Roman Catholics: The Fine Papal Art Of Creating New Cardinals

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Awarding red hats is a papal act requiring exquisite diplomacy and political tact. Ideally, a list of new cardinals should pay discreet homage to every major segment of the Roman Catholic Church: a prelate or two from major sees that traditionally require cardinal-archbishops; a sprinkling of faithful retainers from the Roman Curia; a spokesman for at least one nation that has never before had a member of the sacred college; a heroic bishop who has defended the Christian faith behind the Iron Curtain; and at least one energetic American.

Last week, when Pope Paul named 27 new cardinals, thereby raising membership in the college to an alltime high of 120, he fulfilled this prospectus to the letter. Archbishops Pierre Veuillot of Paris and Corrado Ursi of Naples—cities that over the centuries became accustomed to having cardinals—were elevated to the purple, along with 14 Vatican diplomats and curial officials. Archbishop Justinus Darmajuwana, 52, of Semarang, becomes the first Indonesian to sit in the college; German-born Archbishop Jose Clemente Maurer, 67, of Sucre will be the first Bolivian. Berlin's Archbishop Alfred Bengsch, who by choice lives in the Eastern sector of the divided city, will be, at 45, the youngest cardinal.

Intransigent Hero. Another new Iron Curtain prelate is Karol Wojtyla, 47, of Cracow, a talented theologian whom the Vatican hopes may get along better with the Gomulka regime than does Warsaw's Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski. Although Wyszynski for years led a heroic battle against Poland's Communist leaders that kept Catholicism alive, Rome seems to feel that his intransigence now stands in the way of gaining further concessions for the church.

The four Americans named by Paul raised U.S. representation in the college to nine—third highest after Italy (37) and France (10). Few Catholics were surprised by the Pope's choices. Archbishop John Krol, 56, of Philadelphia, a steely conservative, is the efficient vice president of the new U.S. bishops' conference. Chicago's business-like John Patrick Cody, 59, as head of the nation's largest archdiocese, was more or less automatically in line for a red hat. Archbishop Patrick O'Boyle, 70, of Washington, D.C., has a reputation within the church of being a sturdy champion of minority rights and a skillful organizer of charities. The fourth new U.S. cardinal, Pennsylvania-born Francis J. Brennan, 73, has for eight years been dean of the Sacred Roman Rota, the church's highest tribunal on marriage matters.