Pope's New Cardinals: Still Old & European

Pope Benedict XVI has named a new batch of cardinals, generally preserving the "princes of the church" posts for aging Europeans, reports Time magazine. There is, however, a new cardinal in Baghdad. And in recognition of the southward and Spanish-language shift of Catholicism in the United States, the pope has made the archbishop of Galveston-Houston a cardinal.

Despite talk about the global transformation of the religion, most of the cardinals remain European, specifically Italian, which Vatican watchers say reflects a power consolidation by the pope's top deputy. One of the Italians just elevated to cardinal, the archbishop of Genoa, has been protected by armed guards since his comments earlier this year comparing homosexuality to incest and pedophilia. (More Pope Benedict XVI stories.)