Q: Will Archbishop Francis George become a cardinal this year?
A: It’s a good bet, but certainly no lock.
Q: What do you mean?
A: Well, popes don’t hand out red hats one at a time. They wait until they have a crowd of cardinals to be named, and then do them all in one fell swoop. By the end of February, there will be 16 vacancies among the 120 cardinals under the age of 80. (That’s the cut-off for being able to vote for a new pope.) And a lot of Vatican observers think that’ll be enough to move John Paul to act.
Q: So we should start chilling the champagne?
A: Not so fast. Even if the pope makes some cardinals, there’s no guarantee Archbishop George will be among them.
Q: But that would be a slap in the face to him–and to Chicago. We’d take the pope to court, wouldn’t we? Or send the Marines into Vatican City?
A: Calm down. Everyone expects the archbishop to become a cardinal because of the importance of the Chicago archdiocese to the world church and because George has always been a good soldier. But the red hat is a gift the pope can give or not give. “There is no right to be a cardinal,” notes Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit at Georgetown University. “If George suddenly came out for the ordination of women, he would not be appointed.” But if the archbishop keeps his nose clean, he’s almost certain to be honored, if not now, then sometime in the next three to five years.
Q: And how much of a raise will he get?
A: None. But he’s not in it for the money.
