Fr. Lombardi editorial: Collegiality

The appointment of new cardinals is always awaited with intense curiosity not only in the Church, but also by outside observers. As soon as the Pope announced the names of new cardinals a series of comments of the most varied perspectives began, statistical observations, calculations of the relative weights of nationalities, continents, and so on.

Of course in his nominations the Pope takes many different criteria into account, first among which are certainly duties in the service of Church and the universality of representation. In this way the Pope forms a group of prominent personalities, who are entrusted with the crucial task of the election of the Successor of Peter, but who must also cooperate and support the Pope in his ministry with full spiritual solidarity.

The day of prayer and reflection that begins the November consistory, despite its inevitable brevity, reveals two important aspects of the function and the spirit in which the College of Cardinals operates and that should not be forgotten: prayer and reflection.

The Pope wants to pray with those who give the closest support to his service and wants to participate in their joint reflection. We can also observe that he wants to share a meal with them, which is perhaps of secondary importance, but not meaningless. It is a community that meets, sharing responsibilities and concerns over the main problems that the Church faces in the world. Benedict XVI follows and listens to every contribution with great attention, as he did in the weeks of the Synod of Bishops, as he does in the frequent ad Limina visits by group of Bishops from all parts of the world (at least 20 different groups in one year) in countless audiences and private encounters. His service is deeply embedded in the experience of the world’s episcopate. Now, the days of the Consistory highlight another dimension of the "collegiality" of his style of government of the Church. We all accompany him with attention and prayer.