Pope urges new cardinals to spread the faith

POPE Benedict installed his first group of new cardinals on Friday, elevating 15 men from Hong Kong to Boston to join the exclusive Catholic group that advises him and will one day elect his successor.

The ceremony on the steps of St Peter's Basilica including a prayer for religious freedom in China, where the Vatican says Catholics are not allowed to practice their faith openly.

Benedict gave each man a four-cornered cardinal's hat coloured red to show their readiness to die for the Church and urged them to spread the faith with a message of love.

"I am counting on you to see to it that the Church's solicitude for the poor and needy challenges the world with a powerful statement on the civilisation of love," he said.

Twelve of the 15 cardinals are under 80 and thus eligible to enter a conclave to choose a pope.

Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the Hong Kong bishop who has criticised the lack of religious freedom in China, said he hoped his elevation would help smooth the strained ties between the Vatican and the communist government in Beijing.

"Maybe I can explain to both sides how things really are, explain to the Holy See how China is and explain to China what the Church is all about," he said.

Beijing does not allow Chinese Catholics to recognise the pope's authority.

Krakow Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, aged 66, was the best-known face among the elevated, having been at the late Pope John Paul's side during 26 years as his faithful private secretary and one of the most influential men in the Vatican.

He received the biggest round of applause and the pope seemed filled with emotion when he embraced the living symbol of the preceding pontificate.

Archbishop Sean O'Malley, who took over in Boston in 2003 to clean up after a clerical sex abuse scandal, was one of two Americans honoured.

Afterward, Archbishop O'Malley who often wears the simple brown robe and sandals of his Franciscan order showed off the bright red socks matching his fine cardinal's attire.

"I'm anxious to get back to my uniform. But at least nobody can doubt my sports affiliation the Red Sox," he joked, referring to Boston's baseball team. Asked if he was wearing anything Franciscan, he replied: "The beard".

On the eve of the consistory, Benedict summoned the College of Cardinals, including its newest members, for a day-long retreat and asked them to give him advice on issues such as relations with Islam and reconciling with the ultraconservative Society of St Pius X, whose bishops were excommunicated 20 years ago.

Europe still has the most cardinals with 100, 60 of whom are of voting age. Latin America has 20 voting-age cardinals, North America 16, Asia 13, Africa nine and Oceania two.