New Dean of College of Cardinals named

Careins is first American named to position

VATICAN CITY (RWN) - In a stunning vote, the new dean of the Vatican's College of Cardinals comes from America. Cardinal Timothy Careins, the cardinal of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, was elected by his peers the new head of the group that chooses the pope.

The college is responsible for choosing the new pope, and the dean of the college exerts an extraordinary amount of influence on the elections. Joseph Ratzinger served as Dean of the College of Cardinals before being elected pope by the college in 2005.

The election of an American cardinal is not without controversy, as the Catholic Church in America has taken a softer stand against Islam than churches in the rest of the world.
"Cardinal Careins is a blessed man, who has worked hard and skillfully for the church," said Father Gino Corretta, a spokesman for the Vatican. "As a young priest, he helped settle the instability in America in the terrible days after the attacks on Washington and New York. He has spent his career reaching out to people and trying to make the church more inclusive."

While Careins is seen as a more liberal cardinal, he still adheres strictly to the pope's teaching and has made several harsh statements towards keeping homosexuals out of the priesthood, as well as arguing for more conservative readings of the pope's pronouncements.

"The cardinal is a thoroughly modern man," said Cardinal David Siempre, of the Archdiocese of Mexico City. "He understands the world that we live in and the balance of powers within it, but he strives to stay close to the pope's words."

Workings within the election process are secret, but rumors have filtered out that it took three votes of the college to elect Careins. His closest competition was believed to be Cardinal Okor Timube, cardinal of the Archdiocese of Nigeria and Serrafino Stefano, the Cardinal Secretary of State.

"I think this may be a mandate for change within the church, no matter how small," said Vincenzo Traglia, a professor of religious studies at the University of Rome. "Cardinal Careins is a conservative when it comes to scripture, but is a bit looser when it comes to dealing with the pressures of the outside world. I think there may have been a feeling within the College of Cardinals that it was harder to make the church relevant to a younger generation. I think that's why all three of the rumored finalists fell into the camp of believing you can teach an old dog some new tricks."


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