New Cardinals of the Church

Peter Poreku Dery, archbishop emeritus of Tamale, Ghana is given the sign of peace by Pope Benedict XVI after being made a cardinal. In one of the more shocking commentaries I've heard, the American commentator used this episode to remark and I paraphrase "Isn't it strange to see the pope getting up to aid a cardinal who is bound to a wheel chair as opposed to the pope himself being bound to a chair," (a reference to the late Pope John Paul II).
I would note that the only two cardinals that the pope arose out of his seat to greet (and in this case to make Archbishop Dery a cardinal) were Archbishop Dery and Archbishop Levada--the latter clearly as a sign of the friendship between the two men.
Something that my Rome trip has given me is a new understanding of the churches of Rome, so that in this morning's ceremony when the pope announced to each new cardinal their titular church in Rome, I knew not only what he was saying but also where they are and what they are like.
Here are the new American cardinals and also the new cardinal of Pope John Paul's former See, his secretary:

Daily Audio Lenten Post

From the book of Lenten meditations written by me:

The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life

In Rome, House Blessings for Easter

From A Young American in Rome:

I walked out of my apartment building this morning and noticed that an announcement was posted on the main door. I stared at it for a minute, trying to translate whether the building would be without hot water or have a temporary power outage.

None of that -- it was naming the date that a Catholic priest would be in the building to bless each residence with holy water for Easter. As I looked up and down the street, I saw that every door had the same sign posted. This caught me by surprise - I only know of priests coming to bless houses in exorcism horror movies!

Apparently, this is a ritual that was traditionally done on the eve of Easter. Homes are blessed by the parish priest in memory of the angel who signed door-posts with lamb's blood in Egypt. Although Easter is a ways away, I suppose Rome is just too big for the priests to hit every house the day before Easter.

Head of Cardinal Class?

While everyone will be thinking about the late, great Pope John Paul II as the first anniversary of this death approaches his most trusted companion will be made a cardinal. The Archbishop of Krakow arrives at his old home, the Vatican:

Needs of the Asian Catholics

Expressed by the new Cardinal of the Philipines, from Asia Italy News:

How do you think the Church should proceed towards this end?

Evangelization is the main challenge for the Church in Asia. But evangelization must have a new expression, adapted to the needs of this continent, while keeping to the same message: the word of Christ. I think we should follow the path of so-called “integral evangelization” indicated by Paul VI, sensitive to people’s problems and to faith inculturation, with the aim of freeing men and women from slavery: of vices, sins, and corruption. And this is especially evident and necessary in the Philippines.

Synod of Concerns

From Yahoo News:

Benedict's No. 2, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, opened the meeting by thanking the pope for seeking the advice of the cardinals, saying it "shows us the importance your Holiness places on the votes of our college."

The daylong session came on the eve of Benedict's first ceremony to elevate 15 prelates to the top tier of the Catholic hierarchy — additions the pope has said reflect the global reach of the church.

The agenda of Thursday's meeting appeared to be fairly open. Cardinals have said they expect the discussion to include relations with Islam and the Orthodox Church, international terrorism and the reform of the Vatican hierarchy.

Daily Audio Lenten Post

From the book of Lenten meditations written by me:

The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life