Pope appoints new cardinals

A FRAIL Pope John Paul II yesterday added 30 names to the list of his possible successors, installing a diverse collection of cardinals in a consistory some say may be his last.

In a ritual-filled ceremony on the steps of St Peter's Basilica, the 83-year-old Pope gave the new "princes of the church" their red hats and declared them members of the elite band of churchmen who will elect the next Pope.

"We don't know whether that will be in one month or five years," said Scottish Archbishop Keith O'Brien, one of the new cardinals. "But that's really the priority for cardinals."

The Pope's increasing frailty, on display during a rigorous week of ceremonies surrounding his 25th anniversary, added poignancy to yesterday's consistory, the ninth of his pontificate.

As he watched the new cardinals greet one another, John Paul appeared pleased, and at one point seemed to wipe away a tear.

Since it may be John Paul's last consistory, the current roster of cardinals is considered to be the list of possible popes, since cardinals largely choose from among themselves for the top job in the Roman Catholic Church.

John Paul himself didn't read out the names of the new cardinals or actually place their scarlet hats on their heads.

And for the second time in a major Vatican ceremony, he didn't pronounce a word of his homily. In the few prayers he did deliver, the pontiff slurred his words, symptoms of the Parkinson's disease which has made it difficult for him to speak.

Yesterday's ceremony brought to 194 the active members of the College of Cardinals, although only 135 of them are under age 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave. Of those 135, John Paul has named all but five.

Yet picking the next Pope from among them is anyone's guess, since the group is still large and geographically diverse.

"It's funny, nobody is whispering 'he'll be the next man,'" said Cardinal Lubomyr Husar of Ukraine. "Nobody has arisen as a personality."

In his homily, read by an aide, the Pope referred to the variety of the group. "Enriched by new members, the College of Cardinals, reflecting ever more the multiplicity of the races and cultures that characterise the Christian people, gives new evidence to the unity of every part of Christ's flock," the homily read.

While the papal field is wide open, there are a handful of known contenders, or "papabili", including one of the new cardinals: Italy's Angelo Scola. He's the patriarch of Venice a position that produced three Popes in the 20th century.