For H-Town, Merry Auxmas

At long last, Houston, you've got liftoff....

At Roman Noon today, Msgr George Sheltz, 65 -- the beloved vicar-general of Texas' marquee 1.3 million-member church -- has been named as a first long-awaited auxiliary bishop to Cardinal Daniel DiNardo... with another likely to be tapped in due course.

As ever, more to come.

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So it sounds, gang, Rome's not sending the Stateside church into Lent empty-handed....

In other words, see you at "Noon."

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On President's Day, "The Atmosphere of Liberty"

Yet again, this third Monday of February is officially observed here in the States as Washington's Birthday, but known far better as President's Day.

Of course, the observance commemorates the 22 February 1732 birth of the "Father of the Country," George Washington. While Washington's birthday has been marked as a national holiday since at least 1796 -- the final year of his presidency -- subsequent years saw Abraham Lincoln's 12 February birthday added to the calendar as a separate civil observance. In the late 1960s, the Lincoln holiday was suppressed, but Washington's anniversary widely became dubbed "President's Day" in the years since.

In keeping with the house custom on the great feasts of state, it wouldn't be President's Day 'round here if we didn't revisit the famous "Prayer for the Nation" written and first delivered in 1791 by the father of American Catholicism -- the nation's first bishop, John Carroll of Baltimore:

We pray, Thee O Almighty and Eternal God! Who through Jesus Christ hast revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy, that Thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of Thy Name.

We pray Thee, who alone art good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal, and sanctity of life, our chief bishop, Pope N., the Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the government of his Church; our own bishop, N., all other bishops, prelates, and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise amongst us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct Thy people into the ways of salvation.

We pray Thee O God of might, wisdom, and justice! Through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty.

We pray for his excellency, the governor of this state , for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.

We recommend likewise, to Thy unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal.

Finally, we pray to Thee, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of Thy servants departed who are gone before us with the sign of faith and repose in the sleep of peace; the souls of our parents, relatives, and friends; of those who, when living, were members of this congregation, and particularly of such as are lately deceased; of all benefactors who, by their donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the decency of divine worship and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance.

To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment, light, and everlasting peace, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen.

In 1790, Washington addressed a letter to American Catholics expressing his supportive hope "that your fellow-citizens will not forget the patriotic part which you took in the accomplishment of their Revolution, and the establishment of your Government, or the important assistance which they received from a nation [i.e. France] in which the Roman Catholic faith is professed."

Aided by the contribution of the early church on these shores -- a community that then numbered some 25,000 souls (served by 22 priests) scattered across the 13 new states -- the first Commander-in-Chief said that, "America, under the smiles of a Divine Providence, the protection of a good government, and the cultivation of manners, morals, and piety, cannot fail of attaining an uncommon degree of eminence, in literature, commerce, agriculture, improvements at home and respectability abroad."

The founding father added his prayer that "the members of your Society in America, animated alone by the pure spirit of Christianity, and still conducting themselves as the faithful subjects of our free government, enjoy every temporal and spiritual felicity."

And perhaps in these days, quite possibly more than last year, odds are the significance of that hope -- and the value many American Catholics can find in it -- has increased.

* * *

Given the threads of recent news-cycles, however, there's more.

Of course, the moment brings a high-stakes conflict on the question of church and state. And amid it, in a shining occurrence of history, the successor of Carroll -- who knew Washington, was championed by Franklin; indeed, a cousin of the lone Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence -- has been elevated to the College of Cardinals.

The year isn't 2012, but 1887. The setting, meanwhile, lies an ocean away from Washington, and the mother-church which included the capital for 150 years.

Lest anyone forgot, ecclesiastical Rome in the late 19th century was no enthusiastic observer of the prior century's sea-change of governments. These were, after all, the days when the Popes lived as self-declared "Prisoners of the Vatican" following the seizure of the States they governed, memories of Napoleon's abduction of Pope Pius VI still ran fresh, Bismarck's Kulturkampf in newborn Germany saw bishops jailed, clerics banished and religious orders legally suppressed, and the sometimes violent anti-Catholicism of American Protestants -- highlighted by the burning of Northeastern churches and the dumping into the Potomac of a stone donated by Pius IX for the construction of the Washington Monument (inside which, the most hysterical maintained, the pontiff had been smuggled across the Atlantic to complete his alleged master plan to take over the country and reign from the White House) -- was enough to sour the Vatican on the pluralist polity of these shores.

Given that backdrop, maybe today's chief domestic concern suddenly doesn't seem so visceral to some. In the broader sweep of history, though, a seemingly forgotten part of what makes it precisely that is the degree to which the path toward the Magisterium's eventual detente with and embrace of secular Western democracy was paved by... the foundational assurance of religious freedom in the United States.

Decades ahead of John Courtney Murray and a full century before Dignitatis Humanae developed the principle into Catholic Tradition -- regardless of what the SSPX might say about it -- the first significant shift of the evolution was made on the centenary of the Constitution, as a new American cardinal accepted one of Rome's oldest churches as his own, and used the experience of his homeland to make what was, for the time, an extraordinary case.

Considering both the era's ecclesial and political contexts, an address of the sort would've widely been considered as an inadvisable move. A junior cardinal from a suspect land advocating a concept that, from their experience, the natives would undoubtedly deem toxic could've made for more than enough to exile Americans from the old "caput mundi" for generations.

Such was the intensity of James Gibbons' patriotism that he did it anyway... and ended up reaping a whirlwind.

Next month marks the 125th anniversary of the "heroic" speech given by the Premier See's first cardinal as he took possession of his titular church, Santa Maria in Trastevere, on Annunciation Day, 1887. And as that milestone nears, another of Carroll's successors has now taken his seat in the Papal "Senate."

The moment would've been worth recalling just on those alone. Yet amid the tensions and stakes of the times, the reminder seems all the more needed.

Here, Gibbons' text:

The assignment to me by the Holy Father of this beautiful basilica as my titular church fills me with feelings of joy and gratitude which any words of mine are inadequate to express. For, as here in Rome I stand within the first temple raised in honor of the ever-blessed Virgin Mary, so in my far-off home, my own Cathedral Church, the oldest in the United States, is also dedicated to the Mother of God. This venerable edifice in which we are gathered leads us back in contemplation to the days of the catacombs. Its foundation was laid by Pope Calixtus in the year of our Lord, 224. It was restored by Pope Julius in the fourth century, and renovated by another Supreme Pontiff in the twelfth.

That never-ceasing solicitude which the Sovereign Pontiffs have exhibited in erecting these material temples, which are the glory of this city, they have also manifested on a larger scale in rearing spiritual walls to Zion throughout Christendom in every age. Scarcely were the United States formed into an independent government, when Pope Pius VII established a Catholic hierarchy and appointed the illustrious John Carroll the first Bishop of Baltimore. Our Catholic community in those days numbered a few thousand souls, and they were scattered chiefly through the States of New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. They were served by a mere handful of priests. But now, thanks to the fructifying grace of God, the grain of mustard seed then planted has grown to a large tree, spreading its branches through the length and breadth of our fair land. Where only one bishop was found in the beginning of this century, there are now seventy-five exercising spiritual jurisdiction. For this great progress we are indebted, under God and the fostering vigilance of the Holy See, to the civil liberty we enjoy in our enlightened republic.

Our Holy Father, Leo XIII, in his luminous encyclical on the constitution of Christian states, declares that the Church is not committed to any form of civil government. She adapts herself to all. She leavens all with the sacred leaven of the Gospel. She has lived under absolute monarchies, under constitutional monarchies, in free republics, and everywhere she grows and expands. She has often, indeed, been hampered in her Divine mission. She has even been forced to struggle for her existence wherever despotism has cast its dark shadow, like a plant shut out from the blessed light of heaven. But in the genial atmosphere of liberty she blossoms like a rose.

For myself, as a citizen of the United States, and without closing my eyes to our shortcomings as a nation, I say, with a deep sense of pride and gratitude, that I belong to a country where the civil government holds over us the aegis of its protection, without interfering with us in the legitimate exercise of our sublime mission as ministers of the Gospel of Christ. Our country has liberty without license, and authority without despotism. She rears no wall to exclude the stranger from among us. She has few frowning fortifications to repel the invader, for she is at peace with all the world. She rests secure in the consciousness of her strength and her good will toward all. Her harbors are open to welcome the honest emigrant who comes to advance his temporal interests and find a peaceful home.

But, while we are acknowledged to have a free government, perhaps we do not receive the credit that belongs to us for having, also, a strong government. Yes, our nation is strong, and her strength lies, under the overruling guidance of Providence, in the majesty and supremacy of the law, in the loyalty of her citizens and in the affection of her people for her free institutions. There are, indeed, grave social problems now employing the earnest attention of the citizens of the United States, but I have no doubt that, with God's blessing, these problems will be solved by the calm judgment and sound sense of the American people, without violence or revolution, or any injury to individual right.

As an evidence of his good will for the great republic in the West, as a mark of his appreciation of the venerable hierarchy of the United States, and as an expression of his kind consideration for the ancient See of Baltimore, our Holy Father has been graciously pleased to elevate its present incumbent, in my humble person, to the dignity of the purple. For this mark of his exalted favor I beg to tender the Holy Father my profound thanks in my own name and in the name of the clergy and faithful. I venture to thank him also in the name of my venerable colleagues, the bishops, as well as the clergy and Catholic laity of the United States. I presume also to thank him in the name of our separated brethren in America, who, though not sharing our faith, have shown that they are not insensible—indeed, that they are deeply sensible—of the honor conferred upon our common country, and have again and again expressed their admiration for the enlightened statesmanship and apostolic virtues and benevolent character of the illustrious Pontiff who now sits in the Chair of St. Peter.

One of the great bridge-builders of Catholicism's Stateside pilgrimage, from The Cathedral Carroll Built -- itself raised as a shrine to American religious freedom -- Gibbons served as de facto chaplain to Presidents of both parties, and even a trailblazer of warm ecumenical and interfaith relations, for nearly four decades following his elevation to the College.

Given the accomplishments and turbulence that fill the scene 125 years later, as it didn't just emerge from a vacuum, the milestone seems an especially good moment to look beyond the haze and reflect.

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The "Apple" of Tim's Eye: From Rome, Dolan Talks New York

Returning again to the "star" of this Consistory, in keeping with an emphatic point of his major Vatican speech on Friday -- that his charge is anything but "some neo-Sodom and Gomorrah" -- Cardinal Timothy Dolan served up the following Valentine message to Gotham, which ran in the pages of this Sunday's New York Daily News, the city's most widely-circulated paper:

I’ve become a New Yorker.

And I like to brag about the beauty and the virtue and the goodness that I see in the New York community.

I bristle and cringe when people who aren’t New Yorkers caricature New Yorkers as cold and unfriendly and rude and almost atheistic and pagan.

I’m saying, wait a minute.

I’ve been honored to be a citizen of New York for three years and I find New York to be one of the most loving, welcoming and embracing communities around!

New Yorkers welcome people.

They welcomed me.

So the church cooperates with that in welcoming the immigrant, for example.

New Yorkers pitch in and help people in trouble.

Look what happened after 9/11.

So the church builds upon that with helping people who are out of jobs, helping people who are sick, helping people who are hungry, and having trouble paying their bills.

New Yorkers work for justice whether that be in labor or whether that be in civil rights.

So does the church work for justice when it comes to the rights of refugees, when it comes to the rights of the unemployed, when it comes to the rights of the unborn.

New Yorkers traditionally go in for the underdog. So does the Archdiocese. So does the Catholic Church go in for the underdog, whether they be homeless, or the baby in the womb or the person dying at Calvary Hospital.

The Church is able to cooperate hand in hand with New York.

The Catholic Church in New York is not looked upon as some outsider.

New York is a place where religion is welcome, where the contribution of the faith community is a cherished part.

That’s the recipe that makes New York such a warm, vibrant, welcoming culture.

The Church in New York is looked upon as a neighbor, as somebody familiar walking down the street. And that’s beautiful.

Given the continuing perception among many at the Vatican of the Big Apple as the capital of the West's "dictatorship of relativism," with the city's eighth cardinal riding a skyscraper-high wave of Roman acclaim after the last week, the message above seems as intended for his hosts of these days as it is for the folks at home.

Speaking of the Gotham press, while the tabloid News' front cover was filled with an image of the singer Whitney Houston's coffin being carried from her funeral yesterday, the rival Post -- which famously covered Dolan's appointment as archbishop by blaring "GODSEND!" on its front-page -- returned its Sunday lead to the new cardinal.

Waving the biretta after yesterday's rites of creation (top), an ever-exuberant Dolan told reporters that "this is the hat I want to put on the Empire State Building and home plate at Yankee Stadium."

Meanwhile, in yet another sign of the Pope's favor for his hand-picked Consistory keynoter, a late-day Vatican briefing on Friday included an unusual direct quote from B16's closing remarks to the private session, according to which the pontiff praised Dolan's address on the New Evangelization as "stimulating, joyful and profound."

The following morning, as a beaming Benedict placed the biretta on the new cardinal's head, Dolan said afterward that the Pope thanked him again for the Friday talk.

Looking down at his new robes, the cardinal added, "And I said, 'Well, Holy Father, thank you for this!'"

Set to return home in time to preside over Ash Wednesday in St Patrick's Cathedral -- by far, the busiest day of the year at the Fifth Avenue landmark -- the eighth cardinal to hold the House That Hughes Built will celebrate locally with two ticket-only liturgies in Midtown next weekend.

PHOTO: Debbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily News(1); Getty(3)

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At the Consistory, A Changing of the Guard

Keeping with longtime custom, the American Cardinals present at this Consistory gathered around the group's newest members for an updated "family portrait" at the Pontifical North American College following yesterday's rites.

To be sure, a few are absent: Chicago's Cardinal Francis George and Philadelphia's retired Justin Rigali -- both in Rome for the weekend -- didn't make the shot, while Detroit's twin emeriti Adam Maida and Edmond Szoka ostensibly stayed home, as did Cardinal Edwin O'Brien's Baltimore predecessor, Cardinal William Keeler, whose condition kept him from making the trip.

With the creation of O'Brien and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a significant milestone has come to pass: not even seven years after Pope Benedict's election, for the first time, a majority of the Stateside bloc able to elect his successor are now appointees of the reigning pontiff.

Of the US' 12 cardinal-electors in a hypothetical Conclave, seven have now been chosen by B16, and their effect is only set to grow over the next five months. By late summer, the American voting group drops to ten as New York's retired Cardinal Edward Egan reaches the ineligibility age of 80 on April 2nd, followed by the onetime Denver archbishop and Vatican official Francis Stafford on 26 July.

By contrast, as of today, the average age of Papa Ratzinger's seven picks sits at just a few weeks over 67. Yet even if the nation's traditional complement of two new cardinals was maintained at this Consistory, the Stateside church actually lost three electors since the last intake in November 2010: the Vatican's longtime "Voice of Christmas" Cardinal John Foley died last December at 76, while Keeler and Boston's scandal-felled Cardinal Bernard Law both turned 80 during 2011.

To be sure, the same effect is being felt in the wider College -- by year's end, Benedict will have the openings to have tapped just shy of two-thirds of the cardinal-electors: in other words, the supermajority needed to make the next Pope.

* * *

In each of his four additions to the College of Cardinals, Benedict has chosen his US nominees according to a consistent rubric -- one head of a domestic archdiocese (by turns, Sean O'Malley, Daniel DiNardo, Donald Wuerl and now Dolan), and a prelate based at the Vatican (William Levada, Foley, Raymond Burke, now O'Brien).

With at least 16 more electoral slots to open over the next year on age grounds alone, the next Consistory is almost certain to be held by Spring 2013, and -- according to some -- possibly even before the end of this year.

However, under the traditional protocols for the elevation of American cardinals, the queue for a red hat from these shores is suddenly nonexistent. With Dolan and O'Brien now in the "purple" -- the Italian term for cardinal red -- everything's caught up for the next several years.

Given that unusual scenario, were even the first part of Benedict's pattern to hold next time around, a US prelate would need to be named to head a Curial office in the interim. As the move placing O'Brien, 72, in line -- his appointment last August to lead the Order of the Holy Sepulchre -- stoked widespread surprise among the hierarchy, it's entirely possible that the soon-to-be 85 year-old pontiff has another unexpected move up his sleeve. (On a side-note, the American presence in the Vatican's top tier is likely to decrease by one later this year with the expected retirement of the CDF prefect Cardinal William Levada, who turns 76 in June. The LA native and former San Francisco archbishop will, however, retain his key dicastery memberships until reaching age 80.)

On the other hand, the residential side of the equation is likely to prove even trickier. Once Egan turns 80, another US-based cardinal won't lose his conclave rights until Rigali ages out in April 2015, and with the former's successor and latter's protege -- namely, Tim Dolan -- now elevated, the distribution of red hats to their customary American destinations is now at its full complement.

As previously noted, the scenario opens the door to either of two unusual possibilities -- at least, under the "rules" long in place.

In one potential course, the Pope could extend the red hat to a Stateside city that's never previously seen one.

Of course, Benedict did that in 2007 when -- in order "to recognize the growth and vitality of the church in the southern United States" -- he elevated DiNardo, head of the 1.5 million-member fold in the nation's fourth-largest city. Texas' unprecedented red hat marked the first time since 1953 (when Pius XII elevated Los Angeles' Archbishop James Francis McIntyre) that a new region of the country was given representation in the College.

Were the pontiff to continue reflecting American Catholicism's dramatic demographic shift of the last half-century by similarly shuffling around its scarlet, the most likely contenders for the honor are widely thought to be the heads of the Southeast's two largest dioceses: Archbishops Thomas Wenski, 61, the Harley-riding, famously intense polyglot and policy wonk who now heads the 1.3 million-member Miami church, or Wilton Gregory, 64, the finessed, eminently-regarded president of the US bishops during the 2002 eruption of the clergy sex-abuse crisis, now the leader of an Atlanta fold that's grown sixfold since 1990, today comprising a million Catholics.

The son of Polish immigrants to South Florida, while the Dolanesque Wenski is claimed as an adopted son of the Cuban and Haitian communities with whom he's worked closely for decades, the Chicago-born Atlanta prelate -- the standout protege of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin -- would become the first African-American cardinal.

In the second possible scenario, while the nation's historic "cardinalatial sees" are now each assured of a vote should a papal election arise over the next three years, two of those electors -- Rigali and LA's Cardinal Roger Mahony, 76 next week -- have recently retired from running their archdioceses, but still enjoy Conclave privileges. Accordingly, if Benedict opted to maintain the historic configuration of red hats on these shores, he could break custom by expediting the elevations of their respective successors, whether LA's Archbishop José Gomez, 60, or the new Angeleno prelate's mentor, now Philadelphia's archbishop, the Capuchin Charles Chaput, 67.

Born in Mexico and now a naturalized citizen, the Opus Dei-formed Gomez now leads the largest diocese in the four-century history of American Catholicism, its 5 million members forming a bigger crowd than LA's runners-up in New York and Chicago combined. In addition, the sitting Pope is believed to be quite intent to place the historic red hat on the head of the US' first Hispanic cardinal, crowning a Latin ascent soon to boast a majority of the nation's 70 million faithful (one that, already, comprises 60 percent of the Stateside fold younger than age 30).

At the same time, even beyond his signature approach in the public square, Chaput's well-burnished record of tackling daunting assignments from Rome -- first leading two high-stakes Vatican investigations, then last year's crucial appointment to a Philadelphia church brimming with scandals and challenges -- signals a level of Benedict's trust that's arguably unparalleled among the American bishops, as well as indicating the pontiff's considerable esteem for the diligence and sensitivity with which each mission has been carried out.

In this, a parallel can be drawn to O'Brien (above), who won high marks in Rome as an equally thorough, effective hand -- in his case, on the key matter of priestly formation -- first as a rector tasked with heavy lifting at the NAC (now the largest American seminary) before overseeing the 2005-6 Apostolic Visitation of the 225 US seminaries, and then serving as Dolan's lead deputy for last year's on-site examination of the Irish church's two houses.

While the new grand master of the Holy Sepulchre -- the second non-European ever to head the thousand year-old order -- now has his primary residence in Rome, it's emerged that the 72 year-old cardinal will keep a Stateside base, not in his native New York, but in Baltimore, where his stewardship of the Premier See wraps up on the installation of his yet-unnamed successor, a choice on which the field is believed to remain very wide open.

Among O'Brien's global cadre of knights and ladies dedicated to supporting the church's works in the Holy Land, a majority live in the US.

PHOTOS: Whisperazzi(1); L'Osservatore Romano(2-4); Getty(5)

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"The Rock That Is to Prevail": At Cardinals' Mass, the Pope on Peter's Chair

With this Sunday being observed in the Vatican as the feast of the Chair of Peter -- its usual date of February 22nd superseded by this year's Ash Wednesday -- the meaning of the celebration focused on the authority of the First Apostle and his successors took center stage as the Pope concelebrated Mass with the 22 new cardinals he created yesterday.

Looming over the Main Altar of the Vatican basilica stood the emblematic symbol of the Petrine office, referenced by the 265th Roman pontiff in his text: the massive Bernini sculpture of the chair, completed in the 1660s and held aloft by two key doctors of the East (Athanasius and John Chrysostom) and the West (Ambrose and Augustine). To mark the feast, over 100 candles dotted the massive reliquary, which is claimed to hold the original seat of the first Pope. Likewise, the famous Bernini statue of the Apostle in the nave of the church named for him was, per tradition, decked out in the papal attire of a cope, alb and papal tiara (seen above).

According to the ancient ecclesiology of the office, the College of Cardinals is constituted as "pars corporis" -- "part of the Pope's body" -- that is, a key component of his ability to govern the universal church, hence the common occurrence of Consistories to add to the ranks during this feast.

The feast of the Chair was first celebrated in the middle of the 4th century. With that brief background, here's the Vatican's English translation of Benedict's homily.

* * *

Dear Cardinals,
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this solemnity of the Chair of Saint Peter, we have the joy of gathering around the altar of the Lord together with the new Cardinals whom yesterday I incorporated into the College of Cardinals. It is to them, first of all, that I offer my cordial greetings and I thank Cardinal Fernando Filoni for the gracious words he has addressed to me in the name of all. I extend my greetings to the other Cardinals and all the Bishops present, as well as to the distinguished authorities, ambassadors, priests, religious and all the faithful who have come from different parts of the world for this happy occasion, which is marked by a particular character of universality.

In the second reading that we have just heard, Saint Peter exhorts the "elders" of the Church to be zealous pastors, attentive to the flock of Christ (cf. 1 Pet 5:1-2). These words are addressed in the first instance to you, my dear venerable brothers, who have already shown great merit among the people of God through your wise and generous pastoral ministry in demanding dioceses, or through presiding over the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, or in your service to the Church through study and teaching. The new dignity that has been conferred upon you is intended to show appreciation for the faithful labour you have carried out in the Lord’s vineyard, to honour the communities and nations from which you come and which you represent so worthily in the Church, to invest you with new and more important ecclesial responsibilities and finally to ask of you an additional readiness to be of service to Christ and to the entire Christian community. This readiness to serve the Gospel is firmly founded upon the certitude of faith. We know that God is faithful to his promises and we await in hope the fulfilment of these words of Saint Peter: "And when the chief shepherd is manifested you will obtain the unfading crown of glory" (1 Pet 5:4).

Today’s Gospel passage presents Peter, under divine inspiration, expressing his own firm faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the promised Messiah. In response to this transparent profession of faith, which Peter makes in the name of the other Apostles as well, Christ reveals to him the mission he intends to entrust to him, namely that of being the "rock", the visible foundation on which the entire spiritual edifice of the Church is built (cf. Mt 16:16-19). This new name of "rock" is not a reference to Peter’s personal character, but can be understood only on the basis of a deeper aspect, a mystery: through the office that Jesus confers upon him, Simon Peter will become something that, in terms of "flesh and blood", he is not. The exegete Joachim Jeremias has shown that in the background, the symbolic language of "holy rock" is present. In this regard, it is helpful to consider a rabbinic text which states: "The Lord said, ‘How can I create the world, when these godless men will rise up in revolt against me?’ But when God saw that Abraham was to be born, he said, ‘Look, I have found a rock on which I can build and establish the world.’ Therefore he called Abraham a rock." The prophet Isaiah makes reference to this when he calls upon the people to "look to the rock from which you were hewn ... look to Abraham your father" (51:1-2). On account of his faith, Abraham, the father of believers, is seen as the rock that supports creation. Simon, the first to profess faith in Jesus as the Christ and the first witness of the resurrection, now, on the basis of his renewed faith, becomes the rock that is to prevail against the destructive forces of evil.

Dear brothers and sisters, this Gospel episode that has been proclaimed to us finds a further and more eloquent explanation in one of the most famous artistic treasures of this Vatican Basilica: the altar of the Chair. After passing through the magnificent central nave, and continuing past the transepts, the pilgrim arrives in the apse and sees before him an enormous bronze throne that seems to hover in mid air, but in reality is supported by the four statues of great Fathers of the Church from East and West. And above the throne, surrounded by triumphant angels suspended in the air, the glory of the Holy Spirit shines through the oval window. What does this sculptural composition say to us, this product of Bernini’s genius? It represents a vision of the essence of the Church and the place within the Church of the Petrine Magisterium.

The window of the apse opens the Church towards the outside, towards the whole of creation, while the image of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove shows God as the source of light. But there is also another aspect to point out: the Church herself is like a window, the place where God draws near to us, where he comes towards our world. The Church does not exist for her own sake, she is not the point of arrival, but she has to point upwards, beyond herself, to the realms above. The Church is truly herself to the extent that she allows the Other, with a capital "O", to shine through her – the One from whom she comes and to whom she leads. The Church is the place where God "reaches" us and where we "set off" towards him: she has the task of opening up, beyond itself, a world which tends to become enclosed within itself, the task of bringing to the world the light that comes from above, without which it would be uninhabitable.

The great bronze throne encloses a wooden chair from the ninth century, which was long thought to be Saint Peter’s own chair and was placed above this monumental altar because of its great symbolic value. It expresses the permanent presence of the Apostle in the Magisterium of his successors. Saint Peter’s chair, we could say, is the throne of truth which takes its origin from Christ’s commission after the confession at Caesarea Philippi. The magisterial chair also reminds us of the words spoken to Peter by the Lord during the Last Supper: "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren" (Lk 22:32).

The chair of Peter evokes another memory: the famous expression from Saint Ignatius of Antioch’s letter to the Romans, where he says of the Church of Rome that she "presides in charity" (Salutation, PG 5, 801). In truth, presiding in faith is inseparably linked to presiding in love. Faith without love would no longer be an authentic Christian faith. But the words of Saint Ignatius have another much more concrete implication: the word "charity", in fact, was also used by the early Church to indicate the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Sacramentum caritatis Christi [the sacrament of the love of Christ] through which Christ continues to draw us all to himself, as he did when raised up on the Cross (cf. Jn 12:32). Therefore, to "preside in charity" is to draw men and women into a eucharistic embrace – the embrace of Christ – which surpasses every barrier and every division, creating communion from all manner of differences. The Petrine ministry is therefore a primacy of love in the eucharistic sense, that is to say solicitude for the universal communion of the Church in Christ. And the Eucharist is the shape and the measure of this communion, a guarantee that it will remain faithful to the criterion of the tradition of the faith.

The great Chair is supported by the Fathers of the Church. The two Eastern masters, Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Athanasius, together with the Latins, Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine, represent the whole of the tradition, and hence the richness of expression of the true faith of the one Church. This aspect of the altar teaches us that love rests upon faith. Love collapses if man no longer trusts in God and disobeys him. Everything in the Church rests upon faith: the sacraments, the liturgy, evangelization, charity. Likewise the law and the Church’s authority rest upon faith. The Church is not self-regulating, she does not determine her own structure but receives it from the word of God, to which she listens in faith as she seeks to understand it and to live it. Within the ecclesial community, the Fathers of the Church fulfil the function of guaranteeing fidelity to sacred Scripture. They ensure that the Church receives reliable and solid exegesis, capable of forming with the Chair of Peter a stable and consistent whole. The sacred Scriptures, authoritatively interpreted by the Magisterium in the light of the Fathers, shed light upon the Church’s journey through time, providing her with a stable foundation amid the vicissitudes of history.

After considering the various elements of the altar of the Chair, let us take a look at it in its entirety. We see that it is characterized by a twofold movement: ascending and descending. This is the reciprocity between faith and love. The Chair is placed in a prominent position in this place, because this is where Saint Peter’s tomb is located, but this too tends towards the love of God. Indeed, faith is oriented towards love. A selfish faith would be an unreal faith. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ and enters into the dynamic of love that finds its source in the Eucharist, discovers true joy and becomes capable in turn of living according to the logic of gift. True faith is illumined by love and leads towards love, leads on high, just as the altar of the Chair points upwards towards the luminous window, the glory of the Holy Spirit, which constitutes the true focus for the pilgrim’s gaze as he crosses the threshold of the Vatican Basilica. That window is given great prominence by the triumphant angels and the great golden rays, with a sense of overflowing fulness that expresses the richness of communion with God. God is not isolation, but glorious and joyful love, spreading outwards and radiant with light.

Dear brothers and sisters, the gift of this love has been entrusted to us, to every Christian. It is a gift to be passed on to others, through the witness of our lives. This is your task in particular, dear brother Cardinals: to bear witness to the joy of Christ’s love. We now entrust your ecclesial service to the Virgin Mary, who was present among the apostolic community as they gathered in prayer, waiting for the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14). May she, Mother of the Incarnate Word, protect the Church’s path, support the work of the pastors by her intercession and take under her mantle the entire College of Cardinals. Amen!

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Long day, folks.

Once the torrent begins to ease after this morning's Non-Ring Mass, more recap/analysis, etc. For now, buona notte e buona domenica a tutti.

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For the Redbirds, A Whirlwind Day

The formal ritual of elevation might now be in the books, but the rest of this Consistory Day in Rome traditionally takes the form of a goose-chase. Or, here, Redbird-chase.

You get the idea.

Once the new cardinals are set loose from St Peter's, the freshly-elevated porporati tend to be swarmed by well-wishers before fanning out across the Vatican and the wider city for time with their respective delegations. Keeping the longtime custom for Stateside red-hats, for example, Cardinals Edwin O'Brien and Timothy Dolan are spending the afternoon receiving their guests at the Pontifical North American College -- where, in a notable subtext to this intake, the latter succeeded the former as rector in 1994.

With the duo's elevations, the number of NAC chiefs who ended up in scarlet has doubled in a day to four, in the footsteps of Boston's first cardinal, William O'Connell (rector from 1895-1901), who was elevated in 1911, and Washington's James Hickey (1969-74), a member of the Consistory Class of 1988. (Speaking of history, in the shot above, O'Brien -- the 15th holder of John Carroll's chair -- is wearing the pectoral cross of his Baltimore predecessor, the Stateside church's founding bishop.)

From their personal events, a rushed lunch is shoehorned into the schedule before the new red-hats are whisked back to the Vatican, where -- in another reflection of the College's close tie to Peter's successor -- the doors of the Apostolic Palace are flung open to the public for a general reception from 4.30 to 6.30 in the evening.

With the cardinals stationed around the building's various state rooms, the traditional open-house for "courtesy visits" is the only time anyone can enter the Bronze Doors and ascend the Scala Regia, so the crowd tends to feature a decent number of art-gazing natives among the buzzing pilgrims.

Given the size of this year's class, however, only the new cardinals of the Roman Curia -- and not even all of them -- have been given the coveted slots in the Pope's House; the rest of the bunch are slated to be on the other side of St Peter's in the modern, now solar-powered Paul VI Audience Hall. While Dolan and Toronto's Cardinal Thomas Collins will be set up in the main space where Benedict XVI holds his Wednesday gatherings and other large events, O'Brien's been given a spot in the building's atrium. Per custom, each cardinal hands out prayer-cards to commemorate his elevation, and by each station stands a small table intended to display the greeter's new red biretta.

From there, the groups break up for dinner and, in most cases, an early night. While the Pope's concelebrated Mass with his new appointees begins at 9.30 Vatican time tomorrow morning in St Peter's, for the third of three indoor consistories in a row, reports have already emerged that at least hundreds of pilgrims -- some of whom were said to be queued up before dawn to get into this morning's ceremony -- were shut out of the basilica and forced to watch the event on the large video-screens set up in the square.

In prior instances of this, the excluded (including members of some new cardinals' families) all had tickets, but the distributed number of passes ostensibly exceeded the roughly 10,000-seat capacity of the world's second-largest church. Before B16 moved his elevations inside at his second intake in 2007, they had been held in the Piazza from 1998, taking place in the 7,000-seat Audience Hall prior to that.

Before the advent of mass pilgrimages accompanying the designates, consistories historically occurred in the Hall of Blessings above the narthex of St Peter's, or in the Sistine Chapel.

The formal events for the new crop of the College wrap up on Monday, when the Pope receives the cardinals and their groups for one mass audience. More than most Consistory Weeks, Rome is expected to clear out quickly afterward with Ash Wednesday, and the residential prelates' task to lead Lent's opening rites at home, all of hours away.

Not much later, the new class' added workload will begin to evidence itself. Within the coming weeks, the new cardinals younger than 80 will receive their memberships to several dicasteries of the Roman Curia, their dockets individually determined by the pontiff to reflect which offices can benefit most from their particular strengths and experiences. And for most cardinals, the new role tends to bring a fairly sizable uptick both in mail and invitations, all of which has to be balanced with a "day job" that's often fairly intense on its own.

All that said, there is one last Roman ritual awaiting each member of the class -- "taking possession" of his assigned titular church. The simple parish Mass launching a new cardinal's ministry as honorary pastor of his assignment now usually takes place within a year.

PHOTOS: Getty, Reuters

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Amid Vatican Storm, Pope Calls His "Senate" to "A Service of Love"

With the usual flash of color that invariably makes it one of the Vatican's most vivid days, this morning brought the creation of 22 new cardinals in a consistory whose freshly-revised script saw the rite unfold at a record pace, wrapping up in roughly an hour and a half despite the inclusion of several new elements.

Held inside St Peter's Basilica for the third time in the reign of Benedict XVI, the new intake formally raises the number of cardinals eligible to elect a Pope to 125, its largest complement in a decade. At least 13 voting seats in the papal "Senate" will open over the next year as cardinals age out of their conclave rights on reaching their 80th birthdays. With today's group, the German pontiff has now chosen a majority of the voters who will, in time, choose his successor.

Yet for all the customary pomp and energy of the moment, this consistory -- highlighted by the ascent of New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan (above) -- takes place against the backdrop of an unusually rattled Vatican amid the recent outbreak of damaging leaks to the Italian press over the last month. Marked by constantly shifting developments, the ongoing tempest has centered around the publication of confidential internal documents which have alleged everything from "corruption" and mismanagement in the governance of the city-state to warnings of a "death plot" against Benedict himself.

The strange, roiled scene provides the context of the Pope's allocutio, or homily to the new cardinals, which traditionally serves as an explanation to them of their new responsibilities.

Fullvideo of the consistory is available on-demand via the Vatican's HD player, and below is an English translation of B16's remarks.

* * *

«Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam» ("You are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church" Mt 16:18)

Venerable Brothers,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

With these words the entrance hymn has led us into the solemn and evocative ritual of the ordinary public Consistory for the creation of new Cardinals, with the placing of the biretta, the handing over of the ring and the assigning of a titular church. They are the efficacious words with which Jesus constituted Peter as the solid foundation of the Church. On such a foundation the faith represents the qualitative factor: Simon becomes Peter – the Rock – in as much as he professed his faith in Jesus as Messiah and Son of God. In the proclamation of Christ the Church is bound to Peter and Peter is placed in the Church as a rock; although it is Christ himself who builds up the Church, Peter must always be a constitutive element of that upbuilding. He will always be such through faithfulness to his confession made at Caesarea Philippi, in virtue of the affirmation, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God".

The words Jesus addressed to Peter highlight well the ecclesial character of today’s event. The new Cardinals, in receiving the title of a church in this city or of a suburban Diocese, are fully inserted in the Church of Rome led by the Successor of Peter, in order to cooperate closely with him in governing the universal Church. These beloved Brothers, who in a few minutes’ time will enter and become part of the College of Cardinals, will be united with new and stronger bonds not only to the Roman Pontiff but also to the entire community of the faithful spread throughout the world. In carrying out their particular service in support of the Petrine ministry, the new Cardinals will be called to consider and evaluate the events, the problems and the pastoral criteria which concern the mission of the entire Church. In this delicate task, the life and the death of the Prince of the Apostles, who for love of Christ gave himself even unto the ultimate sacrifice, will be an example and a helpful witness of faith for the new Cardinals.

It is with this meaning that the placing of the red biretta is also to be understood. 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, as expressed in the words of placing the biretta and as indicated by the colour of their robes. Furthermore, they are asked to serve the Church with love and vigour, with the transparency and wisdom of teachers, with the energy and strength of shepherds, with the fidelity and courage of martyrs. They are to be eminent servants of the Church that finds in Peter the visible foundation of unity.

In the Gospel we have just heard proclaimed there is offered a model to imitate and to follow. Against the background of the third prediction of the Passion, death and resurrection of the Son of Man, and in profound contrast to it, is placed the scene of the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, who are still pursuing dreams of glory beside Jesus. They ask him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory" (Mk 10:37). The response of Jesus is striking, and he asks an unexpected question: "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?" (Mk 10:38). The allusion is crystal clear: the chalice is that of the Passion, which Jesus accepts as the will of God. Serving God and others, self-giving: this is the logic which authentic faith imparts and develops in our daily lives and which is not the type of power and glory which belongs to this world.

By their request, James and John demonstrate that they do not understand the logic of the life to which Jesus witnesses, that logic which – according to the Master – must characterize the disciple in his spirit and in his actions. The erroneous logic is not the sole preserve of the two sons of Zebedee because, as the evangelist narrates, it also spreads to "the other ten" apostles who "began to be indignant at James and John" (Mk 10:41). They were indignant, because it is not easy to enter into the logic of the Gospel and to let go of power and glory. Saint John Chrysostom affirms that all of the apostles were imperfect, whether it was the two who wished to lift themselves above the other ten, or whether it was the ten who were jealous of them ("Commentary on Matthew", 65, 4: PG 58, 619-622). Commenting on the parallel passages in the Gospel of Luke, Saint Cyril of Alexandria adds, "The disciples had fallen into human weakness and were discussing among themselves which one would be the leader and superior to the others… This happened and is recounted for our advantage… What happened to the holy Apostles can be understood by us as an incentive to humility" ("Commentary on Luke", 12, 5, 24: PG 72, 912). This episode gives Jesus a way to address each of the disciples and "to call them to himself", almost to pull them in, to form them into one indivisible body with him, and to indicate which is the path to real glory, that of God: "You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all" (Mk 10:42-44).

Dominion and service, egoism and altruism, possession and gift, self-interest and gratuitousness: these profoundly contrasting approaches confront each other in every age and place. There is no doubt about the path chosen by Jesus: he does not merely indicate it with words to the disciples of then and of today, but he lives it in his own flesh. He explains, in fact, "For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45). These words shed light upon today’s public Consistory with a particular intensity. They resound in the depths of the soul and represent an invitation and a reminder, a commission and an encouragement especially for you, dear and venerable Brothers who are about to be enrolled in the College of Cardinals.

According to biblical tradition, the Son of man is the one who receives power and dominion from God (cf. Dan 7:13f). Jesus interprets his mission on earth by combining the figure of the Son of man with that of the suffering Servant, described in Isaiah (cf. 53:1-12). He receives power and the glory only inasmuch as he is "servant"; but he is servant inasmuch as he welcomes within himself the fate of the suffering and the sin of all humanity. His service is realized in total faithfulness and complete responsibility towards mankind. In this way the free acceptance of his violent death becomes the price of freedom for many, it becomes the beginning and the foundation of the redemption of each person and of the entire human race.

Dear Brothers who are to be enrolled in the College of Cardinals, may Christ’s total gift of self on the Cross be for you the foundation, stimulus and strength of a faith operative in charity. May your mission in the Church and the world always be "in Christ" alone, responding to his logic and not that of the world, and may it be illumined by faith and animated by charity which comes to us from the glorious Cross of the Lord. On the ring which I will soon place on your finger, are represented Saints Peter and Paul, and in the middle a star which evokes the Mother of God. Wearing this ring, you are reminded each day to remember the witness which these two Apostles gave to Christ even unto martyrdom here in Rome, their blood making the Church fruitful. The example of the Virgin Mother will always be for you an invitation to follow her who was strong in faith and a humble servant of the Lord.

As I bring these brief reflections to a close, I would like to extend warm greetings and thanks to all present, especially to the official Delegations from various countries and to the various diocesan groups. The new Cardinals, in their service, are called to remain faithful to Christ at all times, letting themselves be guided only by his Gospel. Dear brothers and sisters, pray that their lives will always reflect the Lord Jesus, our sole shepherd and teacher, source of every hope, who points out the path to everyone. And pray also for me, that I may continually offer to the People of God the witness of sound doctrine and guide holy Church with a firm and humble hand.

PHOTOS: Reuters

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"Scarlet Audio-Visual Aids" -- Dolan on "The Announcement of the Gospel Today"... "Even to the Shedding of Blood"

As expected -- and now, freshly released by the Vatican -- here below is the fulltext of the much-awaited keynote on the New Evangelization given to today's pre-Consistory gathering of the Pope and College of Cardinals by Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan of New York, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops:


PHOTO: AP

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For the New Evangelization, Benedict Picks His "Star" -- For Cardinal Dolan, The Red Hat Comes With a "Bowling Ball"

Seeing the shot above, one can almost hear that now-famous Midwestern voice saying, "Allright, everybody...."

For Timothy Michael Dolan, this weekend caps a meteoric rise of the kind only he could make look natural.

To use just one example, before the 62 year-old prelate, never have the terms "Archbishop of New York" and "President of the American Bishops" been able to exist in the same sentence, unless historians were discussing the dual legitimacy which Francis Spellman lusted, and even John O'Connor earnestly sought, yet neither would ever know.

Of course, not even two years after his appointment to the place the Vatican sees as the "Capital of the World," for Dolan, the towering unprecedented just so happened. And much as the result is anything but an academic matter these days, odds are even the great John Tracy Ellis would have been amazed to find his last student not simply observing the next page of the American Catholic journey but, in many ways, writing it.

From his seminary and grad-school classmates to his students at the Pontifical North American College, coworkers at the Washington Nunciature, friends from St Louis and Milwaukee, even those who vividly remember his major-media debut -- doing EWTN's commentary for the 1993 World Youth Day in Denver -- tomorrow's Consistory merely realizes a consensus on Dolan's fate that has circulated for decades. As tends to happen in his case, however, even the Gotham prelate's reception of the Red Hat -- on its own, normally the culmination of a churchman's journey -- has a little special something added on....

Or, in this case, perhaps not so little: a New York-sized induction to global Catholicism's top rank is more like it.

* * *

As the College of Cardinals gathers this morning for its usual pre-Consistory day of prayer and discussion, it awaits a Dolan star turn of a degree that makes even the new cardinal's successful corralling of NBC's Today show for a day at the Vatican last June pale in comparison... and arguably a Roman high-wire at least as daunting as the toughest test in American media -- the 60 Minutes interview, which he cleared last March.

Yet more than any others, it was likely those two moments that paved the way for this.

At the Pope's choosing, the cardinals' study day (over which Benedict will preside) is dedicated to the New Evangelization, arguably his most emphatic priority in the Western church. And in a half-hour Italian talk followed by questions from himself and the floor, the pontiff has tasked Tim Dolan with making the case for it. (SVILUPPO: Fulltext of Dolan's talk.)

To fully understand the significance of the keynote assignment, it bears recalling that, until now, presentations in these sessions have been given exclusively by the seniormost chiefs of the Roman Curia -- names like Sodano, Levada, Re, Cañizares and Castrillón -- on key matters ranging from the church's response to clergy sex-abuse and Catholic-Muslim relations in the Middle East, to what would become Summorum Pontificum and Benedict's respective efforts toward full communion with Anglican groups and the traditionalist Society of St Pius X.

To be sure, Benedict already has an office dedicated to the reproposal of faith in the West -- the first Vatican dicastery to be established in a quarter-century -- which the Pope launched in 2009. Yet while his Curia's top hand on the New Evangelization, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, is slated to take a second speaking-slot later in today's session, the pontiff's selection of Dolan as Poster Prelate for his signature push serves as a staggering sign of Roman acclaim for his performance in a town that, to employ a B16 term, is often viewed in Vatican circles as the global seat of the "dictatorship of relativism."

At the same time, that's an image today's lead-off hitter has already aimed to refute.

"I don't like that caricature that New York is some neo-Sodom and Gomorrah," the cardinal-designate told reporters yesterday after leading a Mass for his 1,000-some pilgrims. "New York seems to have an innate interest and respect for religion and I'm going to bring that up."

With the gathering being held behind closed doors in the Vatican's Synod Hall, the texts of today's main addresses are normally not released afterward. This time, though, something seems to say we'll at least have a pretty good idea of what ensues.

If nothing else, once his turn under the Aula lights wraps up, Dolan will be free of a pressure surrounding the talk which, earlier this week, he characterized as "a bowling ball on [his] head."

* * *

Were one to assess the record that launched New York's eighth cardinal into both St Patrick's Cathedral and a key Vatican podium, it's easy to presume that Dolan's continent-long clipreel goes as much a ways toward explaining the story.

Still, even for everything it does show, the footage is only indicative of two qualities that don't just shine in the camera lights, but stand as the golden thread of his 36 years of priesthood: the easily relatable, ever-happy, sense of the human and, above all, an almost unparalleled personal touch that, behind the scenes, has possibly been felt by millions along the way.

Far from the flashbulbs and policy fights lies what might be the most important and personal constant in the rising cardinal's world: the lists Dolan compiles of people he's heard about, and often doesn't know -- parents with a sick kid, somebody who's lost a loved one; parishioners, friends, or even mere acquaintances, experiencing some or another rough patch.

Always being added to, it makes for an extensive group. What matters most, though, is the result -- if he's got a phone number, he'll call each. Where there's no number, a handwritten card or note is quickly sent. Either way, the message is always the same: to check in and see how somebody's doing, to send prayers and see if there's anything he can do.

In other words, perhaps the most powerful thing the cardinal-archbishop of New York does is little more than simply being a priest from Ballwin, Missouri. And if there's a key for the church's top leadership to succeed at the New Evangelization, well, that might just be it.

* * *

As the result of said approach is being beamed wall-to-wall in the nation's biggest TV market this week, here, a round-up of the reputedly tough, often merciless New York media's coverage of the Big Apple's cardinal-designate.

From CBS' Channel 2....

NBC's Channel 4....


ABC's Channel 7....



The independent Channel 11 spends time trailing Dolan's "two Moms"....

...and from the New York Daily News, the cardinal-to-be on how he celebrates Daily Mass:


Lastly, yesterday saw one big mystery surrounding this Consistory finally put to bed.

As every prior archbishop of New York had died in office until Dolan's predecessor, each of the city's last four prelates had been given the Basilica of Saints John and Paul -- the mother-house of the Passionists on the Coelian Hill -- as their Roman church.

Originally the titular of Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pius XII, the wartime pontiff assigned the church to one of his closest allies, Francis Spellman, on his 1946 elevation, and it's remained New York's ever since. Yet given Cardinal Edward Egan's unprecedented retirement from the seat in St Patrick's, a new title would have to be found for his successor.

Ergo, in a notable nod to a Gotham archdiocese -- and, indeed, a Stateside church -- whose next chapter is increasingly more Latino than Anglo, Cardinal Dolan will be entrusted with Rome's national parish for the city's Mexican expats: Our Lady of Guadalupe in Monte Mario, a largely immigrant neighborhood.

In a way, though, perhaps today's speaking gig contributed a touch to the choice: per the Popes of recent years, Guadalupe has been given the title "Star of the New Evangelization." And after this week, it seems plausible to say that, here below, New York's cardinal has been tapped to share it.

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"Even To the Shedding of Your Blood...."

And as these days begin, again, the ultimate reminder of what they're all about....

"To the praise of God, and the honor of the Apostolic See
receive the red biretta, the sign of the cardinal's dignity;
and know that you must be willing to conduct yourselves with fortitude
even to the shedding of your blood:
for the growth of the Christian faith,
the peace and tranquility of the People of God,
and the freedom and spread of the Holy Roman Church."

...and, accordingly, in his own reflection on receiving the Red Hat, this Consistory's marquee designate focused especially on the same point:

Yes, becoming a cardinal is an honor, and many of you have been so kind in extending your good wishes and congratulations to me upon receiving it. Thanks! But it is not meant to be an honor without responsibility. To the contrary, cardinals are specifically asked to serve Jesus and His Church with renewed courage. When the Holy Father presents the “red hat” to the new cardinals, he will ask us to accept it as a sign of our readiness to shed our blood for the strengthening of the faith, the peace and tranquillity of the people of God, and the liberty and growth of the Church. Get it? Blood! Red!

Would you pray for me that I might do as I am asked, that I will be a courageous preacher of the Gospel, and defender of human dignity, the Church and our cherished religious freedom? I need more than your prayers though. I need your joyful witness, your solidarity. Just as the whole community shares in this honor, so too do we all share in the responsibility. If all this only means that I now dress up in a red cassock and red hat, we will have missed the whole point.

Are you ready to shed your blood? Every Christian disciple should aspire to be brave enough to do so. Please God, the day of shedding one’s blood for the faith will not come to New York, but the cardinalatial red should invite everyone to ask some questions and examine our consciences. As Blessed John Paul II observed, “If something is not worth dying for, it’s not worth living for.” God, family, faith, freedom, one’s country, friends, honor, virtue, life itself, the Church—all worth dying for . . . all worth living for!

For my part, I have to ask myself: Where do I show steadfastness now? If I can’t be courageous now in small things, how might I be ready to answer the summons to shed my blood in grave matters? Do I speak of the Gospel full and entire, with joy and conviction, even to those who appear to be indifferent or hostile? Do I defend the Church when she is maligned or attacked, or when her proper liberties are threatened? Do I stand fast with those around the world persecuted and even martyred for their faith, raising my voice in solidarity with them? Do I do my utmost, with the help of God’s grace, to live the virtues, especially those of humility and charity? Do I fight the daily battle to make room for God, in time set aside for prayer, the sacraments and works of service to others, especially those in need?

Might I invite you to ask those same questions? I hope that these days of the consistory in Rome be an occasion of renewed zeal throughout the [church], inaugurating an increasingly confident, joyful, courageous Catholic witness....

Pope Benedict XVI chose February 18 for the consistory because of its proximity to February 22, normally the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter. (This year the feast will not be observed, as it is Ash Wednesday.) Peter’s final “chair” in Rome was the cross upside down, on a hill called “the Vatican,” and his martyr’s grave lies below the very spot where we new cardinals will receive the red biretta. The shedding of blood is not a metaphor; it is a reality.

There will be joy in Rome, but a sober joy. We are grateful to be Roman, to be Catholic, to be heirs to the promises of Christ and the blood of the martyrs. We renew our love for Christ, His Church, His Vicar on earth. We strengthen our courage to be witnesses of that love for the entire Church, and for the world that so urgently needs her witness.

That’s the significance of the consistory for new cardinals, for Rome, for New York [and for the wider Church].

Benedict XVI's fourth intake to the College of Cardinals begins tomorrow morning, with the now-customary daylong meeting for prayer and consultation the Pope -- the first Cardinal-Dean raised to the Papacy in over four centuries -- has established for the "Senate" that will, in time, elect his successor.

The day's announced business dedicated to the New Evangelization -- but, quite possibly, not limited to it -- in a significant sign of B16's confidence in the chief of the US bishops, this pre-Consistory's key talk will be given by the rising, blogging cardinal-archbishop of New York.

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This Time, There's A Whole New Ring To It

Before we get into thick of Scarlet Bowl IV, it's worth noting that this weekend's consistory will bring some significant tweaks to the rites from which cardinals are made.

For starters, with Pope Benedict's liturgy team seeking to douse impressions that elevation to the College somehow constitutes a "sacrament," the 22 incoming "Princes of the Church" will receive their rings at Saturday's consistory together with the red biretta, which has served as the office's central symbol since the 30-tasseled galero was removed from the ceremonial at its revision in 1967.

Secondly, though, the just-released worship aid for the rites indicates that the bas-relief circular band depicting the Crucifixion (below) -- given to practically every new cardinal in the post-Conciliar period -- is being replaced by a brand-new design, intended to underscore in gold the particular link of the Papal "Senate" to the church of Rome, born from the witness and martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul.

Of course, the cardinals of the Roman church constitute the historic successors of the city's first clergy, hence the body's responsibility to elect the local bishop (i.e. the Pope), and each member's assignment to a titular church, where he serves as honorary pastor -- and, in most cases, is financially responsible for the building's upkeep.

For several centuries, the ring given a new cardinal on his elevation consisted of a sapphire -- the stone traditionally reserved to the rank -- often surrounded by diamonds. After the reforms of the liturgy and ceremonies in the wake of the Council, the far simpler, modern band was adopted by Paul VI, and conferred in the context of a concelebrated liturgy, which came to be known as the "Mass of the Rings."

Even as the Pope's bestowal of the rings will now be folded into the Public Consistory itself, the new intake will still celebrate Mass with Benedict on Sunday morning, which is being observed in the Vatican as the feast of the Chair of St Peter.

This year, the Pope-centric celebration's usual date of 22 February is overtaken by Ash Wednesday. The three-day lapse notwithstanding, this weekend's gathering will mark the first induction of new cardinals on the feast since 2001, when Blessed John Paul II brought 44 new members into the College, inflating its electoral contingent to an all-time high of 135, exceeding by fifteen the supposed statutory maximum set by Paul in 1975.

While the hypothetical voting College -- that is, the group's members younger than 80 -- will top out at 125 as of Saturday, 13 more cardinals will become ineligible to enter a Conclave over the year following this Consistory simply on grounds of age.

Come late July, once Cardinals Edward Egan and Francis Stafford reach their 80th birthdays, the Stateside church will be left with just 10 electors. And with the sudden vanishing of a "queue" for an American Red Hat -- at least, under the protocols long in force -- the door opens for some very interesting possibilities.

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According to the rebooted consistory ritual prepared by the lead papal MC, Msgr Guido Marini, the newly-designed cardinal's ring (right) is described as follows:

The back part of the ring represents a stylized column like those found in Saint Peter’s Basilica, while the face is a bas-relief in the shape of a cross.

On the face are figures of Saints Peter and Paul, modeled on their statues located in front of the Basilica, representing faith and missionary proclamation.

Between the two Saints, as if to illumine them, is placed an eight-pointed star, a clear reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Inside the ring, beneath the face, are the arms of Pope Benedict XVI in bas-relief.

As each of the cardinals-designate -- who, per tradition, enter the consistory bareheaded -- are brought forward to the Pope, the zucchetto and biretta will be imposed on each kneeling cleric, then the ring conferred, and finally, the bull consigning his titular church placed in his hand.

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As the inductions proceed, the traditional sign of peace with the new cardinals will take place as usual.

In yet another innovation, though -- and one that should particularly be of interest to Stateside readers -- the rites of creation will be immediately followed by the entire College's approval of several canonizations, including those of Blesseds Kateri Tekakwitha and Marianne Cope.

While B16 approved the final miracles clearing Hawaii's servant of lepers (the successor of St Damien de Veuster on Molokai) and modern-day New York's Algonquin convert-catechist for sainthood in late December, a consistory's approval is always the final requisite formality before the process' conclusion. Normally, consistories for canonizations take place in the Apostolic Palace and are attended only by the cardinals resident in Rome.

At the close of the second part of Saturday's rites, the Pope will announce the date on which Kateri, Marianne and five other blesseds "are to be enrolled among the Saints."

As of this writing, however, the first-ever elevation of two American saints at once is most widely tipped to take place on either October 14th or 21st, during the Synod of Bishops for the New Evangelization.

And lastly, lest anyone's planning watch parties for the weekend's ceremonies, Saturday's Consistory begins at 10.30am Rome time, with the following day's Mass an hour earlier.

Just in case, webstreams will abound; for those, and all the rest, stay tuned.

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