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Time for Old Cardinals?[2010-09-08][Engleză]Will Benedict XVI will create new cardinals this fall? An Italian newspaper says yes. Some of the likely new cardinals... and a question: Why not once again let old cardinals who are above age 80 vote in a papal conclave?By Robert Moynihan ===================================== More Red Hats? Will Pope Benedict XVI announce a consistory to create new cardinals on October 20, with the actual consistory held 30 days later? Yes, according to Italian journalist Marco Tosatti, writing in La Stampa of Turin on September 4, two days ago. This report of a November consistory has not been confirmed. But I do not think Tosatti, a veteran Vatican reporter and old friend, would have written his story in this way, without equivocation -- he writes that the Pope 'will announce' the consistory, not 'may announce' -- unless he was sure he had reliable curial sources to base it on. So, though it is an unconfirmed story, and could turn out to be false, I am treating it as probably true. And even if it turns out not to be true, it remains a fact that a consistory is almost certain to be held by early 2011, so it does not change things a great deal if the consistory is delayed for a few more months. So let's look more closely at Tosatti's report... ------------------------------------------------------- Pilgrimages to Rome and Russia If you would like to join us for several days in Rome during this next consistory -- now expected to be at the end of November, just before Thanksgiving -- we expect to be able to bring you inside the Vatican to places very rarely visited by ordinary tourists, to greet some of the new cardinals. We will also have pilgrimages to Rome at Easter time next spring (April 2011) and to Russia in the summer of 2011. If you would like to you any of these pilgrimages, email us at: pilgrimage@insidethevatican.com ------------------------------------------------------- Tosatti's Story Here is Tosatti's story in the original Italian (the Italian is italicized below), with my rough translation. (I include this so that those who wish to may practice their Italian! I add in numbers in front of the names of the new cardinals to help make it easier to keep track). The original story is found at this link: http://www.lastampa.it/_web/CMSTP/tmplrubriche/giornalisti/grubrica.asp?ID_blog=196&ID_articolo=931&ID_sezione=&sezione= Concistoro, a ottobre l'annuncio [Consistory, in October the announcement] Prima della fine del Sinodo sul Medio Oriente, in programma in Vaticano dal 10 al 24 ottobre, Benedetto XVI annuncerà un Concistoro per la creazione di nuovi cardinali. L'annuncio potrebbe avvenire durante l'udienza generale di mercoledì 20 ottobre; e il Concistoro, come è prassi, avrebbe luogo un mese più tardi. Dal primo gennaio 2011 il numero dei cardinali elettori scenderà a 101 (su 120 posti disponibili); quindi papa Ratzinger avrà a disposizione almeno diciannove berrette. [Before the end of the Synod on the Middle East, set to be held in the Vatican from 10 to 24 October, Benedict XVI will announce a Consistory for the creation of new cardinals. The announcement could take place during the General Audience of Wednesday, October 20; and the Consistory, as is the practice, would take place a month later. From January 1, 2011, the number of cardinal electors will fall to 101 (of 120 places available); so Pope Ratzinger will have at his disposal at least 19 'red hats'] BY MARCO TOSATTI Prima della fine del Sinodo sul Medio Oriente, in programma in Vaticano dal 10 al 24 ottobre, Benedetto XVI annuncerà un Concistoro per la creazione di nuovi cardinali. Lannuncio potrebbe avvenire durante ludienza generale di mercoledì 20 ottobre; e il Concistoro, come è prassi, avrebbe luogo un mese più tardi. Dal primo gennaio 2011 il numero dei cardinali elettori scenderà a 101 (su 120 posti disponibili); quindi papa Ratzinger avrà a disposizione almeno diciannove berrette. [These first lines of the article are simply a repetition of the subtitle, already translated above. This is common practice in some Italian papers.] Ma è probabile che lanno successivo vi sia lannuncio di un ulteriore Concistoro, anche perché i tre anni che sono trascorsi dal precedente hanno fatto sì che le aspettative siano superiori ai posti disponibili. [But it is probable that in the following year there will be the announcement of another Consistory, in part because the three years that have passed since the last (Consistory) have made the expectations (for receiving red hats) greater than the places available. (Note: Tosatti is saying that, after the November 2010 Consistory, there will be another one rather quickly, within a year, or two years, not the usual three years we have become used to. There is a slight ambiguity here in the Italian; the 'following year' should refer to the year 2012, since the year just mentioned is 2011; that would be two years from now; however, Tosatti has just mentioned October and November 2010, as the time of this upcoming Consistory when the Pope 'will have these posts available' to fill, and so the 'following year' could be already in... 2011. In any case, Tosatti is saying that this upcoming consistory will be followed quickly by a second one to accommodate of all those who are waiting patiently to receive red hats.] Riceveranno la berretta alcuni capi dicastero: [Several heads of (Roman) dicasteries will receive the red hat (note that 'riceveranno' is future tense, not conditional; Tosatti is saying these men 'will' receive the red hat, not they 'may' receive it; he is giving it out as a certainty).] Angelo Amato, Prefetto dei Santi; Raymond Leo Burke Prefetto della Segnatura Apostolica; Monsignor Kurt Koch, responsabile dei rapporti con Ortodossi, Protestanti, ed Ebrei; Gianfranco Ravasi, Presidente del Pontificio Consiglio per la Cultura; Francesco Monterisi, arciprete della Basilica di San Paolo; Paolo Sardi, patrono del Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta. [1. Angelo Amato, Prefect of the (Congregation for the Causes of) Saints; 2. Raymond Leo Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signature; 3. Monsignor Kurt Koch, responsible for the relations with the Orthodox, Protestants and Jews; 4. Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture; 5. Francesco Monterisi, Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul's (Outside the Walls); 6. Paolo Sardi, head of the Sovereign Military Order of (the Knights of) Malta.] E inoltre i titolari delle diocesi di Palermo, Paolo Romeo, e di Firenze, Giuseppe Betori. [And in addition the heads of the dioceses of Palermo, 7. Paolo Romeo, and of Florence, 8. Giuseppe Betori.] Negli Stati Uniti riceverà la berretta larcivescovo di Washington, Donald W. Wuerl. OBrien, arcivescovo di Baltimore, e Dolan, arcivescovo di New York, dovranno attendere perché le loro diocesi hanno cardinali emeriti sotto gli ottanta anni, e quindi in grado di partecipare a un eventuale Conclave. Questa regola non si applica a Firenze perché il cardinale emerito è titolare di un dicastero pontificio. [In the United States, the archbishop of Washington, 9. Donald W. Wuerl, will receive the red hat. (Edwin) O'Brien, the archbishop of Baltimore, and (Timothy) Dolan, the archbishop of New York, will have to wait because their dioceses have emeritus cardinals under 80 years of age (Edward Egan, 78, in New York and William Keeler, 79 -- he will be 80 on March 4, 2011 -- in Baltimore), and therefore able to participate in an eventual Conclave. This rule does not apply to Florence because the cardinal emeritus is the head of a pontifical dicastery. (Note: It is Vatican practice not to have two men as cardinals from the same city under age 80, so that, in the vent of a conclave, that city will not be 'over-represented.')] In America del Nord riceverà la berretta quasi certamente Thomas Christopher Collins di Toronto. In Europa al momento sono in lista Reinhard Marx (Monaco), Kazimierz Nycz (Varsavia), Braulio Rodríguez Plaza (Toledo), Vincent Nichols (Westminster), Willem Jacobus Eijk (Utrecht) e André-Joseph Léonard (Malines-Bruxelles). In Asia verranno nominati tre cardinali: Malcolm Ranjith (Colombo); Charles Maung Bo (Yangon) e Peter Takeo Okada (Tokyo). Mentre in Sud America sono certi: Nicolás Cotugno Fanizzi (Montevideo), e Orani João Tempesta (Rio de Janeiro). Un terzo cardinale dovrebbe venire dal Brasile. Tre i candidati africani: Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya (Kinshasa), Simon-Victor Tonyé Bakot (Yaoundé) and Cyprian Kizito Lwanga (Kampala). Non è ancora caduta lipotesi di attribuire rango cardinalizio al Patriarcato di Gerusalemme dei Latini, il cui titolare è attualmente lex nunzio Fouad Twal. [In North America, 10. Thomas Christopher Collins of Toronto will almost certainly receive the red hat. (Note: This is the one place in the article where Tosatti uses a qualifier 'almost certainly' -- it is hard to know how to interpret this.) In Europe at the moment are on the list 11. Reinhard Marx (Munich), 12. Kazimierz Nycz (Warsaw), 13. Braulio Rodríguez Plaza (Toledo), 14. Vincent Nichols (Westminster), 15. Willem Jacobus Eijk (Utrecht) and 16. André-Joseph Léonard (Malines-Bruxelles). In Asia three cardinals will be named: 17. Malcolm Ranjith (Colombo); 18. Charles Maung Bo (Yangon) and 19. Peter Takeo Okada (Tokyo). While in South America are certain: 20. Nicolás Cotugno Fanizzi (Montevideo), and 21. Orani João Tempesta (Rio de Janeiro). A third cardinal (from South America, #22) should (also) come from Brazil. There are three candidates from Africa: 23. Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya (Kinshasa), 24. Simon-Victor Tonyé Bakot (Yaoundé) and 25. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga (Kampala). The idea of attributing the cardinalatial rank to the Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins, whose is presently the former nuncio 26. Fouad Twal, has not yet been set aside.] And that is the end of Tosatti's article. ============================ Reflections on a Possible Consistory Of course, the fact that Pope Benedict XVI is now ready to push forward to celebrate a consistory is an important piece of news. Who he chooses as his cardinals in this next consistory is important, as they will almost certainly be present in the next conclave to elect his successor. Their views, their theological tendencies, will therefore have have a certain 'weight' in the Church, in the choice of the Church's direction in coming decades. Any discussion about cardinals in the Catholic Church must keep two points clearly in mind: (1) Who chooses: The cardinals are chosen by the Pope. The choice is at his sole discretion. Therefore, every 'rule' regarding the naming of cardinals is a 'breakable' rule. This means there can and will be always surprises, mysteries, and disappointments, both in regard to the precise number chosen, and in regard to the identity of those chosen. (2) For what main purpose: The cardinals have one supreme role to play: to elect the Successor of Peter. This means that, in choosing cardinals, a Pope takes into consideration, above all, the fact that those he names will choose his own successor. Keeping these two points in mind, every single name on Tosatti's list could, theoretically, be changed by the Pope himself during the next few weeks. Several could be dropped. And several new names could be added. And those new names could be added because Benedict, with an eye to the future, and to a conclave at some point in the next few years, wishes to leave his own special mark on the College of Cardinals. I say this because this list represents, at a number of points -- not entirely -- a curial 'wish list' with a strongly Italian flavor. Tosatti has acquiesced in the publication and circulation of this list, which he received from his curial sources. But does the list really reflect the Pope's own thinking, and his final decisions? I would be very cautious about asserting that. ================================ The 'Ceiling' of 120 Voting Cardinals As of September 6, 2010 -- today -- there are 179 cardinals in all. Of these, 74 have passed the age of 80. This leaves 105, as of today, under the age of 80, to vote in a conclave. Forty years ago, Paul VI decided to set a limit of 120 to the number of voting cardinals, following centuries when the limit was 70, or less. This limit of 120 was reaffirmed by John Paul II in 1996, and it is the rule the Vatican is operating under today. So, with 105 cardinals under age 80, there are only 15 places open for new cardinals, before the total reaches 120 again. Three or four additional spots will open up between now and the end of the year, as several cardinals turn 80, so Benedict could theoretically create 19 or 20 new cardinals in November, and still adhere to the limit of 120. But not 26! And there are 26 names on Tosatti's list -- six more than the 'rules' allow. So, either Tosattii's list is wrong by at least half a dozen names, as six of these names will have to be dropped, or... the Pope will have to make a dramatic decision: set aside the 'ceiling' of 120 voting cardinals. And this is a possibility that should not be excluded, although at his first consistory, Benedict did say that he intended to abide by the 120 limit. The first question, then, is: Will Benedict abide by the limit? If the answer is yes, some of Tosatti's names must go. If the answer is no, then the question becomes: What might the new limit be? ===================================== The Balance of the College Of the 105 voting cardinals as of today, 53 are from Europe -- slightly more than one half. But the clear tendency of recent decades is for the preponderance of the European element in the College of Cardinals to decrease -- and most particularly, for the preponderance of the Italian element to decrease. In Tosatti's list, there are six Italians (about 25% of the total he says will be named) and six Europeans, another approximately 25%, for a total of about 50%. Thus, according to this list, about half of the new cardinals will come from Europe. If this occurs, it will not be in keeping with the general trend of recent decades, which has been to internationalize the College, make it truly global, and diminish the number of European and Italian cardinals. This is an important point, both for the election of the Pope, and for the general direction of the government of the universal Church. Today, Africa has 13 cardinals (just 7% of the total), with just 9 of them (8% of the total) of voting age. North and South America have 48 cardinals (27% of the total), with 32 of them (30%) under age 80. Asia has 18 cardinals (10%), with 10 (about 10%) under age 80. Europe has 96 cardinals (54%), with 53 (50%) under age 80. Oceania has 4 cardinals (2%), with 1 (1%) under age 80. So, as one can clearly see, the cardinals from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas together form one half of the total, and the cardinals from Europe the other half. Clearly, in order to increase the number of Asian, African and American cardinals, something has to give, and that something is the number of European, and particularly Italian, cardinals. If the Pope decides to choose more cardinals from these regions, and fewer from Italy and Europe, he will certainly provoke discontent in those places in Europe, and in Italy especially, expecting to have a cardinal as a 'right.' The Pope's alternative choice, if he wishes to increase the number of cardinals from outside Europe, would be to raise the 'ceiling' for the College to a number above 120. ============================ Choosing the Pope The number of Italian cardinals was for centuries an absolute majority in the College of Cardinals, and this helps explain why all Popes for many centuries were from Italy. During the past century, the percentage of Italian cardinals has dropped from 56.25% of the College in 1903, when Pius X was elected Pope, to 54.8% in 1939, when Pius XII was elected Pope, to 35.8% in 1958, when John XXIII was elected, to 22.5% when John Paul II was elected in 1978. The percentage of Italian cardinals in the College today is about 17%. For a century, the Italian control of the Church has been steadily diminishing. Will the percentage drop further? There is, in fact, a serious ecclesial question here. What is the importance of the physical connection between the Church and Rome? Between the Church and Italy? Between the Church and Europe? Will it hurt the Church if the preponderance of cardinals and curial officials drops below a certain threshold? Will it harm the Church if the curial culture of 'Romanita' ('Roman-ness') -- which has continued to connect the Curia with the Church's Roman and Latin past despite the internationalization of the Curia -- diminishes? Or have Rome and Italy and Europe, as they have grown increasingly secular, become incapable of any longer transmitting that 'sense of the faith' which seemed in prior centuries always to remain despite all the vicissitudes of barbarian invasions, and Renaissance princedoms, down to our own time? Sursa: www.InSideTheVatican.com Contor Accesări: 1007, Ultimul acces: 2026-08-08 01:41:23
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