Pope to name six new cardinals

Vatican City, October 24 - Pope Benedict XVI is to name six new cardinals, Benedict said in an unexpected move during his general audience Wednesday. There are no Italians among the six, reversing a recent trend towards upping the number of Italians among the prelates who will elect Benedict's successor. The new high-ranking Church officials are the current Prefect of the Pontifical House, the Patriarch of the Lebanese Maronites, the Archbishop of Abuja in Nigeria, the Archbishop of Manila in the Philippines and the Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church in eastern Syria. The six 'princes of the church' will be anointed on November 24.