VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis announced Sunday that he has chosen 21 new cardinals, including prelates in Jerusalem and Hong Kong, places where Catholics are a small minority. The pontiff thus increased his influence over the religious group that will choose his successor.
The pope announced his choices at his weekly appearance in St. Peter’s Square, saying the official naming ceremony would take place on Sept. 30.
Among those appointed were several prelates who already held or were about to assume important posts in the Vatican, such as the Archbishop of La Plata, Argentina, Víctor Manuel Fernández, whom the Pope has just appointed as head of the office that safeguards Orthodoxy. doctrinal and oversees proceedings on accusations of clerical sexual abuse around the world.
Also among the new cardinals were Hong Kong Bishop Stephen Sau-yan Chow and the Vatican’s top Middle East official, Monsignor Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
These two religious guide the congregations in geopolitical areas that concern the Vatican.
In remarks Sunday before reading the list of new cardinals, Francis expressed hope that Palestinian and Israeli authorities would engage in “direct dialogue” to end the “spiral of violence,” a reference to recent deadly clashes in the region. .
For decades the Vatican and China have alternated times of tension and improvement in their relations, given the insistence of the Chinese communist government that it has the right to appoint bishops, as well as the jailing of priests who expressed their loyalty to the pope.
The cardinals serve as advisers to the pontiff on matters of teaching and administration, including Vatican finances, which are embroiled in various scandals. But his most important task is to participate in the secret conclave that elects the next pontiff. Francis has named several rounds of new cardinals in his ten years as papacy. That means that, increasingly, the men who will vote for his successor should he resign or pass away are religious who share his values, priorities and views.
Others chosen to receive the cardinal’s red came from Cape Town, South Africa; Juba, in South Sudan, which the pope visited this year on a pilgrimage; Penang, in Malaysia, and Lodz, in Poland.
Eighteen of the 21 new cardinals were under 80 and could vote in a conclave.
