Pope Francis has consolidated his mark on the future of the Church by presiding over another consistory, the ninth of his pontificate, in which he created 21 new cardinals. Of them, 18 are under 80 years of age and, therefore, electors the next time a conclave is held in the Sistine Chapel. With them there are already 99 – out of a total of 137 – the members of the powerful College of Cardinals with the right to elect the future pope who have been chosen by Bergoglio, so it is increasingly likely that his successor will reflect his way of understanding the Church , decentralized and with a vision of service.
“You, neo-cardinals, have come from different parts of the world and the same Holy Spirit that fertilized the evangelization of your people now renews in you your vocation and mission in the Church and for the Church,” the Pontiff reminded them.
This consistory, announced in July, generated expectation as it was evident that the pontificate of the Argentine pope, who is about to turn 87, is in the final phase, although it is not clear how long it will last. Therefore, little by little the list of possible papables begins to emerge.
Three of the new princes of the Church are Spanish: the recently appointed archbishop of Madrid, José Cobo – although his predecessor, Carlos Osoro Sierra, remains an elector; the rector major of the Salesian Congregation, Ángel Fernández Artime, and François-Xavier Bustillo, the young bishop (54 years old) who is in charge of the diocese of Ajaccio, on the island of Corsica, and who met with the president Frenchman, Emmanuel Macron, on Thursday. Spain is thus confirmed as a cardinal power: it is the second country with the most cardinals, behind Italy.
As on previous occasions, Francis' new cardinals show the Jesuit pope's willingness to reward dioceses that represent the universality of the Church. The Pope, who still does not want to make apostolic trips to the great meccas of Catholicism, always relies on cardinals from remote places. On the other hand, he does not follow the tradition of elevating the archbishops of Venice or Milan to the cardinalate. On this occasion, yesterday the archbishop of Cape Town, the South African Stephen Brislin, obtained the red cap; that of Hong Kong, Stephen Chow Sau-yan, the Tanzanian Protase Rugambwa, coadjutor archbishop of Tabora; the archbishop of Penang (Malaysia), Sebastian Francis, or that of Juba, the Sudanese Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla. They are choices consistent with their concerns, such as interreligious dialogue or attention to minorities. In this sense, he wanted to reward the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, for his work.
In his homily, Francis compared the College of Cardinals to an orchestra. “Diversity is necessary, it is essential. But each sound must contribute to the common project. And for that, mutual listening is essential,” the Pontiff warned the new cardinals.
Other appointments were expected, such as that of the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Argentine Víctor Manuel Fernández, a personal friend of Francisco, who has succeeded the Mallorcan Luis Ladaria, who retired for reasons of age. The prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, the American Robert Francis Prevost, and the prefect of the Eastern Churches, the Italian Claudio Gugerotti, are also now cardinals.
The consistory is the starting signal for a month of high activity in the Vatican. Afterwards they were convened in the Italian town of Sacrofano, where they will spend a few days of retreat and prayer to pray for the good end of the Synod on Synodality, the first world meeting in which lay people and women will have a voice, and a vote, to debate the future. of the Church, in which thorny issues such as the role of women in the Church, celibacy or the inclusion of LGTBI people will be addressed. The first of the sessions of this synod begins on Wednesday, the same day that the Pope will launch the second part of the 2015 encyclical Laudato Si on the environment, and will be inaugurated with a massive ceremony in Saint Peter's.
