Pope's New Cardinals: Still Old & European

But elevation of Houston archbishop reflects Southern shift
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 18, 2007 9:53 AM CDT
Pope's New Cardinals: Still Old & European
Pope Benedict XVI gestures during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's square at the Vatican Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007, while reading the list of the new cardinals the pontiff will elevate in a solemn ceremony next Nov. 24. The pope named 23 new cardinals, tapping the Chaldean patriarch of Baghdad,...   (Associated Press)

Pope Benedict XVI has named a new batch of cardinals, generally preserving the "princes of the church" posts for aging Europeans, reports Time magazine. There is, however, a new cardinal in Baghdad. And in recognition of the southward and Spanish-language shift of Catholicism in the United States, the pope has made the archbishop of Galveston-Houston a cardinal.

Despite talk about the global transformation of the religion, most of the cardinals remain European, specifically Italian, which Vatican watchers say reflects a power consolidation by the pope's top deputy. One of the Italians just elevated to cardinal, the archbishop of Genoa, has been protected by armed guards since his comments earlier this year comparing homosexuality to incest and pedophilia. (More Pope Benedict XVI stories.)

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