BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald
By Eric Convey
Thursday, February 23, 2006 - Updated: 07:34 AM EST
That Boston would have a cardinal is hardly stunning. For 71 of the last 95 years, the leader of the region’s Catholics has also been one of the 100 or so men who steer the world’s biggest religious group.
But that Pope Benedict XVI would use his first chance to elevate Archbishop Sean P. O’Malley to cardinal - especially given Boston’s status as the epicenter of the clergy sexual abuse crisis four years ago - caught some church-watchers off-guard.
“These things aren’t automatic,” said Peter Meade, an insurance executive and unoffical counselor to O’Malley.
For one thing, Meade noted, the United States is heavily represented in the College of Cardinals.