Sun 01 October 2023:
At a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Saturday, Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals, personally conferring the necessary crimson cap on the majority of the new church officials.
Due to his senior age, 95-year-old Luis Pascual Dri of Argentina, one of the cardinals, chose not to attend the occasion.
The pontiff is essentially able to sway the choice of his successor thanks to the appointments made to the College of Cardinals, which chooses new popes in the Catholic Church.
Eighteen of the 21 new appointees are under 80 years of age, and would therefore be eligible to vote in a possible conclave to elect a new pope. Vatican rules do not allow cardinals over that age to vote in a conclave.
This means that 99 of a total of 137 cardinals who would currently be eligible to elect the next pope have now been appointed by Francis, who himself is 86. However, this ratio may change again due to approaching birthdays.
Among those chosen by Francis are the Prefect of the Faith Victor Fernández of Argentina, as well as the Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
Another is the Bishop of Hong Kong Stephen Chow Sau-yan. Chow’s appointment is considered an important step because of the tense diplomatic relationship between China and the Holy See.
There are three new cardinals from South America, including two Argentinians, and three from Africa, with the promotion of the archbishops of Juba in South Sudan, Tabora in Tanzania, and Cape Town’s Brislin.
Asia is represented by the Bishop of Penang in Malaysia and the Bishop of Hong Kong, Stephen Chow, who is seen as playing a key role in seeking to improve tense relations between the Vatican and Beijing.
As in previous years, Francis has increasingly chosen bishops and archbishops from non-European countries to be named cardinals. This time, his focus is on clergy from Africa and Asia, including new cardinals from Tanzania, Malaysia, South Sudan, China and South Africa.
“Diversity is necessary, it is indispensable,” Francis said in his homily on Saturday.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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