Morning Notes

Lest anyone's looking to watch as it happens, the Public Consistory for the creation of 24 new cardinals begins at 10.30am Rome time Saturday (0930 GMT, 4.30am Eastern, etc.).

That said, for those who'd like to sleep in as long as possible, B16's climactic conferral of the "Red Hat" on his designees won't come til roughly halfway through the two-hour-long rite, which takes place in the context of the Liturgy of the Word.

As pre-game goes, the worship aid for the ceremony's posted as a .pdf, EWTN'll have the livestream with English commentary, and CatholicTV will air the rites at noon Eastern (and have them up on-demand in due course). Meanwhile, your pages will be up and running through the night with photos, updates on whatever transpires at the rites... and, of course, whatever the ops in attendance send along.

(For the record, as some have asked, the prospect of making the pilgrimage ended up being a no-go this time -- Providence demanded that this scribe pay the bills... and, well, such is life. Then again, as the beat goes, the Big Story happened in Baltimore on Tuesday... so as the travel planning would've been an "either/or" decision, staying back for the Fall Classic ended up being a smarter move on multiple levels.)

Ritual and timetables aside, though, late reports have been emerging from today's consultation between the Pope and his "Senate."

While, as expected, the mainstream press' histrionics of a "summit" on sex-abuse largely consisted of an "update" on the CDF procedures for the handling of cases (and SNAP showing up... albeit three weeks late), the prefect of the "Holy Office," Cardinal William Levada, did reveal that another set of guidelines is being prepared, this time to help episcopal conferences "offer a coordinated, effective program" for the protection of children and young people, as well as ensuring "an attentive selection and formation of future priests and religious."

Likewise of interest to the English-speaking world, Levada highlighted Anglicanorum coetibus -- the Holy See's effort to accede to the requests for full communion from groups of Anglicans -- confirming that the first Ordinariate for those taking up the offer would be established in England.

Along those lines, earlier today a timetable for the new structure's set-up -- authoritatively viewed as the "model" for all the others to be created in the Anglosphere -- was released by the bishops of England and Wales at the close of their weeklong plenary in Leeds.

According to it, as expected, the five Anglican bishops who've announced their resignations to swim the Tiber will be ordained to the diaconate and priesthood "prior to Lent." The 50-some priests likewise making the journey are expected to be ordained for Rome sometime "around Pentecost," with the faithful to be received into the church during the Easter Triduum.

PHOTOS: Getty(2,3)

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