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Officially, in the Vatican, there is no church policy with cardinal polls. But with the appointment of 13 new cardinals, he must have already had the choice of his successor in mind.
By Jörg Seisselberg, ARD Studio Rome
It is a cardinal uprising, and it sets the course: with his selection of new cardinals, Pope Francis is influencing the future of the Catholic Church. It strengthens the group of ecclesiastics for whom the Roman Curia is not the center of the Catholic world. For the conclave that will determine the next Pope, an electoral body “made by Francis” is emerging every time.
“Francis wanted the basis for a conclave in which there would be a broad representation of the south of the world,” says Marco Politi, author of numerous books by the Pope. Francis fights for a conclave that is no longer dominated by the Curia and the Italian cardinals.
For the first time representatives of Rwanda and Brunei
A total of 13 new cardinals are named – or as it is called in the Catholic Church: created – the Pope the day before the first Advent. For the first time, representatives from Rwanda and Brunei will be part of the powerful College of Cardinals: Antoine Kambanda, Archbishop of Kingali, and Cornelius Sim, First Bishop of the Sultanate.
Archbishop José Fuerte Advincula is a second Philippine clergyman elected Pontifical Pope. From Italy, among others, is the bishop of Siena, socially committed, Augusto Lojudice. The traditional places of the Italian cardinals, on the other hand, like Milan or Venice, once again received nothing under Francis.
First African American Cardinal
The exclamation point is that Wilton Gregory will wear the scarlet cap in the future. The Archbishop of Washington becomes the first African American cardinal, and also a very confident one. In recent weeks, he publicly messed with the outgoing president of the United States, Donald Trump, before he clarified the issue of abuse in his archdiocese. When asked if this issue has been adequately addressed in the Church, Gregory bluntly replies, “No. What we have done about it is good, it is effective. But there is an ongoing fight to ensure that our children are safe.”
Cleaning up abuses at home and then becoming a cardinal: that is also the path of Celestino Aos Braco, archbishop of Santiago de Chile.
New balance of power in the next conclave
The only two representatives of the Curia among the new cardinals are Marcello Semeraro and Mario Grech. They also belong to the group of reformers. The Italian Semeraro has been a confidant of the current Pope for many years and, as the new head of the Congregation for Canonization, is concerned with polishing the legacy of his murdered predecessor Giovanni Becciu. The Maltese Grech has shown solidarity with the Mediterranean maritime rescuers and is currently trying to give a new impetus to the Synod of Bishops in Rome.
Officially, the line applies in the Vatican: no ecclesiastical policy is followed with the creation of cardinals. However, de facto, with each appointment the balance of power between the voting cardinals is readjusted and thus potentially influences the outcome of the next conclave. In the latter, things could be particularly difficult this time, believes the Vatican expert Politi: “The next conclave will be a tough battle between the conservative front and those who want to continue the reform line in advance.”
Mauro Gambetti, the biggest surprise among the new cardinals, is also one of the reformers or, in other words, one of those trusted by the current Pope. At 55, Gambetti is extraordinarily young for a cardinal, until now he was a simple religious priest. The Pope, however, appreciates Gambetti’s work as director of the Franciscan monastery in Assisi, and has a lot to do with him, it is said in Rome.
First cardinal uprising via video switch
With the new cardinal appointments, the number of future papal voters rises to 128. More than half of them (73) will be appointed by Francis. For the first time in Church history, a cardinal poll was conducted in part as a video change. Among other things, the two new cardinals from Brunei and the Philippines were only connected via a digital platform at St. Peter’s Basilica due to the Corona crisis.
At the solemn ceremony, four men over the age of 80 also received the dignity of cardinals, including the papal chaplain Raniero Cantalamessa. However, due to their age, these new cardinals cannot participate in the next papal election according to the rules of the Catholic Church.
