Pope Francis, with retired Pope Benedict present, creates new cardinals

cns ^ | February 23, 2014 | Cindy Wooden

[NYer]

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- On a feast day commemorating the authority Jesus gave to St. Peter and his successors -- the popes -- Pope Francis created 19 new cardinals in the presence of retired Pope Benedict XVI.

To the great surprise of most people present, the retired pope entered St. Peter's Basilica about 15 minutes before the new cardinals and Pope Francis. Wearing a long white coat and using a cane, he took a seat in the front row next to Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI greets Pope Francis at the conclusion of a consistory at which Pope Francis created 19 new cardinals Feb. 22. (CNS/Paul Haring)

Pope Benedict's presence at the consistory Feb. 22, the feast of the Chair of Peter, marked the first time he had joined Pope Francis for a public prayer service in the basilica. Pope Benedict resigned Feb. 28, 2013, becoming the first pope in almost 600 years to do so.

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, said all the already existing cardinals went over to greet Pope Benedict. "The ushers kept saying, 'Please, your eminences, take your seats, the Holy Father is coming,' and we thought, 'But, but ....'"

Before beginning the service, Pope Francis walked over to Pope Benedict, who removed his zucchetto to greet Pope Francis. The scene was repeated at the end of the consistory.

The new cardinals, including Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec and Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England, publicly recited the Creed and swore obedience to the pope and his successors before receiving from Pope Francis a red hat, a ring and the assignment of a "titular church" in Rome, becoming part of the clergy of the pope's diocese.

After they received their red hats, each of the new cardinals walked over to Pope Benedict and greeted him.

Cardinal Lacroix, accompanied by his mother and father at an afternoon reception, said Pope Benedict's presence "surprised me so much that I broke down in tears."

When he went to greet the retired pope, he said he told him, "Holy Father, you are the one who called me to be a bishop."

Only 18 of the archbishops Pope Francis had chosen to be among the first cardinals created during his pontificate were present.

The oldest of the new cardinals -- and now the oldest cardinal in the world -- Cardinal Loris Capovilla, 98, was not present at the ceremony although he became a cardinal the moment Pope Francis pronounced his name. A papal delegate will deliver his red hat to his home in northern Italy.

In his homily Pope Francis did not mention the standard point that the cardinals' new red vestments are symbols of the call to serve Christ and his church to the point of shedding their blood if necessary. Rather, he focused on their being called to follow Christ more closely, to build up the unity of the church and to proclaim the Gospel more courageously.



The Bible, he said, is filled with stories of Jesus walking with his disciples and teaching them as they traveled.

"This is important," the pope said. "Jesus did not come to teach a philosophy, an ideology, but rather a 'way,' a journey to be undertaken with him, and we learn the way as we go, by walking."

After listening to a reading of Mark 10:32-45, Pope Francis also spoke about the very human, worldly temptation of "rivalry, jealousy (and) factions" the first disciples faced.

The reading is a warning to the cardinals and to all Christians to put aside concerns of power and favoritism and "to become ever more of one heart and soul" gathered around the Lord, he said.

Pope Francis told the new cardinals, who come from 15 different countries -- including very poor nations like Haiti and Ivory Coast -- that the church "needs you, your cooperation and, even more, your communion, communion with me and among yourselves."

"The church needs your courage," he said, "to proclaim the Gospel at all times" and "to bear witness to the truth."

The pope also told the cardinals that the church needs their "compassion, especially at this time of pain and suffering for so many countries throughout the world," and for so many Christians who face discrimination and persecution. "We must struggle against all discrimination," he said.

"The church needs us also to be peacemakers, building peace by our actions, hopes and prayers," he said.

The consistory brought to 218 the total number of cardinals in the world; 122 cardinals are under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave.

The 18 cardinals who received their red hats from the pope were Cardinals:

-- Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, Italian, 59.

-- Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod of Bishops, Italian, 73.

-- Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, German, 66.

-- Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, Italian, 72.

-- Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster, England, 68.

-- Leopoldo Brenes Solorzano of Managua, Nicaragua, 64.

-- Gerald Lacroix of Quebec, 56.

-- Jean-Pierre Kutwa of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 68.

-- Orani Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 63.

-- Gualtiero Bassetti of Perguia-Citta della Pieve, Italy, 71.

-- Mario Poli of Buenos Aires, Argentina, 66.

-- Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul, South Korea, 70.

-- Ricardo Ezzati Andrello of Santiago, Chile, 72.

-- Philippe Ouedraogo of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 69.

-- Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato, Philippines, 74.

-- Chibly Langlois of Les Cayes, Haiti, 55.

-- Fernando Sebastian Aguilar, retired archbishop of Pamplona, Spain, 84.

-- Kelvin Felix, retired archbishop of Castries, St. Lucia, Antilles, 81.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Church offices are different than church employees.

Are you admitting that Archbishops are not Biblical Church offices ordained by God and have no authority over actual office holders?

[NYer]

I am in Rome and was in St Peters square. Huge applause for Pope Benedict. I hope to be inside for Mass of the Rings in the morning.

How fortunate! Please post a follow up tomorrow after the con-celebratory mass.

[ebb tide]

So is Kasper.

[Salvation]

LOL! Some people just get offended at the slightest thing, don’t they?

[Mrs. Don-o]

Actually, here is the list of heirarchical offices specified in the NT:

• deacons
• priests
• bishops
• popes.

Not always called by those names. Sure, there's diakonoi, presbyteroi, episcopoi, and then there's whoer exercises Peter's ministry, or, you could say, the Ministry of the Keys.

Cardinals are not among those Biblical essentials. You could have church without Cardinals. They are essentially bishops who hold titular churches in Rome, so they can participate in papal elections. Similar to the Pope, who is essentially the Bishop of Rome.

But actually, popes could be chosen by drawing straws or throwing dice, i.e. casting lots.

Now there's an interesting thing: that is a solidly Biblical way to make a decision, and my church doesn't do it! Does yours?

[ebb tide]

Is that right? Where did you hear that?

Pope Emeritus's Unexpected Homily on Humility

[Mrs. Don-o]

And look at how God's people used casting lots!

Choosing King Saul: See 1 Sam. 10:20-24. (And although less obvious, see also 1 Sam. 16:7-12 about David).

Making Difficult Decision: "Casting lots causes contentions to cease, and keeps the mighty apart." Prov. 18:18

Priest’s Order of Service: "Thus they were divided by lot, one group as another, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of the house of God..." 1 Chron. 24:5-19. Thus priestly families who lived in the Galilee did not have to argue about who would have to travel to Jerusalem in the cold of winter or in the heat of summer. And 1,000 years later, the priests were still casting lots, for...

Zacharias in the Temple: "according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord." Luke 1:9

Making Governmental Decisions: After the rebuilding of the wall, to repopulate their capital city, the Israelites “cast lots to bring one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem…” Neh. 11:1

To Establish Apostolic Succession: "And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles." Acts 1:26. This is how God's chosen leadership group was provided with successors. A key moment in the history of the Catholic Church: apostolic succession.

And on and on. Lots of Biblical examples. But most churches don't cast lots these days.

And some don't even have Apostolic Succession.

THe ones that do, though, have an unbroken link of authority going back to the NT, and conveyed by another Biblical action: the laying of hands.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Writing about AD 94, Clement of Rome states that the apostles appointed successors to continue their work where they had planted churches and for these in their turn to do the same because they foresaw the risk of discord. He uses both ‘bishop’ and ‘presbyter’ to refer to these men. He supports an approved continuation of the apostolic ministry which in its turn was derived from Christ. And Clement wrote this before the death of the last Apostle.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“Actually, here is the list of heirarchical offices specified in the NT:

deacons
priests
bishops
popes.

Deacons and Elders are Biblical offices. No bishops (same as elders) or priests (all Christians are a priesthood). To this, you could add Apostles, who were the foundation of the Church.

“Cardinals are not among those Biblical essentials.”

It’s what I said. I agree.

“But actually, popes could be chosen by drawing straws or throwing dice, i.e. casting lots.”

Since it isn’t a Biblical office, no need to choose them.

“Now there’s an interesting thing: that is a solidly Biblical way to make a decision, and my church doesn’t do it! Does yours? “

As it turns out, we do not recognize the office of Pope. I do know that the Amish have a similar process... They line up ever qualified male, put an equal number of hymnals at the front of the church, one has a bible verse inside on a piece of paper, and each male goes to the front and chooses one hymnal. Whoever gets the hymnal with the verse is pastor for life! It is a huge commitment to fulfill and is in addition to earning a living the regular way on the farm. I’ve heard from a former Amish man that families cry when their man is selected...

[aMorePerfectUnion]

It is natural that the Apostles should choose successors to continue on when a vacuum was created... but the successors were not in any way (in Scripture) identified as Apostles. They were successors.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“THe ones that do, though, have an unbroken link of authority going back to the NT, and conveyed by another Biblical action: the laying of hands. “

Actually, a close read of history reveals that this is a great story - clean and accepted by the masses, but not true.

[Mrs. Don-o]

"I can name many Christians whom I know personally that know more than your pope about the scriptures..."

OOH! A contest I love contests!

We could do it like Double Jeopardy:

Rev. Dr. X: "I'll take dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism for $1,000."

Pope BXVI: "(heh heh) I'll take Power of the Keys for $2000, Alex!"

[Mrs. Don-o]

That’s casting lots. I am glad to hear that they do it. Sincerely.

[vox_freedom]

A favorite picture of this wonderful Holy Father.

[vox_freedom]

Excellent retort, Mrs. Don-O
Made LOL.

[Mrs. Don-o]

"It is natural that the Apostles should choose successors to continue on when a vacuum was created... but the successors were not in any way (in Scripture) identified as Apostles. They were successors."

Right!! And that's actually the Catholic history. We don't call these men "Apostles," we call them "successors of the apostles." With the Biblical title "episcopoi," Bishops. Or you could all them overseers or supervisors, same thing.

What they're called and the exact scope of their authority and their relations with each other, is (in some ways) changeable because the needs of the Church are (in some ways) changeable. The Bishops are there to serve, period. To be shepherds, as Jesus appointed Peter the Shepherd who feeds both the lambs and the sheep--- and who strengthens his brethren.

What's important is just what you said: that it's natural for the Apostles' Church to develop more administrative structure for teaching, governing, and sanctifying, growing from the embryonic organization you can already seen developing in the Acts and in the Epistles.

[vox_freedom]

Me too!

[RedMDer]

Nice!

[onyx]

A huge Amen to that. He is the greatest living Catholic theologian.

You're right.

I'm trying to acquire all of his books....

God bless him.

[onyx]

Ah yes, thanks so much, dearesr vox_freedom.

I have a lovely photo of him right at eye level next to my computer, which always reminds me to pray.