OF ALL TIME'S back-of-the-book critical sections, RELIGION consistently gets the most mail. It also gets the mail with the most intensity of feeling, and letters that show our readers are highly knowledgeable in what they write about. Fortunately, the religious climate of the U.S. has changed sufficiently so that we get fewer letters accusing us of being too pro-or too anti-Catholic, or for or against Protestants. It seems now to be generally recognized that we can put on the cover Protestant or Catholic theologians (Reinhold Niebuhr or Father John Courtney Murray), or leaders of the church (Eugene Carson Blake or Pope John), without trying to proselytize. We do stories about Jews, about Buddhists, about Moslems, and occasionally about atheists. We try not to be sensational, but do not mind being controversial.

This week, a fortnight after doing a considerable survey of the quality of new-style Protestant sermons, we bring a four-color look at the Roman Catholics "general staff," the College of Cardinals. And though our springboard is the formal installation last week of ten new cardinals, we have been preparing for the event for two years, ever since Pope John XXIII named the first Negro and Japanese cardinals in history. Photographer David Lees in Rome was asked to shoot as many cardinals on the wing as he could, and whenever he could. His first opportunity came at a Eucharistic Congress in Munich in August 1960, when he bagged about 20. His next big chance came at a consistory which Pope John called in January 1961 to elevate four men to the purple. According to custom, all cardinals in Rome at the time pay a formal call on each of the new cardinals. Joseph Cardinal Ritter of St. Louis obligingly let Lees set up a temporary studio out front of his residence. This time, Photographer Lees got a record 27. Most were cordial; the only outright refusal came from crusty old Cardinal Ottavi-ani. "But Mr. Lees is photographing all the cardinals except you," an intermediary protested. "That's why I am Ottaviani!" replied His Eminence. In all, Photographer Lees (himself an Anglican) photographed 58 cardinals, some of whom have since died. One of his latest, and prize, catches was Poland's courageous and embattled Primate Stefan Wyszynski. who was photographed on a rare two-week visit to Rome in February.

Along with the photographs of the cardinals in their flowing red outfits goes Associate Editor John T. Elson's fascinating account of the history of the cardinals. The story is built around last week's happenings at the consistory, but we had already done our homework first--and we believe that homework plus headwork plus headlines make the best combination.

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