My understanding of the in pectore Cardinal status is that if not announced prior to John Paul's death it passes from canonical effect meaning it's now legally (canon law of course) as if it never happened. Speculation may be fun, but it certainly isn't truly productive. If Marini has been in the Vatican why would he have been named in pectore??? It's not like the Office of Papal Liturgies is a gulag in Russia or a Chinese prison?
Big Tom | 03.29.06 - 9:28 am | #

Even if John Paul II did want to promote somebody within the family, it would be hard to imagine him giving Marini a red hat before Dziwisz.

Interestingly, the two men whose names were most frequently bandied about after JPII's death as the probable identity of the in pectore cardinal, Dziwisz and Zen of Hong Kong, were both made so officially in Benedict XVI's first consistory.
Nancy | 03.29.06 - 11:53 am | #