Pope Benedict XVI has appointed several new Cardinals created in last year’s consistory to appointments in several Vatican dicasteries.
Among the most notable was Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, who was named as a member of the presiding committee of the Pontifical Council for the Family, as well as for the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.
Five of the new cardinals were assigned to the various dicasteries in the Roman Curia. US Cardinal James Harvey, archpriest of Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, was made a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and on the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, which oversees Vatican property and investments.
Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, head of the Maronite Catholic Church, was named a member of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature, the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
Indian Cardinal Baselio Cleemis Thottunkal, head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, was named a member of the Congregation for Eastern Churches and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
Nigerian Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja was named a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the presiding committee of the Pontifical Council for the Family.
Finally, Colombian Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota was named a member of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
The cardinals will bear the responsibility of providing their input and making decisions in the central offices that assist the Holy Father.
