The 20
new "cardinal electors" come from Italy, Poland, Egypt, the United
States, Germany, Zambia, Ecuador, Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil and Sri
lanka.
Eleven of
the new electors are European, 8 of them Italian, giving Europeans a small
majority in an eventual conclave.
The
German pope has now named about 50 of the 120 electors who can pick his
successor from among their own ranks, raising the possibility that the next
pontiff will be a conservative in Benedict's own image. More than 60 of them
are Europeans.
Many of
the appointments were expected, including Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington
D.C., Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw and Archbishop Raymundo Damasceno
Assis of Aparecida, Brazil.
A number
of appointments were to run Vatican departments.
These
included American Archbishop Raymond Burke, who heads a top Vatican tribunal,
and Kurt Koch, the Swiss head of the Vatican department on relations with other
Christian religions and Jews.
Most of
the new appointments were believed to be conservatives, increasing the
possibility that the next pope will hold views similar to Benedict's on burning
church issues such as birth control, women priests and the married priesthood, all
of which he rejects.
Each time
a pope names new cardinals - his elite group of advisers in the Vatican and
around the world - it gives him a chance to steer the church's future course by
choosing men who will help him formulate policies and make major decisions.
The pope
made the announcement at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's
Square. It was only the third time since his election that the pope has named
new cardinals.
Benedict
said his choice reflects "the universality of the Church.” The ceremony to
formally install them, known as a consistory, will be held on Nov. 20, he said.
The
number of cardinal electors is limited to 120 while there is no limit to the
total number in the entire College of Cardinals, which will stand at 203 after
the new cardinals receive their red hat next month.
While
previous popes have enlarged the number of cardinal electors from the
developing world, Benedict has named many Europeans since his election.
This
increases the likelihood that the next pope will be European. The second
largest voting bloc in the college are the Latin Americans, who have more than
20 cardinals.
