Pope to induct Indian

Twenty-three Roman Catholic prelates are set to join the Vatican’s College of Cardinals, the elite body that advises the pontiff and elects his successor upon his death, at the weekend.

Among those to be inducted is Mumbai Archbishop Oswald Gracias. Pope Benedict XVI will consecrate the new cardinals in St Peter’s Square on Saturday and confer on them the traditional ring and bright red hat symbolising the blood of the martyrs during a mass on Sunday.

The freshmen will bring the total number of cardinals to 201, of whom 120 are young enough - under 80 - to take part in a papal election.

Announced five weeks ago, the new influx barely alters the geographical balance of the College of Cardinals, which is heavily weighted in favour of Europe. Forty-two of the total are Italian, half of them under 80.

Thirteen Europeans join two North Americans, four Latin Americans, two Africans and two Asians in the second group of cardinals nominated by Benedict since he was elected pope in April 2005. Fifteen were inducted in March 2006.

Europe accounts for an increasingly shrinking percentage of the overall Catholic population, while nearly half of the world’s Catholics are in Latin America, which combined with Africa and Asia make up some two-thirds of the 1.1 billion-strong Church. The new cardinals include seven high-ranking Vatican prelates and 11 archbishops of key cities including Paris, Spain’s Valencia and Barcelona, Sao Paulo, Mumbai and Dakar.

Courtesy:timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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