Pope names more cardinals

VATICAN CITY -- A week after naming a record-setting 37 new cardinals the Pope has announced even more new princes of the Roman Catholic Church.

John Paul II also revealed the identities of two cardinals from the former Soviet Union whose names had been kept secret when appointed in 1998.

In a surprise announcement from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square, the Pope, smiling broadly, read the names but gave no reason why he had not named them a week earlier.

The new cardinals include Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop of Lviv, Ukraine, the recently elected head of the Eastern Right Ukranian Catholic Church, which is also known as the Greek Catholic Church.

The Latin American bloc in the college of cardinals was further strengthened with the appointment of Julio Terrazas Sandoval, Archbishop of Santacruz, Bolivia. Ten of the new cardinals announced a week ago were also from Latin America.

Two of the other new cardinals, Johannes Joachim Degenhart, Archbishop of Paderborn and Karl Lehmann Bishop of Mainz, were from Germany.

Lehmann made world headlines last year when he appeared to suggest in an interview that the Pope may one day consider retiring if he felt he were not able to run the church properly for health reasons.

The fifth new appointment was Wilfred Fox Napier, Archbishop of Durban, South Africa.

Elite group

The two cardinals who were named "in pectore" (in my breast) three years ago and whose names were disclosed on Sunday were Marian Jaworski, Archbishop of the Latin Right (Roman) Catholics in Ukraine and Janis Pujats, Archbishop of Riga, Latvia.

Popes use this formula to protect the identity of cardinals where a public announcement could endanger the prelate or the local Church.

The announcement of their names comes five months before the Pope travels to the formerly Communist-run land, despite reported objections from some in the Ukrainian Orthodox church.

Cardinals are the elite grouping of the Roman Catholic Church from where the Pope's successor will be chosen. Those under 80 can enter a secret conclave to elect the next Pope from among themselves after the death of the Pontiff.

Since the Pope traditionally promotes prelates who agree with his teachings, the appointments increase the possibility that his successor will be a conservative who will not tamper with controversial rulings such as bans on contraception and women priests.

John Paul II admitted that he was once again making an exception to the rules that normally set a ceiling of 120 on those who can enter the conclave.

The ceremony to elevate all the new cardinals, known as a consistory, will be held on February 21.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.