Pope Appoints Archbishop John Onaiyekan, 5 Others As Cardinals

The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Onaiyekan, was on Wednesday named a cardinal by the Pope Benedict XVI, during his weekly general audience.

Onaiyekan, who was named alongside five others as new cardinals, will join the ranks of senior churchmen who will elect the next pope.

The other promoted prelates are

Archbishop James Harvey, prefect of the papal household; Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia, Ruben Salazar Gomez; Archbishop of Manila, Philippines, Luis Antonio Tagle; Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai; and the major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India, His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal.

Onaiyekan was born on January 29, 1944 in Kabba, Kogi State, to Bartholomew and Joann Onaiyekan. He attended St. Mary's Catholic School in Kabba from 1949 until 1956, Mount St. Michael's Secondary School in Aliade, Benue State from 1957 until 1962, and Ss. Peter & Paul Major Seminary in Bodija, Ibadan from 1963 until 1965.

He completed his religious studies in Rome in 1969, and was ordained priest on August 3 of that year, following a scholarship from Premier of Northern Region Sir Ahmadu Bello. Onaiyekan taught at St. Kizito's College, Isanlu in 1969. He became rector of St. Clement Junior Seminary in Lokoja in 1971, finished his Licentiate of Sacred Scripture in 1973 and earned his doctorate in 1976. He became Vice Rector of Ss. Peter & Paul in 1977.

American, James Harvey, was the direct superior of the pope's former butler, Paolo Gabriele who was convicted on October 6 of stealing the pope's private papers and leaking them to a reporter. The breach was deemed the greatest Vatican security breach in modern times.

The new cardinal, Harvey, will now become archpriest of a Roman Basilica. The Vatican spokesman denied he was being removed because of the scandal.

The Pope said the new cardinals would be formally elevated at a consistory November 24.

The nominations increase the number of cardinals under the age of 80 to 120. It also gives the College of Cardinals a more multinational outlook: Latin America will have 21; North America, 14; Africa, 11; Asia, 11, and Oceana one. This addresses, in part, the geographic impasse that exists in favour of Europe in general in the last few consistories and Italy in particular.

Only cardinals under age 80 are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Europe still has the most, with 62.