Pope Francis has consolidated his mark on the future of the Church by presiding over another council, the ninth of his pontificate, in which he appointed 21 new cardinals, of which 18 are under 80 years old and, therefore, electors next when a conclave is held in the Sistine Chapel. With them, there are already 99 – out of a total of 137 – members of the powerful College of Cardinals with the right to elect the future pope who have been elected by Bergoglio, so it is increasingly likely that his successor will reflect the his way of understanding the Church, decentralized and with a vision of service.
"You, neo-cardinals, have come from various parts of the world and the same Holy Spirit that fertilized the evangelization of their peoples is now renewing in you their vocation and mission to the Church and for the Church", he reminded them the Pontiff
This council, announced in July, generated excitement because it was clear that the pontificate of the Argentine pope, who is about to turn 87 years old, 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 be outlined.
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 Congregation of the Salesians, 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 French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday. Spain thus confirms itself as a cardinal power: it is the second country with the most cardinals, behind Italy.
As on previous occasions, Francis' new cardinals show the desire of the Jesuit pope to reward dioceses that represent the universality of the Church. The Pope, who continues to not want to make apostolic trips to the great Meccas of Catholicism, always bets on cardinals from remote places. On the other hand, it does not follow the tradition of elevating the archbishops of Venice or Milan to the cardinalate. This time, yesterday, the Archbishop of Cape Town, the South African Stephen Brislin, obtained the red hat; the one from Hong Kong, Stephen Chow Sauyan, the Tanzanian Protase Rugambwa, coadjutor archbishop of Tabora; the archbishop of Penang (Malaysia), Sebastian Francis, or the one of Juba, the Sudanese Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla. These 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 indispensable. But each sound must contribute to the common project. And for this, mutual listening is fundamental", warned the Pontiff to 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 Francis, who has succeeded the Mallorcan Luis Ladaria, withdrawn due to issues of age The prefect of the Dicastery for the Bishops, the American Robert Francis Prevost, and the Italian Claudio Gugerotti, the prefect of the Eastern Churches, are also already cardinals.
The council is the starting point for a month of high activity in the Vatican. Then they were summoned to 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 difficult topics such as the role of women in the Church, celibacy or the inclusion of LGBTI people will be addressed. The first session of this synod begins on Wednesday, the same day the Pope will launch the second part of the 2015 encyclical Laudato Si on the environment, and will be inaugurated with a mass ceremony in San Pedro.
