Update 2-Pope Names New Cardinals Who'll Choose Successor

By Philip Pullella
Chicago Tribune
January 6, 2012

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-pope-cardinals-tv-pix-update-2l6e8c619m-20120106,0,75749.story

VATICAN CITY, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, putting

his stamp on the future of Roman Catholicism, named 22 new

cardinals on Friday, the red-hatted "princes of the Church" who

are his closest aides and will one day choose his successor.

One of the most prominent on the list is Timothy Dolan, the

archbishop of New York. Others are from Italy, Portugal, Spain,

Brazil, India, Canada, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands,

Germany, China, Romania, Belgium, and Malta.

They include the archbishops of Toronto, Prague, Utrecht,

Florence, Berlin and Hong Kong. The head of the Siro-Malabar

Catholic rite in India was also elevated to cardinal.

Another new American cardinal is Edwin O'Brien, head of the

Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, a group

that is a major funder of the church in the Holy Land.

Eighteen of the new cardinals are under 80, meaning they

will be eligible to enter a secret conclave to elect a new pope

from among their ranks after Benedict dies. The other four are

over 80.

Speaking to pilgrims and tourists in St Peter's Square, the

pope said he hoped the new cardinals would always be able to

show their love for the Church with courage and dedication.

With the new appointments, Benedict, who was elected in a

secret conclave in 2005, has now named more than half the

"cardinal electors" who will be able some day to choose a new

leader of the world's some 1.3 billion Roman Catholics.

Seven of the 22 named on Friday were Italian -- six of them

members of the Vatican's central administration and the other

the archbishop of Florence.

The ceremony to install them, known as a consistory, will be

held on Feb 18. It will be Benedict's fourth.