Cardinal Baum turns 80; ineligible for conclave

William Wakefield Cardinal Baum

Function: Major Penitentiary Emeritus of Apostolic Penitentiary, Roman Curia

Title: Cardinal Priest of Holy Cross in Via Flaminia

Birthdate: Nov 21, 1926	Country: USA

Elevated: May 24, 1976	More information: www.catholic-hierarchy.org

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Cardinal Baum turns 80; ineligible for conclave
Nov 22, 2006
American Cardinal William Baum, the retired head of the Apostolic Pentitentiary, celebrates his 80th birthday day (November 21), and thus becomes ineligible to vote in a papal election.

Rome, Nov. 21 (CWNews.com) - There are now 188 members of the College of Cardinals, of whom 115 are eligible to take part in a conclave.

At the conclave of April 2005, Cardinal Baum was one of only two participants who had not been appointed to the College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul II. The other, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was elected Benedict XVI.

A former Archbishop of Washington, DC, Cardinal Baum was called to Washington in 1980 to become prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education. Later, in 1990, he became of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican tribunal with jurisdiction over indulgences and disputes concerning the "internal forum"--such as issues that arise between a penitent and a confessor. Retiring from that post in 2001, the American prelate has continued to live in Rome.

Born in Dallas, Texas, William Baum was ordained to the priesthood in 1951. After 5 years in a Kansas City parish he was sent to Rome for further studies, and obtained a doctorate in theology. He participated in the discussions of Vatican II as an expert on ecumenical affairs, and in 1964 he became secretary to the US bishops' committee on ecumenism. He served there until 1970, when he was named Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Becoming Archbishop of Washington in 1976, Baum was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Paul VI that same year. (While working at the US bishops' conference, Cardinal Baum was instrumental in arranging the appointment of another future cardinal, Bernard Law, to work on the committee for ecumenical affairs. Later, when Baum was appointed Archbishop of Washington, Law succeeded him as head of the Missouri diocese.)

Cardinal Baum, who has made his full-time residence in Rome since 1980, remains an active member of the Congregations for Bishops, for Eastern Churches, for Evangelization, and for Religious.

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