Pope's Progress

Pope John XXIII rode through cheering crowds of Romans this week to take formal possession of the cathedral church of the Bishop of Rome--the great, grey basilica of St. John Lateran. Popes in bygone times used to make the short journey across the city on horseback, which sometimes enlivened the occasion with incident: Clement XIV (1769-74), for instance, fell from his horse on dismounting, only to assure alarmed aides that he was "confusus" but not "contusus." Sixtus V (1585-90) corrected the flattering observation of an ambassador that he had "mounted easily" with the admonition: "No, we are old and heavy because we have a world on our shoulders."

But Pope John XXIII rode in a long black Cadillac, and with him rode two of his cardinals--Clemente Cardinal Micara, Vicar General of Rome, and France's bearded Eugene Cardinal Tisserant, Dean of the Sacred College. Commented Rome's Cornere Delia Sera: "This is a highly significant particular . . . because John wishes thereby to make a public demonstration of the fact that he means to give the utmost prestige to the College of Cardinals, restoring to it its full powers."

Pride Restored. The new Pope had already given dramatic evidence of this intention by his appointment last week of 23 new cardinals, expanding the college from its 372-year-old limit of 70 to a new strength of 75--with the prospect of still further expansion to come. Most significant result of the new appointments will be to strengthen the administrative machinery of the church--the Curia--which Pius XII, no man to delegate wide authority, had neglected during the last few years. The Curia now has 24 instead of 13 cardinals, and the overall Italian representation in the College of Cardinals is now up from 17 to 29--not, Vaticaners feel, with a view to restoring the traditional Italian majority, but to revive Italian pride in the "senate of the church." Noted Corriere Delia Sera: "Even though the number of non-Italians is still preponderant, at least we are no longer the miserable one-third that we were reduced to during the previous pontificate."

More to Come. Indication that still further increase in the college is in the offing--probably next spring--is to be found in the Pope's failure so far to name new cardinals in Asia or Africa, where the growth of nationalism is presenting the church with some of its thorniest problems and greatest opportunities. It is also considered likely that, in addition to Boston's Richard J. Gushing and Philadelphia's John F. O'Hara, Pope John will name more cardinals in the U.S.--almost certainly in Chicago, the largest U.S. archdiocese of all, whose Archbishop Albert Meyer (TIME, Oct. 6) was thought by some to be still too new in his post for inclusion in last week's list.

Three aspects of the new appointments showed evidence of John's skill and vigor at diplomacy: the Pope 1) recognized the critical state of the church in Latin America in giving cardinals for the first time to Uruguay and Mexico, 2) stiffened the church's position against the Reds by appointing in embattled Berlin a young cardinal renowned for his anti-Communism (see below), 3) honored Milan's popular Archbishop Giovanni Battista Montini by placing his name at the head of the official list of new cardinals, giving him the unofficial title of the new Pope's prima creatura.

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