Pope Francis Urges New Cardinals to Avoid Vatican Intrigue and Gossip

Pope Francis holds the book of the gospels aloft.

THE GUARDIAN: Former archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols among 19 new cardinals told to embody holiness with zeal and ardour

Pope Francis has instructed his new "princes of the church" - among them Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the archbishop of Westminster - to avoid "intrigue, gossip, cliques, favouritism and partiality" as they don the Roman Catholic church's prized red biretta.

Speaking in St Peter's basilica a day after he created 19 new cardinals, the Argentinean pontiff strictly exhorted the men to reject the habits of a royal court that have in recent years come to be associated with parts of the Roman curia, or Vatican bureaucracy.

Looking up from his notes to address the massed ranks of cardinals, he told them: "A cardinal – I say this especially to you – enters the church of Rome, my brothers, not a [royal] court. May all of us avoid, and help others to avoid, habits and ways of acting typical of a court: intrigue, gossip, cliques, favouritism and partiality." » | Lizzy Davies in Rome | Sunday, February 23, 2014

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Pope Benedict XVI Appoints Six Non-European Cardinals

BBC: Pope Benedict XVI has appointed six priests from non-European countries to be cardinals, at a service in the Vatican's St Peter's Basilica.

The cardinals, the closest aides of the Pope, come from the Philippines, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Colombia and the US.

Analysts say it is unusual for the Pope to select only non-Europeans.

The Pope told the congregation that the Catholic Church belongs to the whole human race, not just one group, and was a church for all peoples.

Those being presented at the consistory, or cardinal-making ceremony, were:

US Archbishop James Harvey, 63, prefect of the papal household / Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai, 72 / Indian Archbishop Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, 53, head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church / Nigerian Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, 68 / Colombian Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota, 70 / Philippine Archbishop Luis Tagle of Manila, 55

All six new cardinals are younger than 80 and therefore will likely be eligible to vote for a new Pope when the current pontiff dies.

Three are from countries with large Muslim populations - India, Lebanon and Nigeria.

Cheers broke out among the supporters of each cardinal-designate as the Pope presented them with the gold rings at the consistory and the red hats and vestments, which symbolise their readiness to shed their blood to defend their Christian faith. (+ video) » | Saturday, November 24, 2012