The Pontiff selected the 15 prelates from 14 nations, including far-flung corners of the world such as Cape Verde, Burma, Ethiopia, Thailand and Vietnam, to reflect the diversity of the church and its growth in places such as Asia and Africa.
Cardinal Dew was born in Waipawa, Hawkes Bay, in May 1948 and was educated at St Joseph's School, Waipukurau, and St Joseph's (now Chanel) College, Masterton, before starting his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained in May 1976, and was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Wellington Archdiocese in 1995.
He succeeded Cardinal Tom Williams, ONZ, as Archbishop of Wellington in March 2005.
Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi of Tonga was also named a cardinal this morning, New Zealand Time. Cardinal Mafi, born in 1961, first became co-adjutor bishop of Tonga in 2007.
Referring to the Vatican, Pope Francis told the faithful in St Peter's Square that the new cardinals were "from every continent" and "show the indelible tie with the Church of Rome to churches in the world".
In addition to the 15 new cardinals who are under 80 and thus eligible to vote for the next Pope, Francis bestowed the honour on five other churchmen older than that who had distinguished themselves through their work in the Vatican bureaucracy and diplomatic service.
He also made another surprise announcement: that on February 12-13, he will lead a meeting of all cardinals to "reflect on the orientations and proposals for the reform of the Roman Curia", the Vatican's administrative bureaucracy.
Francis is using his papacy, which began in March 2013, to root out corruption, inefficiency and other problems in the curia.
- NZ Herald
