2023-09-30 15:41:00
the essentials Pope Francis has promoted 21 cardinals, 18 of whom will participate in the conclave, called to elect his successor. A decision which marks the will of the Catholic Church, which wishes to better respond to current issues and give visibility to clergy from developing countries.
Diplomats, close advisors and people in the field: this Saturday, September 30, Pope Francis created 21 cardinals from four continents, the majority of whom will one day be called upon to elect his successor.
Ninth ordinary Consistory since the election of the Argentine Jesuit in 2013, this solemn ceremony was held in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome, under a bright sun. Dressed in their red cassock, the new cardinals knelt before the pope to receive the barrette – a quadrangular purple cap – and a cardinal ring. Among the 21 prelates called to assist the pope in the government of the Church, 18 – those who are under the age of 80 – will participate in the conclave called to elect the next pope.
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In front of cardinals “from all parts of the world”, Francis compared the college of cardinals to a “symphony orchestra” where “diversity is essential” but where “each musician must listen to the others”.
Two new French cardinals
Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including two French, ahead of upcoming papal election
Pope Francis announced the appointment of 21 new cardinals during a solemn ceremony in St. Peter’s Square, including two French people. Mgr… pic.twitter.com/9Gp0yBnPMg
— radio sisko fm (@radiosiskofm) September 30, 2023
Some 800 Corsican faithful traveled to attend the ceremony.
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De-Westernizing the Catholic Church
Sensitive to the “peripheries” and minority communities, Francis seeks to promote the clergy of developing countries to the highest ranks of the Church, freeing himself from the practice of systematically distinguishing certain titular archbishops of large dioceses.
The list of new cardinals from 15 nationalities thus reflects regions where the Church is expanding, such as Latin America and Africa, with the promotion of the archbishops of Juba (South Sudan), Cape Town (South Africa ) and Tabora (Tanzania).
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Europe, whose representation has declined in ten years, is this time in a good place with eight representatives, including the Portuguese Américo Aguiar, 49 years old and the youngest on the list. Asia, which has seen its representation grow in 10 years, is represented by the bishop of Penang (Malaysia) and that of Hong Kong, Stephen Chow Sau-Yan, seen as being able to play an important role in improving the difficult relations between the Church and Beijing.
Also note the distinction of three close to the Pope members of the Curia, the central “government” of the Holy See: the Italian Claudio Gugerotti, the Argentinian Victor Manuel Fernandez and the American Robert Prevost.
Answer today’s questions
The appointment of cardinals is scrutinized by observers, who see it as an indication of the possible line of the future spiritual leader of the Catholic Church and its claimed 1.3 billion faithful. Especially since the 86-year-old pope, who now uses a wheelchair, left the “door open” to renunciation, like his predecessor Benedict XVI, if his declining health justified it.
Francis has now chosen 99 cardinal electors out of the current total of 137, almost three-quarters, while around 22% were created by Benedict XVI and 6% by John Paul II.
This distribution might weigh on the two-thirds majority needed to elect a new pope by increasing the likelihood that he shares Francis’ ideas, even if the election of a pope is always unpredictable.
In a Catholic Church in full reflection on its future, the profiles of these “promoted” reflect the priorities set by Jorge Bergoglio who has gradually designed a less Western Sacred College.
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