New cardinal has county link
VATICAN CITY — A priest who had studied in Herman is among the 15 new cardinals named Wednesday by Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal Sean O'Malley is the Archbishop of the Boston archdiocese. He attended St. Fidelis High School and then studied at the St. Fidelis Seminary, both were in Herman.
The school and seminary have since closed.
Born in Lakewood, Ohio, in 1944, he attended St. Gabriel and Sacred Heart elementary schools in Ohio.
He was ordained in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin on Aug. 29, 1970.
O'Malley was sent to Boston by Pope John Paul II in 2003 to clean up the archdiocese there following the sex abuse scandal that forced the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law.
O'Malley was praised for his efforts to heal the wounds in the Boston Archdiocese after Law was pressured to resign over his handling of abuse allegations. O'Malley helped orchestrate an $85 million settlement with more than 500 victims.
O'Malley said Wednesday he was "deeply humbled and honored" to be elevated to cardinal.
Twelve of the 15 are under age 80 and thus eligible to vote in the conclave that will one day elect the pope's successor. They will receive their red hats March 24.
The cardinals come from 11 countries on five continents and include the archbishops of Boston; Krakow, Poland; Seoul, South Korea; Bordeaux, France; Bologna, Italy; Manila, Philippines; and Toledo, Spain.
Along with Archbishop O'Malley, the other American selected was Archbishop William Levada, who has taken over Benedict's old job as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.
A key appointment is that of Hong Kong Bishop Joseph Zen, an outspoken China critic and supporter of the underground church on the mainland.
Benedict has sought to restore diplomatic relations with China and Zen's nomination could be seen as an affront to Beijing. However, China experts said Benedict's selection was also practical, given that Zen is an expert on the Chinese church and as cardinal will serve as a close papal adviser.
Benedict also nominated Caracas Archbishop Jorge Urosa Savino, who has sought to defuse recent tensions between the church in Venezuela and President Hugo Chavez.
Benedict tapped three Asians — an indication that Benedict wants to "put a greater emphasis on the church in Asia where the church is in fact growing a lot," the Rev. John Wauck, a professor of literature at the Holy Heart University in Rome, told AP Television News.
