VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI elevated 23 clerics from around the world to the top ranks of the Catholic Church on Saturday, including the Chaldean patriarch of Baghdad, whom he welcomed by saying he was praying for peace in Iraq.
On a gilded papal throne set on an altar decorated with crimson roses, Benedict placed a red hat on the head of each cardinal as they knelt in turn during the solemn yet festive ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Among them was Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly, 80, who received special mention in Benedict’s homily.
“By calling the patriarch of the Chaldean Church to enter into the College of Cardinals, I wanted to express in a concrete way my spiritual closeness and my affection” to Iraq’s Christians, Benedict said to applause.
“Our brothers and sisters in faith are experiencing in the flesh the dramatic consequences of an ongoing conflict and are living in an extremely fragile and delicate political situation,” he said, adding that he was praying for peace and reconciliation in the country.
Benedict has been outspoken in recent months in lamenting the plight of Christians in Iraq and the Middle East in general.
Delly said later he was “very moved” by the pope’s words.
The pope told the cardinals that red signifies the dignity of their new office and that they must be ready to act “even to the point of spilling your blood for the increase of the Christian faith, for peace and harmony among the people of God, for freedom and the spread of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.”
