He was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of 21 February 2001,[2] as Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Antonio in Campo Marzio.

On 11 April 2005, the British newspaper The Guardian considered him to be "a dark-horse candidate for pope, capable of bridging the divide between the Europeans and the Latin American Roman Catholic cardinals".

The 2005 papal conclave, in which he participated as a cardinal elector, ultimately elected Pope Benedict XVI.

However, he did not openly deny the right of the Portuguese Roman Catholic priests to refuse them communion, which many in fact did.

[12] A spokesman for the Portuguese Episcopal Conference said the cardinal had offered "realistic advice" rather than "discrimination" or "contempt for another culture or religion".

[13][14] Nearly two weeks after giving the interview, he issued a clarification of his comments, in which he unequivocally reaffirmed the teaching of Pope John Paul II in Ordinatio sacerdotalis.