Career in The Roman Curia
Under Pope John Paul II, Baum's rise continued, as in 1980 he was named to the Roman Curia as Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education. In 1990 he became the Church's Major Penitentiary, exchanging the responsibility of overseeing church seminaries worldwide for that of supervising the office in charge of the forgiveness of sins.
Baum was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. Along with Benedict (then Cardinal Ratzinger) and Cardinal Jaime Sin, Baum was one of three remaining cardinals elevated by Paul VI to retain voting rights in that conclave, though two more who had already died years before John Paul, António Ribeiro and Emile Biayenda, would have been eligible to vote had they remained alive. Cardinal Baum was the senior Cardinal Priest to participate in the 2005 papal conclave.
Read more about this topic: William Wakefield Baum
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