconate churches assigned to each:
- Cardinal James Michael Harvey, diaconate of San Pio V a Villa Carpegna.
- Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai O.M.M.
- Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, title of San Gregorio VII.
- Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, title of San Saturnino.
- Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez, title of San Gerardo Maiella.
- Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, title of San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle.
The Pope made two huge mistakes in recent years: Dolan and Wuerl.
I don’t think Dolan was a mistake at all — he is a fighter — and that’s what the U. S. needs right now.
Salvation is right. The College of Cardinals is comprised of a diverse body committed to safeguard the universal church. With this consistory, the global dynamics is broadened to encompass every corner of the globe. Since society is not static, many of these cardinals are daily faced with shifting attitudes, contrary to church teaching. Their mettle is suddenly put to the test. Still other cardinals, work in various vatican offices where they are challenged to ensure support for those in the field.
While you may not be in total agreement with Dolan or Wuerl, we trust the insight of our Holy Father. In choosing cardinals, he bases his decision on a multitude of factors, not personality or popularity. For that matter, what do we know about the cardinals from other parts of the globe.
According to George Weigel's interview at World News, the pope's reasons for this consistory are:
In any case, the choice of non-Europeans to high office in the Vatican is a way for the Holy See to shift the balance of power towards other continents and prove the “universality of the church.”"There was considerable criticism of the last group of cardinals being too European, too Italianate, and too Curial. I think it's fair to read this group as a response to that criticism," Weigel said.
Here is the breakdown of cardinals by country.
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Over the years I have learned to respect your opinions, so I ask, why was Card. Dolan a mistake?
For those who missed it, here is the video: Benedict XVI bestows ring and red crest upon six new cardinals. If for no other reason, watch this video to see the emotional response by the new cardinal from the Phillipines.
He refuses to obey Canon 915.
As head of the USCCB, he still supports Obamacare—and what kind of “healthcare” do the bishops expect to get from the most pro-abortion, pro-death administration in history? Rick Santorum and countless others warned the bishops that something like the HHS Mandate would be imposed under Obamacare.
The Al Smith Dinner was typical of Dolan’s infatuation with power and celebrity. He rationalizes it as a desire for “civility.”
I agree with you.
Wuerl was early on, before BXVI was thinking strategically.
Dolan is not a mistake. He’s a lousy liturgist (so was O’Connor) and made a mistake (in my opinion) in inviting Obama to the dinner. Neither candidate should have been invited, frankly, because Romney was not particularly anti-abortion during his governorship, either, and was very statist in his “Romneycare” program.
However, NY Catholics (at least those that I know) like him a lot better than Egan, and whenever he has called for some resistance to the government, Catholics have supported him. He just needs to do it more often and more aggressively.
Pope Benedict XVI appoints six non-European cardinals - November 24, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI has appointed six priests from non-European countries to be cardinals, at a service in the Vatican's St Peter's Basilica. The cardinals, the closest aides of the Pope, come from the Philippines, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Colombia and the US. Analysts say it is unusual for the Pope to select only non-Europeans. The Pope told the congregation that the Catholic Church belongs to the whole human race, not just one group, and was a church for all peoples.All six new cardinals are younger than 80 and therefore will likely be eligible to vote for a new Pope when the current pontiff dies. Three are from countries with large Muslim populations - India, Lebanon and Nigeria.
Cardinal-designate John Onaiyekan is the archbishop of Abuja in Nigeria, where Christians and Muslims each make up about half the population, and dialogue between the two faiths is increasingly important, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome. He says the Pope's elevation of Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al Rahi, the head of the Maronite Church - an ancient Lebanese Christian Church in communion with Rome - is seen as a sign of Vatican support for religious diversity in Lebanon.
Before Saturday's ceremony, Pope Benedict met Lebanese President Michel Sleiman. A representative of the Shia militant group Hezbollah, which is part of the Lebanese government, was also attending Saturday's ceremony.
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