There are persistent and increasing rumors in Rome that the Pope will name 20-30 new cardinals as early as next month. Catholic World News has coverage here and here, but you have to be a subscriber. (Sign up for a free, trial subscription if you want. That’s the only blegging you’ll get from me. By the way, if you do sign up, use the promotional code “cwr” and you’ll get a full year for only $15. A pretty good deal and available only to readers of this blog, at least until the October issue of Catholic World Report hits newsstands next month. Then they get the deal too.)
If a consistory is held next month it would be a bad sign for the pope’s health. Usually consistories are announced months in advance to give time for the copious preparations. But if they try to do it now instead of next February (which is when many people thought it would be), it could be a sign that the Pope’s health is even more precarious than previously thought. Add to that his previously stated desire to canonize and beatify Mother Teresa in the same cermeony, and you see a pattern.
The Pope has made it clear he wants to be the one to raise his friend Mother Teresa to the altars, but since many cardinals thought the single ceremony would set a bad precedent he changed his mind. If he was willing to take that extraordinary step, it might indicate he knows his time is limited.
