Rome
An ailing Pope John Paul II appointed 31 new cardinals this week, further solidifying his conservative influence on the Roman Catholic Church. The 83-year-old pontiff has now named all but five of the 135 cardinals who are younger than 80, and therefore eligible to vote on the next pope to lead the world’s 1 billion Catholics. John Paul and his appointees have promoted a traditional Catholicism that embraces celibacy for priests and opposes contraception. The new “princes of the church,” as the college of cardinals are called, include only one American: Justin Rigali, the archbishop of Philadelphia.
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