ABOUT THE CHURCH AND THE VATICAN

Introducing the new cardinals

Oct. 20, 2010


While John Allen's instant commentary on the new cardinals-designate yesterday did not offer any new insight or information, he did perform one excellent service which none of the Italian newspapers, not even Avvenire (much less, L'osservatore Romano), have done - which is to provide biographical sketches of the soon-to-be cardinals - 21 out of the 24, at least. (I will try to add the other 3 later, if I can put something together or find it rfeadymade form some other source.)

This is essential because, after all, every member of the College of Cardinals is eligible to be Pope. Indeed. a quick review of the biodata of those cardinals who have been widely considered 'papabile' since the post World War II period (when the 'papabile' game became an established media exercise) shows that the princes of the Church generally have a remarkably outstanding record in terms of credentials and ecclesial experience. And even if a few may have been associated with controversies or even 'scandals' in the past, apparently, their personal holiness has not been questioned.


Cardinal-designate Raymond L. Burke
Cardinal-designate Raymond L. Burke, 62, is prefect of the Vatican's highest tribunal, the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature. While the court's work is generally shrouded in secrecy, when it comes to moral and political issues -- especially abortion and same-sex marriage -- Cardinal-designate Burke is one of the most-outspoken U.S. bishops.

Before the November 2008 U.S. presidential election, he said the Democratic Party "risks transforming itself definitively into a 'party of death.'"

In 2004, he was the first U.S. bishop to say publicly that he would withhold Communion from Catholic politicians with voting records that contradicted church teaching on fundamental moral issues.

He was serving as archbishop of St. Louis when Pope Benedict XVI named him head of the Apostolic Signature in 2008.

A canon lawyer, the cardinal-designate worked for the court from 1989 to 1994 and was named a member of the body in July 2006. He also served on the Roman Rota, the church's central appeals court, before being named bishop of La Crosse, Wis., in 1994.

A native of Richland Center in the Diocese of La Crosse, Wis., he did his college and theological studies at Wisconsin's Holy Cross Seminary, The Catholic University of America in Washington and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained a priest June 29, 1975, by Pope Paul VI in St. Peter's Basilica.

He returned to Gregorian University from 1980 to 1984 to study canon law and taught there as a visiting professor of canon law from 1984 to 1994, when he was appointed bishop of La Crosse. After serving La Crosse for eight years, he was appointed archbishop of St. Louis in 2003.


Cardinal-designate Donald W. Wuerl
Cardinal-designate Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, 69, is known for his commitment to promoting Catholic religious education and Catholic schools. As head of the archdiocese that includes the U.S. capital, he also has been a leader in defending Catholic values in public life.

In November 2009, he was one of more than 140 Christian leaders who signed the "Manhattan Declaration," pledging renewed zeal in defending the unborn, defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman and protecting religious freedom.

Within the U.S. bishops' conference, he serves as chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, chairman-elect of the Committee on Doctrine and chairman of the board of the National Catholic Educational Association. He is author of the best-selling catechisms, "The Teaching of Christ" and "The Catholic Way."

Born in Pittsburgh, he holds degrees from The Catholic University of America and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a doctorate in theology from Rome's Pontifical University of St. Thomas. After studying at Rome's North American College, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1966. Named auxiliary bishop of Seattle, he was ordained a bishop by Pope John Paul II in 1986. He resigned the position in 1987 and was named bishop of Pittsburgh in 1988. He was named to Washington in 2006.


Cardinal-designate Angelo Amato
Italian Cardinal-designate Angelo Amato is the 72-year-old prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes. A Salesian, he worked closely with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. After years as a consultant to the doctrinal congregation, in 2002 he was named secretary of the office then headed by the future pope.

He was one of the principal drafters of the doctrinal congregation's 2000 statement, "Dominus Iesus," which underscored the unique and universal salvation offered by Christ through his church.

Since Pope Benedict XVI named him prefect of the saints' congregation in 2008, Cardinal-designate Amato has traveled the world presiding over beatification ceremonies.

Born in Molfetta, he was ordained a priest in 1967. He holds a licentiate in philosophy from the Pontifical Salesian University and a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

He taught dogmatic theology at the Salesian University, served as dean of the theology faculty and as vice rector of the university, 1997-2000.

He also served as secretary of the Pontifical Academy of Theology and as a consultant to the pontifical councils for Christian unity and for interreligious dialogue.


Cardinal-designate Kurt Koch
Swiss Cardinal-designate Kurt Koch, 60, has been president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and president of the Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews since July.

The former bishop of Basel, Switzerland, and former president of the Swiss bishops' conference had been a member of the pontifical council since 2002 and had served on the international Catholic-Orthodox theological commission and the international Catholic-Lutheran dialogue commission.

Born in Emmebrucke, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Basel in 1982. He studied at Lucerne University and at the University of Munich. After three years' service in a parish in Bern, he began teaching at Lucerne, eventually becoming rector of the theological faculty in 1995.

Following special traditional procedures, he was elected bishop of Basel by the priests of the cathedral chapter in August 1995, and Pope John Paul II confirmed the election four months later.

Shortly after arriving in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI asked then-Archbishop Koch to give the main talks at the annual gathering of scholars who had done their doctoral research with him when he was a professor in Germany. He gave two lectures: "The Second Vatican Council: Between Tradition and Innovation," and another on the council's document on the liturgy and the liturgical reforms it launched.


Cardinal-designate Fortunato Baldelli
Italian Cardinal-designate Fortunato Baldelli, 75, spent 43 years serving in the Vatican's diplomatic corps before Pope Benedict XVI chose him in 2009 to head the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican tribunal that deals with the most sensitive matters of conscience as well as with the practice of indulgences.

Born in Valfabbrica, he was ordained a priest in 1961 for the Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino. After earning a graduate degree in canon law, he entered the Vatican's diplomatic service in 1966, serving at Vatican embassies in Cuba and Egypt.

He worked for several years in the Vatican Secretariat of State before being named the Vatican's observer at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.

In 1983, Pope John Paul II named him an archbishop and apostolic delegate in Angola. Two years later, he was named nuncio to Sao Tome and Principe. In 1991, he was named nuncio to the Dominican Republic and, after three years, was sent to Peru as nuncio. His diplomatic postings concluded with an unusually long term as nuncio to France, 1999-2009.


Cardinal-designate Gianfranco Ravasi
Italian Cardinal-designate Gianfranco Ravasi, 68, is a biblical scholar who serves as president of the Pontifical Council for Culture and of the pontifical commissions for the Cultural Heritage of the Church and for Sacred Archeology.

Since 1988, Cardinal-designate Ravasi has been the host of a popular Sunday morning biblical reflection televised in Italy as part of the program, "Frontiers of the Spirit." Pope Benedict XVI chose the archbishop to write the meditations for his Good Friday Way of the Cross service in Rome's Colosseum in 2007.

Born in the northern Italian town of Merate, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Milan in 1966. He taught biblical exegesis at the Milan archdiocesan seminary and at another theological school in northern Italy. He served as a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission from 1985 to 1995.

In 1989, he was named prefect of Milan's Ambrosian Library, a library and museum complex originally founded in the early 1600s, which continues to house academies offering classes in a variety of classical and historical subjects.

He served as head of the library until 2007 when he was named head of the culture council.


Cardinal-designate Kazimierz Nycz
When Cardinal-designate Kazimierz Nycz was installed as archbishop of Warsaw, Poland, in 2007, he called on Catholics to give evangelical witness in an increasingly secularized world and asked the media to serve the truth and the common good.

The cardinal-designate, now 60, was named archbishop of Warsaw in March 2007, two months after Pope Benedict XVI's original choice resigned at his own installation Mass amid accusations of having collaborated with Poland's former communist regime.

Polish newspapers at the time published quotations from Cardinal-designate Nycz's secret police file saying that he repeatedly had refused to cooperate. He told Vatican Radio at the time that the biggest task facing the church in Poland was to purify itself of the past in order to devote its energies to preaching the Gospel and helping the poor.

The son of a builder, he was born close to the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz and was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Krakow in 1973 by the future Pope John Paul II. After completing his doctorate at the Catholic University of Lublin, he began working in the archdiocesan office for religious education. Pope John Paul named him an auxiliary bishop of Krakow in 1988 and appointed him bishop of Koszalin-Kolobrzeg in 2004.


Cardinal-designate Mauro Piacenza
Italian Cardinal-designate Mauro Piacenza, 66, was named prefect of the Congregation for Clergy Oct. 7. He had served as secretary of the clergy congregation since 2007.

Cardinal-designate Piacenza spent years in a variety of teaching posts, from teaching religion in Italian public high schools to teaching theology, canon law, contemporary culture and the history of atheism at both public and church-run institutes. He also served as a judge for church courts on the diocesan and regional levels and worked in communications for the Archdiocese of Genoa -- the northern port city where he was born.

He began working at the Congregation for Clergy in 1990 and was promoted to the position of undersecretary in 2000.

While maintaining his role as undersecretary, the cardinal-designate also was named president of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church in 2003 and president of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology in 2004, positions he held until 2007, the same year he was appointed secretary of the clergy congregation.

He was heavily involved with providing support for the 2009-10 Year for Priests. On the clergy congregation's website, he provided numerous reflections in an effort to help priests grow in holiness.

Cardinal-designate Piacenza was ordained a bishop in 2003 and was made an archbishop in 2007.


Cardinal-designate Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don
Sri Lankan Cardinal-designate Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don of Colombo, 62, is best known for his strong defense of tradition in the Catholic Mass during the three-and-a-half years he served as secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.

He told the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, in 2007 that Pope Benedict's decision to give Catholics greater access to the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Mass was a combination of growing requests for Mass in the old form and continued abuses of the new liturgy.

"The more this fidelity (and) a sense of the beauty and awe in the liturgy diminished, the more requests for the Tridentine Mass increased," he said in the interview.

Born in northwestern Sri Lanka, Cardinal-designate Ranjith was ordained to the priesthood in 1975. He completed his studies in theology at Rome's Pontifical Urbanian University and did postgraduate studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome.

He was named auxiliary bishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital, in 1991 and bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Ratnapura in 1995. In 2001, he returned to Rome to serve as head of the pontifical missionary societies under the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

In 2004, Pope John Paul II named him an archbishop and apostolic nuncio to Indonesia and to East Timor. He was appointed secretary of the congregation for worship in 2005 and returned to Sri Lanka as archbishop of the capital city in 2009.


Cardinal-designate Paolo Romeo
Italian Cardinal-designate Paolo Romeo, 72, was named archbishop of Palermo in 2006, ending almost 40 years of service in the Vatican diplomatic corps.

Born in the southern city of Arcireale, he was the fifth of his parents' nine children. After his high school and initial college studies at the Arcireale seminary, he was sent to study in Rome, where he earned degrees in theology and canon law.

Ordained to the priesthood in 1961, he began studies at the Vatican's diplomatic academy in 1964 and entered the diplomatic corps three years later. Over the next nine years, he worked at Vatican embassies in the Philippines, Belgium, Venezuela, Rwanda and Burundi. In 1976, he joined the staff of the Vatican Secretariat of State, working on the Latin America desk.

In late 1983, Pope John Paul II named him an archbishop and nuncio to Haiti, where Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier was still president. Duvalier ended his family's three-decade rule over the impoverished country by fleeing in 1986. The cardinal-designate's next assignments took him successively to Colombia, Canada and finally to the post of Vatican ambassador to Italy and San Marino.


Cardinal-designate Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya
Congolese Cardinal-designate Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, 71, is a biblical scholar and an activist on justice and peace issues.

He is president of the Congolese bishops' conference and co-president of Pax Christi International, the Catholic peace organization.

With the Vatican's blessing, in the 1990s he took an active role in mediating his country's political crisis and trying to guide the nation to a new democratic constitution. In 1991, he was elected president of the Sovereign National Conference; from 1992 to 1994 he served as president of the High Council of the Republic; and in1994-1995 he served as speaker of the country's transitional parliament.

Born in Mongobele, he attended the minor seminary of the Inongo Diocese before entering the major seminary at Kabwe. Sent to Rome in 1960, he studied theology at the Pontifical Urbanian University and was ordained in Rome Dec. 21, 1963. From 1964 to 1970, he studied at Rome's Pontifical Biblical Institute, earning a doctorate in biblical sciences.

He was named auxiliary bishop of Inongo in 1980, auxiliary bishop of Kisangani in 1980 and archbishop of Kisangani in 1988. Pope Benedict XVI named him archbishop of Kinshasa in 2007.


Cardinal-designate Paolo Sardi
Italian Cardinal-designate Paolo Sardi, 76, is the pro-patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a position that involves promoting the spiritual interests of the Knights of Malta and their relationship with the Vatican. He also has served since 2004 as vice chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, a position which involves special duties when a pope dies.

The Knights of Malta were founded in Jerusalem at the end of the 11th century to run a hospice for pilgrims but gradually took on military responsibilities to defend pilgrims and Christian lands from Muslim attacks. Today, the knights are dedicated solely to promoting the holiness of their members, supporting efforts to promote the faith and charitable work, especially in health care.

Cardinal-designate Sardi was born in Ricaldone in northern Italy and was ordained to the priesthood in 1958. After earning a licentiate in theology, he earned a degree in canon law and jurisprudence from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan.

He taught moral theology in Turin until 1976, when he was called to the Vatican to work in the Secretariat of State. In 1996, Pope John Paul II named him an archbishop and an apostolic nuncio with special responsibilities in the Vatican Secretariat of State. Pope John Paul personally ordained him to the episcopacy Jan. 6, 1997. In the secretariat he coordinated the office that edited the pope's texts and speeches.


Cardinal-designate Reinhard Marx
German Cardinal-designate Reinhard Marx, 57, archbishop of Munich and Freising, is the youngest of the new cardinals named by Pope Benedict XVI. A specialist in the social teaching of the Catholic Church, he had a German best-seller on his hands in 2008-09 when he borrowed from the more famous Marx -- Karl Marx -- the title for his Catholic reflection on ethics and economics.

Cardinal-designate Marx's book was called "Das Kapital" ("Capital") just like the other Marx's book was, but the archbishop added the subtitle, "A Plea For the People." The main thesis of the book was that without controls and limits dictated by ethical values, capitalism really is inhuman and anti-Christian.

Born Sept. 21, 1953, in Geseke, he prepared for the priesthood in Paderborn and also studied at the Institut Catholique in Paris. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1979 and ministered first in a parish and then as chaplain at a school. In 1986, he began studying again and in 1989 earned a doctorate in theology from the University of Bochum.

He was serving as a professor of Catholic social doctrine in 1996 when he was named an auxiliary bishop of Paderborn. In 2001, he was named bishop of Trier. Then-Bishop Marx suspended a Trier diocesan priest in 2003 after the priest invited non-Catholics to receive the Eucharist at a Mass he was celebrating. Three years later, the bishop also withdrew the priest's permission to teach Catholic theology after the priest refused to acknowledge and accept the church's position on sharing Communion with other Christians.

In 2007, Pope Benedict named then-Bishop Marx archbishop of Munich and Freising.


Cardinal-designate Elio Sgreccia
Cardinal-designate Elio Sgreccia, 82, an Italian bishop, is a bioethics expert who served as president of the Pontifical Academy for Life from 2005 to 2008. During that time he articulated, with Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican position on many thorny issues such as embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia, the definition of brain death, abortion, in vitro fertilization.

Elio Sgreccia was born in Arcevia, Italy. He was ordained June 29, 1952, and served as rector of the local seminary. Pope John Paul II consecrated him a bishop Jan. 6, 1993.

Cardinal-designate Sgreccia served as secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family before Pope John Paul named him as head of the academy for life Jan. 3, 2005. John Paul died just three months later; the cardinal-designate led the academy under Pope Benedict until he retired in 2008.

He has written numerous books on various aspects of bioethical questions. He serves as president of the International Federation of Bioethics Centers and Institutes of Personalist Inspiration, which puts the value of the person at the center of every phase of life, from birth to death.


Cardinal-designate Medardo Mazombwe
Cardinal-designate Medardo Mazombwe, 79, is the retired archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia. He is well known for his attention to the heavy debt burdens of developing countries and working to persuade wealthier nations to forgive those debts.

He was born in Chundamira, Zambia. He was ordained in 1960 and in 1971 was consecrated a bishop by Pope Paul VI.

In 1996, Pope John Paul II made him archbishop of Lusaka, the capital, where he served for 10 years before retiring.

He was president of the Zambian bishops' conference for three separate terms: 1972-1975, 1988-1990 and 1999-2002. Cardinal-designate Mazombwe also served as president of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, 1979-1986.

In his efforts to allow developing countries a chance to improve their economic situations, Cardinal-designate Mazombwe participated in a church delegation that lobbied Britain in 2005 to bring to the table of a Group of Eight meeting the issues of trade justice, improved aid packages to poor countries and cancellation of the debts of the world's 27 poorest countries.

He also spoke out against the problem of political corruption in many of those countries.


Cardinal-designate Antonios Naguib
Egyptian Cardinal-designate Antonios Naguib, 75, is the Coptic Catholic patriarch of Alexandria and leader of a church that has about 163,000 members, mainly in Egypt. The patriarch was at the Vatican when Pope Benedict XVI announced he would be a cardinal because he was serving as the recording secretary of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East.

Born in Samalout, Egypt, he studied at the Maadi seminary outside Cairo as well as at the Pontifical Urbanian University in Rome. Ordained to the priesthood in 1960, he served as a parish priest in Fikriyah, Egypt, for a year before returning to Rome to complete degrees in theology and in Scripture.

He taught sacred Scripture at the Maadi seminary for 13 years and was elected bishop of Minya, Egypt, in 1977. He retired in 2002 and, according to the biography the Vatican press office released Oct. 20, he had "a period of rest" until he was elected patriarch of the Coptic Catholic Church in 2006. He currently serves as president of the assembly of the Catholic hierarchy of Egypt.


Cardinal-designate Robert Sarah
Cardinal-designate Robert Sarah, 65, retired archbishop of Conakry, Guinea, has been a member of the Roman Curia for several years, most of them as a leader in evangelization. Born in Ourous, Guinea, he was educated in seminaries in Guinea, France and Senegal. He earned a degree in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and another in Scripture from the Franciscan biblical institute in Jerusalem.

He was ordained in 1969, after which he served as rector of the minor seminary of Kindia in his home country and was pastor at several local parishes. He was consecrated a bishop at the age of 34 and was at the time the youngest bishop in the world.

In 2001, he was named secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the church's missionary agency, by Pope John Paul II. He was appointed president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Vatican's charity office, Oct. 7. The office coordinates Catholic charitable giving, distributes funds in the name of the pope and identifies Catholic projects that need special help.


Cardinal-designate Jose Estepa Llaurens
Spanish Cardinal-designate Jose Estepa Llaurens, 84, is the retired military ordinary of Spain and was one of the bishops who worked with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in editing the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Over the years, he also served as a consultant, and later member, of the Congregation for Clergy and as a member of the council of military ordinaries under the Congregation for Bishops.

Born in Andujar, he studied in Salamanca, Rome and Paris and was ordained to the priesthood in 1954. In 1972, Pope Paul VI named him an auxiliary bishop of Madrid, where he served for 11 years as rector of the archdiocesan seminary.

In 1983, he was named an archbishop and head of the military ordinariate for Spain. He retired in 2003 but continues to serve as a chaplain to retired Spanish veterans and is the grand prior of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem in western Spain.


Cardinal-designate Raymundo Damasceno Assis
Brazilian Cardinal-designate Raymundo Damasceno Assis, 73, is the archbishop of Aparecida and president of the Latin American bishops' council, or CELAM.

Born in Capela Nova, he studied at the archdiocesan seminary in Mariana before going to Rome to study theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. He did further studies in catechesis at the catechetical institute in Munich and in the philosophy of science at the University of Brasilia.

Ordained to the priesthood in 1968 and incardinated in the Archdiocese of Brasilia, he taught at the major seminary and at the University of Brasilia. He worked in parishes and served as vicar general of the archdiocese.

In 1986, Pope John Paul II named him an auxiliary bishop of Brasilia. He served as general secretary of the Latin American bishops' council, 1991-95, and as secretary-general of the Brazilian bishops' conference, 1995-98 and 1999-2003.

Pope John Paul named him archbishop of Aparecida in 2004. Within the Brazilian bishops' conference, he serves as president of the economic council and president of the commission for evangelization.


Cardinal-designate Walter Brandmuller
German Cardinal-designate Walter Brandmuller, 81, is the retired president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences. He is the author or co-author of several books dealing with church history and, particularly, books that try to place some of the darker moments of church history in perspective. For example, his book, "Light and Shadows: Church History Amid Faith, Fact and Legend," published in English in 2009, tackled topics such as the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Reformation and the Renaissance popes. He co-authored the German book, "The Fall of Galileo and Other Errors: Power, Faith and Science."

Born in Ansbach, he was ordained in 1953 for the Archdiocese of Bamberg. He earned a doctorate in theology in 1963 and completed a post-doctoral specialization in the history of the church in 1967 at Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich. He taught there for two years before becoming a professor of church history at an institute for theological and philosophical studies in Dillingen. From 1971 to 1997, he taught medieval and modern church history at the University of Augsburg. For most of that period, he also served as pastor of a parish in Walleshausen.

From 1998 to 2009, he served as president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences. He also is one of the world's experts on the history of the church councils and was one of the founders and director of an annual journal of historical articles on the councils.


Cardinal-designate Raul Vela Chiriboga
Cardinal-designate Raul Vela Chiriboga, 76, retired archbishop of Quito, Ecuador, headed the country's military diocese for 14 years.

He was born in Riobamba, Ecuador, and attended the local Salesian high school before studying philosophy and theology at San Jose major seminary in Quito.

He was ordained in 1957 and named auxiliary bishop of Guayaquil in 1972. That same year he was consecrated bishop and, from 1972 to 1975, he served as secretary-general of the Ecuadorean bishops' conference.

In 1975, he was transferred to serve as bishop of Azogues, and in 1989, he was named to head the military ordinariate of Ecuador. While serving in that capacity, he also worked with the bishops' economic affairs council, 1996-1999.

Pope John Paul II named him archbishop of Quito in 2003, a post he held until September.



I wish photographs had also been provided, though it may take some time and effort to do that. Meanwhile, I will also come back to rearrange these biodatas alphabetically, as they are presented in random order.

P.S. Re photos of the cardinals-designate, Catholic Press Photo has thumbnail photos of 16 out of the 23., so that's a good part of the work done!