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Vatican / Pope Francis appoints 21 new cardinals

2023-09-30 17:42:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Vatican / Pope Francis appoints 21 new cardinals

Newly elected Cardinal Stephen Chow, Bishop of Hong Kong (right) receives his biretta from Pope Francis

Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals in a ceremony in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on Saturday.

One of the cardinals, 95-year-old Luis Pascual Dri from Argentina, did not attend the event because of his age.

The new cardinals come from the United States, France, Italy, Argentina, Switzerland, South Africa, Spain, Colombia, South Sudan, Hong Kong, Poland, Malaysia, Tanzania, Venezuela and Portugal. South Sudan got its first cardinal and Malaysia got the second in its history.

As in previous years, Francis has chosen more and more bishops and archbishops from non-European countries to be appointed cardinals. "Diversity is necessary; it is indispensable," Francis said.

Appointments to the Catholic Church's College of Cardinals, which selects new popes, effectively allow the pope to influence the choice of his successor.

There are now 137 cardinal electors, about 73% of whom were chosen by Francis. This increases the likelihood that the next Pope will share his vision for a more progressive and inclusive church.

Eighteen of the 21 new appointees are under the age of 80 and would therefore be eligible to vote in a possible conclave to elect a new pope. Vatican rules do not allow cardinals over that age to vote in a conclave.

That means 99 of the 137 cardinals currently eligible to elect the next pope have been appointed by Francis, who is 86 years old. One of these cardinals may one day be chosen by his peers to succeed Pope Francis./ CNA