Pope Francis names 20 new cardinals

International

-DW News

Vatican
City,
Aug
28:
Pope
Francis
appointed
20
new
Roman
Catholic
Cardinals
at
a
ceremony
in
St
Peter’s
Basilica
on
Saturday.

The
85-year-old
presented
the
new
intake
with
the
red
square
caps
and
rings
typical
of
their
new
stations.

During
the
ceremony,
the
Argentine
pontiff
born
Jose
Maria
Bergoglio
told
the
new
cardinals
to
show
concern
for
ordinary
people
despite
the
high
rank
that
will
bring
them
into
contact
with
the
powerful
of
the
earth.

“A
cardinal
loves
the
Church,
always
with
that
same
spiritual
fire,
whether
dealing
with
great
questions
or
handling
everyday
problems,
with
the
powerful
of
this
world
or
those
ordinary
people
who
are
great
in
God’s
eyes,”
Francis
said.

It’s
the
eighth
time
since
becoming
pope
in
2013
that
Francis
has
named
a
new
group
of
cardinals,
who
will
serve
as
his
most
senior
advisors
and
administrators
both
in
Vatican
City
and
around
the
world.

Sixteen
of
the
20
are
under
the
age
of
80,
which
means
they
would
be
eligible
to
vote
for
a
new
pope
from
among
the
ranks
of
cardinals
should
such
a
papal
conclave
take
place
in
the
coming
years.

Pope
Francis
has
in
the
past
hinted
that
he
might
resign
as
pope
if
his
health
deteriorates
further,
but
he
also
said
in
a
recent
interview
with
Reuters
that
he
was
not
planning
to
do
so
in
the
near
future.

Francis’ predecessor,
German-born
Pope
Benedict
XVI
or
Joseph
Ratzinger,
in
2013
famously
resuscitated
the
idea
of
a
pope
retiring
prior
to
his
death,
becoming
the
first
pope
in
almost
six
centuries
to
leave
the
job
while
still
drawing
breath.

He
has
also
made
a
point
of
appointing
a
higher
proportion
of
less
elderly
people
to
the
position
than
was
historically
the
case.

Francis’
more
international
cast
of
cardinal
grows

Almost
all
parts
of
the
globe
were
represented
in
Saturday’s
group;
with
every
continent
except
Oceania
(and
Antarctica,
strictly
speaking)
represented.

The
new
cardinals
come
from
Britain,
South
Korea,
Spain,
France,
Nigeria,
Brazil,
India,
the
United
States,
East
Timor,
Italy,
Ghana,
Singapore,
Paraguay
and
Colombia.

Church
analysts
said
most
of
the
appointees
fitted
with
the
more
modern
and
egalitarian
ambitions
of
the
first
ever
pope
from
Latin
America.

But
rifts
over
some
of
the
more
divisive
modern
issues
for
the
Catholic
Church
like
abortion
and
LGBTQ
rights
were
also
visible
even
among
the
intake.

For
instance,
US
Catholics
noted
that
Rory
McElroy
was
among
a
small
group
of
bishops
signing
a
statement
expressing
support
for
LGBTQ
rights
and
opposing
a
bid
to
block
politicians
in
favor
of
abortion
from
taking
Communion.

Meanwhile,
Ghana’s
Richard
Kuuia
Baawobr
has
spoken
out
against
LGBTQ
rights,
working
in
a
country
that
still
retains
colonial-era
laws,
now
defunct
back
in
former
colonizer
Britain,
outlawing
same-sex
sexual
acts.
Baawobr
could
not
attend
the
ceremony
as
he
was
hospitalized
owing
to
a
cardiac
issue.

Archbishop
Ulrich
Steiner
of
Manaus,
Brazil,
also
became
the
first
ever
cardinal
from
the
Amazon
region.

The
youngest
cardinal
in
the
new
group
is
just
48,
Archbishop
Giorgio
Marengo
is
an
Italian
missionary
working
in
Mongolia,
which
boasts
only
around
1,300
Catholics.

Source: DW