Vatican City, Nov 27, 2012 / 00:45 am
Pope Benedict XVI met with six new cardinals and their families, just two days after they made their vows, and encouraged them to promote the "holiness, communion and peace of the Church."
The Pope addressed the gathering at noon on Nov. 26 in the Pope Paul VI Hall. He first greeted American Cardinal Harvey, Indian Cardinal Thottunkal, Nigerian Cardinal Onaiyekan and Filipino Cardinal Tagle in English, before addressing Cardinal Raï in French and Colombian Cardinal Salazar in Spanish.
"The College of Cardinals, whose origin is linked to the ancient clergy of the Roman Church, is in charge of electing the successor of Saint Peter and advising him in matters of greater importance," said the Pope.
"Whether in the offices of the Roman Curia or in their ministry in the local Churches throughout the world, the cardinals are called to share in a special way in the Pope's solicitude for the universal Church," he added.