Pope Benedict Names 15 Cardinals

Pope Benedict XVI named 15 new cardinals on Wednesday, including prelates from Boston, Hong Kong, and Krakow, Poland, adding his first installment to the elite group of churchmen who will elect his successor.

Benedict read aloud the names during his weekly general audience and said they would be elevated during a ceremony at the Vatican on March 24.

Among those chosen to become a cardinal is a name well-known in the U.S., the archbishop of Boston, Sean O'Malley, who was brought in by John Paul to clean up the archdiocese following the sex abuse scandal that forced the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law.

Since being named archbishop, O'Malley negotiated a then-record $85 million settlement with 554 people who had been molested by priests, and began a financial reorganization of the archdiocese that included closing more than 80 churches.

When he settled with the clergy abuse victims within two months of his July 2003 arrival in Boston, he was praised for his compassion and willingness to acknowledge the mistakes made by the church. But the church closings announced the following year brought angry protests by parishioners and around-the-clock sit-ins.

O'Malley, 61, succeeded Cardinal Bernard F. Law, whose mishandling of the clergy sex abuse scandal forced his resignation. Cardinal Law later was named archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome.

Also on the cardinal-to-be list are archbishops from Caracas, Venezuela; Seoul, South Korea; and Manila in the Philippines. Pope Benedict also said that his successor at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop William Levada, will be made a cardinal, the second American among the new names.

Twelve of the 15 men are under the age of 80, and thus eligible to vote in a conclave to select Benedict's successor.

Among the key new cardinals is Hong Kong Bishop Joseph Zen. Benedict has been reaching out to China and the elevation was an indication that religious freedom is important to the pontiff.

Benedict also tapped Pope John Paul II's longtime private secretary, Krakow Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz for a red hat.