Cardinal Dolan praised as Pope material
Andrew Medichini
Newly-appointed cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, of the United States, is elevated by Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012. Pope Benedict XVI is bringing 22 new Catholic churchmen into the elite club of cardinals who will elect his successor amid signs the 84-year-old pontiff is slowing down. Benedict was presiding over a ceremony Saturday in St. Peter's Basilica to formally create the 22 cardinals, who include the archbishops of New York, Prague, Hong Kong and Toronto as well as the heads of several Vatican offices. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
- NY's Dolan Elevated to Cardinal in Rome Ceremony
- Pope Benedict XVI brought 22 new Catholic churchmen, including New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, into the elite club of cardinals who will elect his successor in a ceremony that took into account evidence the 84-year-old is slowing down. (Feb. 18)
VATICAN CITY • Ballwin native Timothy Dolan is already being praised in the Italian media as a possible Pope.
Dolan, one of 22 who became cardinals on Saturday in a service known as a consistory, emerged during the weekend as a star, delivering a highly praised speech and being called an improbable "papabile," or having qualities of a future pope.
Traditionally Americans are ruled out as papal contenders, with the argument that the world doesn't need a superpower pope. But Dolan's joyful demeanor seemed to have struck a chord in a Vatican that has been anything but joyful over a rash of news reports about political infighting and financial mismanagement.
"He certainly is going to be given many responsibilities as a cardinal," said the other American getting a red hat Saturday, Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, outgoing archbishop of Baltimore. Asked if he thought Dolan had the stuff to be pope, O'Brien deadpanned: "His mother thinks so."
Dolan artfully dodged the question when asked about the speculation Saturday by a gaggle of reporters who traveled from the U.S. for the ceremony: "Io non parlo inglese," he said. ("I don't speak English.")
In remarks at the start of the service, Benedict recalled that the red color of the three-pointed hat, or biretta, and the scarlet cassock cardinals wear, symbolizes the blood that cardinals must be willing to shed to remain faithful to the church.
"The new cardinals are entrusted with the service of love: love for God, love for his church, an absolute and unconditional love for his brothers and sisters even unto shedding their blood, if necessary," Benedict said.
It was a similar theme Dolan touched on in his keynote speech to cardinals and the pope on Friday, which was peppered with jokes, references to books, films and his own experiences as archbishop in New York, Milwaukee and as rector of the U.S. seminary in Rome.
"Holy Father, can you omit the 'shedding of your blood' when you present me with the biretta?" Dolan asked the pope. "Of course not! We are but 'scarlet audiovisual aids' for all of our brothers and sisters also called to be ready to suffer and die for Jesus."
The Vatican said the pope had given Dolan a papal thumbs up, terming his speech "enthusiastic, joyful and profound." Dolan said Benedict referred to the speech again on Saturday during the few moments they shared privately when Benedict gave him his skullcap, biretta and ring.
"He thanked me again for yesterday, which meant a lot," Dolan told reporters at a reception after the ceremony.
"He did have a little trouble getting the ring on the finger, which was a little embarrassing."
Dolan, one of 22 who became cardinals on Saturday in a service known as a consistory, emerged during the weekend as a star, delivering a highly praised speech and being called an improbable "papabile," or having qualities of a future pope.
Traditionally Americans are ruled out as papal contenders, with the argument that the world doesn't need a superpower pope. But Dolan's joyful demeanor seemed to have struck a chord in a Vatican that has been anything but joyful over a rash of news reports about political infighting and financial mismanagement.
"He certainly is going to be given many responsibilities as a cardinal," said the other American getting a red hat Saturday, Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, outgoing archbishop of Baltimore. Asked if he thought Dolan had the stuff to be pope, O'Brien deadpanned: "His mother thinks so."
Dolan artfully dodged the question when asked about the speculation Saturday by a gaggle of reporters who traveled from the U.S. for the ceremony: "Io non parlo inglese," he said. ("I don't speak English.")
In remarks at the start of the service, Benedict recalled that the red color of the three-pointed hat, or biretta, and the scarlet cassock cardinals wear, symbolizes the blood that cardinals must be willing to shed to remain faithful to the church.
"The new cardinals are entrusted with the service of love: love for God, love for his church, an absolute and unconditional love for his brothers and sisters even unto shedding their blood, if necessary," Benedict said.
It was a similar theme Dolan touched on in his keynote speech to cardinals and the pope on Friday, which was peppered with jokes, references to books, films and his own experiences as archbishop in New York, Milwaukee and as rector of the U.S. seminary in Rome.
"Holy Father, can you omit the 'shedding of your blood' when you present me with the biretta?" Dolan asked the pope. "Of course not! We are but 'scarlet audiovisual aids' for all of our brothers and sisters also called to be ready to suffer and die for Jesus."
The Vatican said the pope had given Dolan a papal thumbs up, terming his speech "enthusiastic, joyful and profound." Dolan said Benedict referred to the speech again on Saturday during the few moments they shared privately when Benedict gave him his skullcap, biretta and ring.
"He thanked me again for yesterday, which meant a lot," Dolan told reporters at a reception after the ceremony.
"He did have a little trouble getting the ring on the finger, which was a little embarrassing."
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/cardinal-dolan-praised-as-pope-material/article_c102fb21-71ed-5995-b234-12063fb061c0.html#ixzz1nMSsHOZa
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