From 'The Australian' to God's ears, I pray!
I couldn't think of a more appropriate Benedict XVI loyalist
to head the Congregation of Bishops!
All roads lead to Vatican
for Cardinal Pell
by James Madden
October 28, 2009
CATHOLIC circles in Rome and Australia are abuzz with speculation that Pope Benedict XVI will shortly appoint Australia's Cardinal George Pell to a prestigious job in the top echelons of the Roman Curia.
Cardinal Pell's experience as Archbishop of Sydney and Melbourne, and his service on a range of Vatican organisations, is seen as an ideal background to take on a senior Vatican job.
Cardinal Pell, who was ordained in 1966, served as a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith when Cardinal Ratzinger was in charge.
He is also a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and president of the Vox Clara Committee, which advises the Vatican on English translations of liturgical texts used at Mass.
One possible senior job becoming vacant in Rome is the powerful position of Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, which helps advise the Pope on the appointment of new bishops across the world.
Its Prefect, Cardinal Battista Re, who has held the job since 2000, reached the retirement age of 75 this year.
Priests in Australia believe the frontrunners for the role of Archbishop of Sydney in the event of his promotion to Rome, would be Canberra's Archbishop Mark Coleridge, 61, or Cardinal Pell's auxiliary bishop, Anthony Fisher, a Dominican priest who at 49 is the youngest bishop in the country.
Both are highly qualified scholars. Bishop Fisher, who was in charge of overseeing World Youth Day, has a doctorate in bioethics from Oxford and Archbishop Coleridge holds a doctorate in scripture from Rome.
Cardinal Pell, 68, has a doctorate in history from Oxford.
Inside the Roman Curia, Prefects of Congregations - the Pope's "kitchen cabinet" of about nine - are drawn from different parts of the world church. Some of Pope Benedict's present group are from Italy, India, Brazil, Poland, Argentina, Slovenia and the US. The last Australian to hold a senior Vatican office was Cardinal Edward Cassidy, who is now retired in NSW.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 29/10/2009 01:50]