Pope appoints 31 new cardinals

Pope John Paul II named 30 new cardinals today, further putting his mark on the group that will name his successor.

The ailing, 83-year-old Pope also designated a 31st cardinal but did not name him. That man was named “in pectore,” or close to his heart, a terms used often for prelates in a country where the church is oppressed.

The College of Cardinals is already mainly made up of like-minded conservatives, reflecting John Paul’s choices during his 25-year papacy. A new batch will further strengthen the ailing Pope’s influence on the choice of his successor.

John Paul will elevate the group at a consistory on October 21, coinciding with the celebrations marking his 25th anniversary as Pope.

The Pope read the list out from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square to pilgrims and tourists gathered for his traditional Sunday greeting.

Among the new cardinals are archbishops from Nigeria, France, Sudan, Spain, Scotland, Brazil, Ghana, India, Australia, Croatia, Vietnam, Guatemala, Hungary, Canada and Italy.

Before today’s announcement, the College of Cardinals had 164 members, but only 109 of them are under age 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new Pope. Of the eligible voters, all but five were named by John Paul.

The new cardinals bring the number of voting-age cardinals over the 120 maximum electors but John Paul has previously exceeded that number in prior consistories.

The last time John Paul held a consistory to elevate the ”princes of the church” and to give them their red hats was in February 2001. This will be the ninth consistory of his pontificate.

John Paul named some top Vatican officials as cardinals, including the French-born foreign minister Jean-Louis Tauran and prelates from Spain, Mexico, Japan and Italy.

Several names that had been circulating in the Italian media as possible new cardinals were not on the Pope’s list, including Boston’s Archbishop Sean O’Malley. O’Malley replaced Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned as archbishop amid public outcry over a sex abuse scandal.