Bishops welcome new Scottish cardinal
The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales paid tribute to newly-created cardinal, Keith O'Brien, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, at a reception in Rome yesterday. A packed hall of bishops and their guests loudly cheered Cardinal O'Brien at the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales reception at the Venerable English College. The President of the Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, said of Cardinal O'Brien: "It is very nice to have another Cardinal in Great Britain and no better than him. We are particularly pleased to have a Scottish cardinal again. I want to say, warmest congratulations to Cardinal Keith O'Brien." Cardinal O'Brien said it had been a "great feeling" to be created cardinal by the Pope at the public consistory this week in St Peter's Square, Rome. He said he was surprised and overjoyed at the crowds of Scots who had made the effort to attend the event. "It is a great thing for Scotland and our capital city Edinburgh," he added. Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham, praised Cardinal O'Brien. "He is a tall, open-faced, buoyant character and is pastorally very aware of the situations facing the Church today." Archbishop Peter Smith, Archbishop of Cardiff, said: "He is a first-class pastor, and I think he will be a great cardinal and a great leader of the Church in Scotland. It was tremendous to see him created cardinal in front of so many friends and well-wishers." Bishop Brian Noble, Bishop of Shrewsbury, said: "He is a pastoral man and a good choice to be a cardinal." Bishop Kieran Conry, of Arundel and Brighton, said: "When I first met him, we watched a football match together. He is warm and such a nice guy. I admire him." The bishops of England and Wales have been in Rome for more than a week at their five-yearly Ad Limina visit to the Pope and the Vatican. Source: CCS