Someone explain something to me. I remember as a kid watching
Cardinal Cushing give the eulogy for John F. Kennedy. I thought it odd
that he was referred to by the news anchors and in news stories as Richard Cardinal Cushing, not Cardinal Richard Cushing.

However,
in all the news stories about the new pope he is referred to as
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Have the conventions changed since 1963
regarding what you call a cardinal? What gives?

UPDATE: This from the AP Stylebook:

Cardinals: Cardinal Timothy Manning. The usage Timothy Cardinal Manning, a practice traceable to the nobility’s custom of identifications such as William Duke of Norfolk, is still used in formal documents but otherwise is considered archaic. 

However, the Locke Foundation’s Joe Coletti sends this link, which says the usage [First Name] Cardinal {Last Name] is still preferable in addressing a cardinal directly or in speaking about him.