Red Pope Gets His Choice

Score one for the prefect of Propaganda Fide. More importantly, score yet another one for Vox Clara.

In an announcement that should come as a surprise to no one, earlier today Benedict XVI named Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Agra as archbishop of Bombay. The new head of India's most prominent local church'll get to pay his thank-you visits next week, when the commission for English liturgical translations meets again at Culto Divino; Ozzie serves as VC's second vice-chair.

Elsewhere on the Roman beat on this Saturday, the Pope received Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, SJ, the retired archbishop of Milan, in yet another private audience.... Martini's been received more than any other non-curial cardinal, active or otherwise. Interesting, eh?

FYI, the superlative Italian journal 30 giorni just published Martini's reflections at the 50th anniversary of Pius XII's encyclical on the Sacred Heart, Haurietis aquas. Also "in" today were Cardinals Castrillion, Martino and Jaime Ortega y Alamino, the archbishop of Havana.

Yesterday, B16 had a sit-down with Cardinal Carlo Caffarra of Bologna.... But was the CEI on the docket? We'll see soon enough.

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