The Fine Papal Art Of Creating New Cardinals

Awarding red hats is a papal act requiring exquisite diplomacy and political tact. Ideally, a list of new cardinals should pay discreet homage to every major segment of the Roman Catholic Church: a prelate or two from major sees that traditionally require cardinal-archbishops; a sprinkling of faithful retainers from the Roman Curia; a spokesman for at least one nation that has never before had a member of the sacred college; a heroic bishop who has defended the Christian faith behind the Iron Curtain; and at least one energetic American.

Last week, when Pope Paul named 27 new cardinals, thereby raising membership in the college to an alltime high of 120, he fulfilled this prospectus to the letter. Archbishops Pierre Veuillot of Paris and Corrado Ursi of Naples--cities that over the centuries became accustomed to having cardinals--were elevated to the purple, along with 14 Vatican diplomats and curial officials. Archbishop Justinus Darmajuwana, 52, of Semarang, becomes the first Indonesian to sit in the college; German-born Archbishop Jose Clemente Maurer, 67, of Sucre will be the first Bolivian. Berlin's Archbishop Alfred Bengsch, who by choice lives in the Eastern sector of the divided city, will be, at 45, the youngest cardinal.

Intransigent Hero. Another new Iron Curtain prelate is Karol Wojtyla, 47, of Cracow, a talented theologian whom the Vatican hopes may get along better with the Gomulka regime than does Warsaw's Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski. Although Wyszynski for years led a heroic battle against Poland's Communist leaders that kept Catholicism alive, Rome seems to feel that his intransigence now stands in the way of gaining further concessions for the church.

The four Americans named by Paul raised U.S. representation in the college to nine--third highest after Italy (37) and France (10). Few Catholics were surprised by the Pope's choices. Archbishop John Krol, 56, of Philadelphia, a steely conservative, is the efficient vice president of the new U.S. bishops' conference. Chicago's business-like John Patrick Cody, 59, as head of the nation's largest archdiocese, was more or less automatically in line for a red hat. Archbishop Patrick O'Boyle, 70, of Washington, D.C., has a reputation within the church of being a sturdy champion of minority rights and a skillful organizer of charities. The fourth new U.S. cardinal, Pennsylvania-born Francis J. Brennan, 73, has for eight years been dean of the Sacred Roman Rota, the church's highest tribunal on marriage matters.

Some Catholic enthusiasts for renewal were disturbed by the large number of conservative curialists who were named princes of the church. As it happens, expert Vaticanologists interpreted their elevation as a slight step toward modernizing and liberalizing the Roman bureaucracy. By tradition, one cardinal does not serve under another; several of the new prelates are seconds-in-command to venerable conservatives who presumably will now be induced to retire. Both Angelo Dell'Acqua and Antonio Samore, the two Vatican under secretaries of state, are considerably more open to church renewal than their superior, Amleto Cardinal Cicognani, 84. France's Archbishop Gabriel Garrone, 65, pro-prefect of the important Congregation for Seminaries, was one of the liberal leaders at the Second Vatican Council before he transferred to Rome as heir apparent to Giuseppe Cardinal Pizzardo, 89.

Bicameral Structure. Some Catholic thinkers were disappointed that the Pope named any new cardinals at all. The office itself, with its imposing princely titles, robes and privileges, seems somewhat anachronistic in a church moving toward simplicity and democratization. Instead of awarding new red hats, renewal-minded theologians had hoped that the Pope might gradually transfer the functions of the college to a new synod of bishops, composed of prelates elected by national hierarchical conferences, that will meet in Rome for the first time on Sept. 29.

Although that hope is gone, there is a strong possibility that the Pope will create a new bicameral structure for the church. The sacred college would remain as a forum for electing new Popes and honoring Catholicism's faithful servants; but the synod would more and more become a senate of trusted confidants, advising the Pope on the governing of the church.

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