c. 1998 Religion News Service
VATICAN CITY _ In a move sure to cement his conservative influence within the Roman Catholic Church well into the next century, Pope John Paul II has appointed 22 new cardinals, including the archbishop of Chicago and the former archbishop of Denver.
The new appointments from 13 countries, which the pope announced on Sunday (Jan. 18), will bring to 123 the number of cardinals under the age of 80 who are eligible under church law to vote in the next papal election, or conclave.
The pontiff withheld the names of two of the 22 cardinals, apparently for their own security. Speculation rests on bishops from China and Vietnam, both countries hostile to the church.
Among the Americans, the pope elevated Francis Eugene George, 60, of Chicago, who became archbishop of the country’s second largest diocese last year, after the death in November 1996 of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. Chicago has historically been represented by a cardinal.
James Francis Stafford, 65, the former archbishop of Denver who in 1996 became head of the Vatican’s council on the laity, was also appointed cardinal.
The ceremony to install the new cardinals, called a consistory, is scheduled for Feb. 21. It will mark the pope’s seventh such occasion in 19 years. In his most recent consistory, in November 1994, the pope elevated 30 cardinals, the largest single group.
Among the newest faces in the college of cardinals will be four Latin Americans; three North Americans; 10 Europeans, including seven Italians; two Africans; and one Asian from Taiwan. Most of the appointees are in their 60s or 70s.
In an unexpected move, the pope named as cardinal Archbishop Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, who at 53 was the youngest churchman selected. Schonborn, a theologian who was involved in writing the church’s revised Catechism, is credited with quelling the uproar following the resignation in 1995 of Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, accused of sexually abusing a boy 20 years earlier.
German officials say they were surprised by the pope’s decision to pass over German Archbishop Karl Lehmann, president of the German Bishop’s Conference. Lehmann is considered one of church’s brightest stars. But Vatican relations with Germany’s prelates have become increasingly strained, as the Germans have sought to ease the church’s rigid orthodoxy.
The pope also named fellow Polish prelate Archbishop Adam Kozlowiecki, a missionary in Zambia who was imprisoned for five years at the Dachau concentration camp during World War II. At 80, Kozlowiecki is too old to vote in an upcoming conclave.
Archbishop Giovanni Cheli, a Vatican official and former diplomat who was also named cardinal, turns 80 in October.
Upon announcing the appointments, the pope reiterated a comment he made with the 1994 selection.”The array of new cardinals, coming from various parts of the world, reflects in an eloquent way the universality of the church,”he said after his Sunday blessing from his apartment window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
But the appointments also reflect the pope’s conservative views and his intent to put his house in order before the end of his pontificate.
A top contender to become the next pope among the new recruits is Archbishop Dionigi Tettamanzi of Genoa, Italy. He is vice president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference and a respected moralist in the church, as well as a close friend of the pope.
In addition to the seven Italians and two Americans, the pope named one person each from the following countries: Canada, Austria, France, Spain, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Tanzania, Zambia and Taiwan.
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