Pomp And Spectacle At The Vatican

This article was written by CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey.

Those lucky enough to be in Rome this Friday and Saturday will be able to see one of the finest examples of pomp and spectacle steeped in arcane tradition when Pope Benedict XVI presides over the first consistory of his rule.

Weather permitting, and it has not been a fine Roman spring so far, the ceremony Friday and Mass on Saturday will be held in the piazza in front of St Peter's Basilica. In the event of rain, it will move to a hall in the Vatican.

In either venue, the panoply of red robes, hats and paraphernalia of the cardinals is a sight to behold.

Benedict has called the cardinals, the so-called "princes of the church," for a ceremony in which he will exercise the prerogative that is the Pope's alone, naming new members to the group whose principal job is to choose his successor.

Among them are two Americans. Archbishop William Levada is now Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the powerful position Benedict XVI held when he was merely Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. The job makes Levada the highest-ranking and most influential American in the Roman Curia, the government of the Catholic Church.

The rank of cardinal basically goes with the job, but others have been honored for their service to the church, or to make what Father Dennis Gill, Director of Liturgy at Rome's North American College, called a political point "in the best sense of the word 'political.'"

"There is something on the level of making a statement which is for the particular good of the people associated with the person named cardinal," Father Gill said.

The choice of Bishop Joseph Zen of Hong Kong might fall into that category. Bishop (or cardinal as of Friday) Zen said the Vatican and mainland China have begun talks to reestablish ties between the two that were severed when the Vatican recognized Taiwan after it split from mainland China in 1949. Ties with China would necessitate ending diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

Also getting his red hat will be Archbishop Sean O'Malley of Boston, who has been handling the fallout from the sex abuse scandal in the United States. His appointment sends a message to the troubled diocese of Boston that Benedict is taking their problems seriously and is trying to rebuild.

Elevated too is Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, the long-serving faithful secretary of the late Pope John Paul II.

Many among those who cover the Vatican had rather hoped that the amiable and able Archbishop John Foley, who heads one of the two Vatican Press offices, would be rewarded too, but alas, not this time around.

One of the things standing his way is the number of Americans of princely rank. Including the two who will be created Friday, the U.S. has 15 cardinals, second only to Italy, which has 40. Maybe next time.

The College of Cardinals, which after Friday will number 193 men (120 of whom are under the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote for a new pope when the need arises) must, according to canon law, be ordained bishops and "outstanding for their doctrine, morals, piety and prudence."

Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, regularly broke the convention that there be only 120 "cardinal electors." Benedict's return to the exact number is seen as a sign that he intends to run a more conventional, and some say placid and better-functioning papacy.

Formed in the 12th century by Pope Alexander III, the College of Cardinals also assumes the jobs of advising the pope, assisting in the central administration of the church, heading the various curial offices and congregations and administering the Apostolic See.

When Benedict confers the symbol of their status, a bright red (as in cardinal, the bird) hat known as a "biretta," he will tell each man that it signifies their readiness to act "even to the point of spilling your blood for the increase of the Christian faith, for peace and harmony among the people of God, for freedom and the spread of the Holy Roman Catholic Church."

That's no small order, coming as it does from a man whose titles include Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, and Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church. Benedict recently dropped the honorific "Patriarch of the West." The Vatican said it was "outdated," and its removal could help dialogue with the Orthodox Catholic churches.

The move was done in a typically obtuse Vatican way — not by formal announcement but simply by not including it in the list in the 2006 issue of the "Annuario Pontificio," the 2,372-page annual directory of all things related to the Vatican and the Catholic Church in general.

The book sells for 60 euros, about $73. Outfitting a new cardinal in scarlet from head to toe (literally, they even wear red socks for the day) runs from $2,500 to $4,000 according to a report by The Associated Press fashion writer.

No wonder it's such a great show.

By Allen Pizzey