Hi °C | Lo °C The Pope has named 24 new cardinals, putting his mark on the body that will elect his successor and giving a boost to Italian hopes to regain the papacy.
However, the Pope passed up giving a cardinal's red hat to Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who has been the Irish church's leading advocate for Catholic openness in its child-abuse scandals.
He said the new “princes of the church” will be formally elevated at a ceremony in Rome on November 20.
Key posts include Warsaw, Poland; Munich; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and the leader in Egypt of the Catholic Coptic church, who is currently heading a Vatican meeting on the plight of Christians in the Middle East.
