College of Cardinals

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New Secretary of State of the Holy See, Archbishop Pietro Parolin

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Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the longtime veteran of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, and a skilled and veteran diplomat in his current role as the Apostolic Nuncio to Venezuela, as the trusted aide to Pope Benedict XVI (now Pope Emeritus), had been appointed on Saturday, 31 August 2013 as the new Secretary of State, the top position of the Roman Curia, the governing body of the Church.

In addition, as positions tied to the post of Secretary of State, Archbishop Parolin also automatically become the new President of Interdicasterial Commission on Particular Churches (which task is managing the Eastern Catholic Churches), President of Interdicasterial Commission for the Church in Eastern Europe, and the Protector of Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.

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Archbishop Pietro Parolin will replace the outgoing Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., who is also the Chamberlain (Camerlengo) of the Church, effective on 15 October 2013 as per the decree of Pope Francis released today.

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Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone is then the Secretary of State Emeritus effective on the state mentioned in the paragraph above (15 October), when Archbishop Pietro Parolin officially takes over as the new Secretary of State. The position of the Secretary of State is the top in the Roman Curia, below only the Pope in the hierarchy of the Church. Cardinal Bertone will however remain as the Camerlengo of the Church.

We thank Cardinal Bertone for all his hard work and contributions to the Church, many of which were unknown to many, and all the labours he had done in great humility and dedication in his position as the servant of the Holy Church.

As the Secretary of State position is the top official post of the entire Church and the Roman Curia save for the Pope himself, it is expected that the 58 years old Archbishop Pietro Parolin will be made a Cardinal in the next Consistory of Cardinals (possibly early 2014 or late 2014).

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Passing of Cardinal Medardo Joseph Mazombwe of Zambia, at the age of 81

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Cardinal Medardo Joseph Mazombwe, Cardinal Priest of S. Emerenziana a Tor Fiorenze has passed away on Thursday, 29 August 2013 at the age of 81. He was the Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Lusaka in Zambia.

http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/cardB16-3.htm#6723

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Cardinal Mazombwe was created Cardinal in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI and he was a longtime bishop of Chipata since 1970 until he was made the Metropolitan Archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia in 1996. Cardinal Mazombwe retired in 2006, and was also for a few years the President of the Zambia Episcopal Conference.

We pray for Cardinal Mazombwe, that he will rest in peace, and God will reward him for all his hard work as the shepherd of the people of God in Lusaka and in Zambia as a whole and his numerous other contributions to the Universal Church and for the Lord’s sake. May the Lord welcome him into His embrace in heaven and give him eternal rest and happiness that he deserved.

With the passing of Cardinal Mazombwe, the College of Cardinals now stands at 201 members, with 112 Cardinal-electors and 89 Cardinal non-electors.

There are now 8 Cardinal-elector vacancies in the College of Cardinals, 12 vacant Cardinal Titles (for Cardinal Priests) and 8 vacant Cardinal Deaconries (for Cardinal Deacons)

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Passing of Cardinal Ersilio Tonini of Italy, at the age of 99

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Cardinal Ersilio Tonini, Cardinal Priest of SS. Redentore a Valmelaina has passed away on Sunday, 28 July 2013 at the age of 99, just a few days after his birthday on 20 July. At 99, he was the oldest living Cardinal in the College of Cardinals.

http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/cardJP2-6.htm#175

Cardinal Tonini was created Cardinal in 1994 by the late Blessed Pope John Paul II and he was the Metropolitan Archbishop of Ravenna-Cervia, Italy from 1975 to 1990. He was the last Cardinal to have been born in the Pontificate of Pope St. Pius X, the last Pope to be made a saint. Pope St. Pius X passed away exactly one month after Cardinal Tonini was born (20 August 1914). He was also the last Cardinal to have been born prior to World War I, which began just a week after his birth.

We pray for Cardinal Tonini, that he will rest in peace, and God will reward him for all his hard work as the shepherd of the people of God in Ravenna-Cervia and his numerous other contributions to the Church and for the Lord’s sake. May the Lord welcome him into His embrace in heaven and give him eternal rest and happiness that he deserved.

With the passing of Cardinal Tonini, the College of Cardinals now stands at 202 members, with 112 Cardinal-electors and 90 Cardinal non-electors.

There are now 8 Cardinal-elector vacancies in the College of Cardinals, 11 vacant Cardinal Titles (for Cardinal Priests) and 8 vacant Cardinal Deaconries (for Cardinal Deacons)

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Passing of Cardinal Simon Ignatius Pimenta of India, at the age of 93

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Cardinal Simon Ignatius Pimenta, Cardinal Priest of S. Maria ‘Regina Mundi’ a Torre Spaccata has passed away last Friday, 19 July 2013 at the age of 93.

http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/cardJP2-4.htm#122

Cardinal Pimenta was created Cardinal in 1988 by the late Blessed Pope John Paul II and he was the Metropolitan Archbishop of Bombay, India from 1978 to 1996 and was for quite a few years, the President of Conference of Catholic Bishops of India.

We pray for Cardinal Pimenta, that he will rest in peace, and God will reward him for all his hard work as the shepherd of the people of God in Bombay and his numerous other contributions to the Church and for the Lord’s sake. May the Lord welcome him into His embrace in heaven and give him eternal rest and happiness that he deserved.

With the passing of Cardinal Pimenta, the College of Cardinals now stands at 203 members, with 112 Cardinal-electors and 91 Cardinal non-electors.

There are now 8 vacancies in the College of Cardinals, 1o vacant Cardinal Titles (for Cardinal Priests) and 8 vacant Cardinal Deaconries (for Cardinal Deacons)

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Passing of Cardinal Stanislaw Nagy at the age of 91 (Wednesday, 5 June 2013)

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Cardinal Stanislaw Nagy, a Cardinal from Poland and a good friend of the late Blessed Pope John Paul II, and a renowned theologian and a great teacher, has passed away last Wednesday, on 5 June 2013 at the age of 91.

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Cardinal Nagy was made a Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria della Scala at the age of 82 in 2003, as a Cardinal non-elector, in recognition of his great service for the Church, both in the field of theology, and in the field of knowledge in general, after his numerous writings on the faith and the Pope himself, whom he was a dear friend of.

With the passing of Cardinal Nagy, the composition of the College of Cardinals has once again changed, just a day after Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Belgium aged out at 80 and became a Cardinal non-elector.

As of 5 June 2013, the College of Cardinals consist of 204 members in total, with 112 Cardinal-electors and 92 Cardinal non-electors (minus one due to the passing of Cardinal Nagy).

We pray for His Eminence’s soul that God will welcome him into His embrace in heaven, and grant him the heavenly reward that is promised him, and live with Him in glory forever and ever. Requiescat in Pace.

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Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Archbishop Emeritus of Mechelen-Brussel (Belgium), turns 80, ceases to be a Cardinal-elector

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Today, Tuesday, 4 June 2013, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Cardinal-Priest of S. Anastasia, and Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Mechelen-Brussel, Belgium, turns 80, and therefore, according to the rules written in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, he loses his right to vote in any future conclave.

Cardinal Godfried Danneels was made Cardinal-Priest of S. Anastasia by Blessed Pope John Paul II in the 1983 Consistory of Cardinals on 2 February 1983, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the second of his pontificate.

http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/cardJP2-2.htm#39

May God bless His Eminence Cardinal Danneels, with a blessed old age and health. May he remain strong in the faith and hopefully can perhaps still carry out the mission God had given him.

The College of Cardinals now stands at 205 members in total, with 112 Cardinal-electors and 93 Cardinal non-electors. There are now vacancy of 8 Cardinal-electors as compared to the maximum number of electors allowed in the Conclave of 120, although Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI had sometimes surpassed this limit.

Next Cardinal-elector to age out (80) will be Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Santiago (Chile) on 5 September 2013.

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Eighth Anniversary of the Election of Pope Benedict XVI to the Pontificate (19 April 2005)

Happy 8th Anniversary of the election of our beloved Pope Benedict XVI!

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He may have retired, but he will always be our Pope, and so I find that it is still relevant and indeed recommended to celebrate this joyful occasion, that 8 years ago, on 19 April 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected as Pope Benedict XVI, the 265th Pope. I can still clearly remember the Habemus Papam uttered by Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez on that day.

Ad multos annos, Holy Father! Pray for us always! May you live long and see through your successors! Support them with your prayers.

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(Image : From the election of Pope Benedict XVI on 19 April 2005)

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On Liturgical Music and Proper Worship (Video by Cardinal Francis Arinze)

A very nice argument by Cardinal Arinze, who was the head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. This is how and why music, liturgy and all parts of the Mass must be proper (to refute those who says that these are irrelevant), because exactly they help us to be closer to God, to make the worship at the Mass truly a worship, and not instead becoming a glorification of the priest, self, or anyone else besides God.

The parish priests, anywhere in the world, Singapore, Asia, Africa, Europe, and others must make sure that rock music, loud music, clapping in the Mass, even within song is not relevant and therefore must not be used. A hymn, a proper Catholic hymn sung with reverence is much more appropriate and should be promoted.

The way to evangelise to our Catholic youths and youths in general is not to include contemporary music into our worship that makes it less than appropriate, just so that we can attract them. Those music and clapping actions, are more suitable for rally sessions or praise and worship, but NOT for the Mass.

The best way? Introduce our youths to the proper and solemn music, many of which are beautiful and no longer heard today, sunk by all the ugly contemporary music the likes of those by Lady Gaga, Psy, and so many others, which are contemptuous twisting of the true beauty of music, which purpose, like what the angels are doing in heaven, is to praise the Lord in His glory. Gregorian chants in Latin and other chants and hymns in the vernacular languages are the way to go.

We are the Church, and we worship the Lord in the Mass. We are not going to a marketplace or attending music concert when we attend the Mass, instead in the Mass we are with the Lord and through our tongues we praise Him with glorious and beautiful hymns appropriate to worship Him!

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Appointment of Advisory Board for the Reform of the Roman Curia

Pope Francis had appointed an advisory board composed of eight Cardinals and some other prelates whose function is to help the Holy Father in his reform of the Roman Curia to increase its efficiency.

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-appoints-council-of-eight-cardinals-to-advise

 

Here are the members of the Advisory Board, picked from members of the College of Cardinals across the globe (set to meet from 1-3 October 2013 for first discussion) :

1. Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, President of the Governatorate of Vatican City State

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2. Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Santiago del Cile (Chile)

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3. Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Metropolitan Archbishop of Bombay (India)

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4. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Metropolitan Archbishop of München und Freising (Germany)

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5. Cardinal Laurent Monswengo Pasinya, Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo)

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6. Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley. O.F.M. Cap., Metropolitan Archbishop of Boston (U.S.A.)

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7. Cardinal George Pell, Metropolitan Archbishop of Sydney (Australia)

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8. Cardinal Oscar Andrés Maradiaga Rodríguez S.D.B., Metropolitan Archbishop of Tegucigalpa (Honduras)

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As mentioned, the first meeting of the group would be from 1-3 October 2013, so I would not expect significant changes to the Roman Curia before the end of this year, or even early next year (2014).

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Passing of Cardinal Lorenzo Antonetti at the age of 90

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Cardinal Lorenzo Antonetti of Italy, the Cardinal-Priest of S. Agnese in Agone, and Pontifical Delegate Emeritus for the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, has passed away at the age of 90 on Wednesday, 10 April 2013.

http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/cardJP2-7.htm#9

Cardinal Antonetti was created Cardinal in the Consistory of 21 February 1998, and his passing made changes to the composition of the College of Cardinals. The College of Cardinals now consists of 205 members, out of which 113 are Cardinal-electors and 92 are Cardinal non-electors (reduced by 1 due to Cardinal Antonetti’s passing).

Barring any future deaths, the next event involving the College of Cardinals would be the aging out of Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Belgium from the electorate on 4 June 2013, when he turns 80.