Pope Benedict XVI names 24 new Cardinals

Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday named 24 new cardinals, adding fresh blood to the institution that will one day elect his successor and raising the chances that more of the electors of the next pope would be Italian.

The group, which will be installed next month, includes two Americans: Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. an expert in doctrine who delivered a prayer at President Barack Obama’s inauguration but has also opposed some of the administration’s social policies; and Archbishop Raymond Burke, the prefect of the Vatican’s supreme court, who has been vocal in his criticism of the Democratic Party’s support of abortion rights.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, who commands a post traditionally held by a cardinal, was not among those named, which experts said was because his predecessor, Cardinal Edward Egan, is not yet 80, and so is still eligible to vote for the next pope as a member of the College of Cardinals.

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