Brandmüller said that there are too many cardinals who come from faraway places, so they lack experience with the Roman Curia and do not know one another, making them vulnerable to lobbies attempting to push a specific candidate forward.

In a speech given during this week's meeting of cardinals, Brandmüller said that in his view, a "serious reflection should be given to the idea of limiting the right to vote in conclave, for example to cardinals residing in Rome, while the others, still cardinals, could share the ‘status' of cardinals over eighty" who are ineligible to cast a vote. Continue reading

Vatican commentator Thomas Reece says after Pope Francis creates 17 new cardinals, he wants to discuss his plans for reforming the Curia.

The Curia is the bureaucracy the pope uses to help him exercise his pastoral office and universal mission in the world.

Saturday's meeting will give the cardinals a chance to say what they like or dislike about the operations of the Curia and the recent reforms Francis has instituted.

His most dramatic reform is opening top positions in the Roman Curia to lay leadership. This means the secretary of state or heads of the Dicastery for Doctrine of the Faith could be laypeople. A layman or laywoman could be put in charge of the office for finding episcopal candidates.

Reece says while the changes won't affect the current Vatican cardinals, Catholics may see a future in which the Vatican has more lay leadership and fewer clerics and bishops.

"Some have suggested that these lay officials be made cardinals, but I think the fewer cardinals in the Curia the better," says Reece.

"It is difficult to fire curial cardinals who are incompetent or not in sync with the Pope."

Reece thinks a compromise could see pro-tem cardinals (both lay and clerical) in the Curia. They would lose their titles on the death or resignation of the Pope who appointed them and could not attend the conclave to elect the next one.

The Secretariat of State and the Dicastery for Doctrine of the Faith may be downgraded in the curia reform, Reece says.

"The Secretariat of State has for centuries played a dominant role in the Vatican, especially on political topics. It also exercised a coordinating role within the Vatican bureaucracy," he explains.

"The Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, as the dicastery was previously known, was also very powerful when it came to doctrinal issues, having the final say, under the pope, on any document coming out of the Vatican," he says.

"Prior to Francis, it also played doctrinal cop in policing the writings and teachings of theologians."

Source

• Religion News Service

Francis' new apostolic constitution, "Praedicate Evangelium" ("Preach the Gospel"), issued last month, noted that the heads of dicasteries and other offices that manage the church need not be ordained.

This highlighted Francis' stated aim to give "more space" to women in the church.

Most of the important dicasteries are as a matter of fact headed by cardinals.

But if any Catholic can head a curial office, the question becomes, does the title come with the job?

More importantly, is the title needed to do the job?

If the main duty of a cardinal is to be an adviser to the pope, and there is no ordination required, it could make sense to restart the tradition of lay cardinals and to include women in the mix.

Since the 16th century, cardinals have come mostly from the ranks of priests and bishops, but this has not always been the case.

Some Spanish and Italian royals were created cardinals in the medieval church. More recently, Pope Pius IX named the curial lawyer Teodolfo Mertel a cardinal, two months before ordaining him deacon in 1858.

Mertel was not exactly a lay cardinal — he received clerical tonsure, a rite just short of ordination, in his late 30s — but he remained a cardinal deacon for the rest of his life.

As auditor of the papal treasury, he oversaw a good part of the Vatican's money.

There is even historical evidence of female deacons doing much the same. A sixth-century inscription recalls the Deacon Anna, who, with her brother, appears to have served as the treasurer of Rome.

Under the 1917 Code of Canon Law, however, anyone named cardinal was required to be at least a priest.

The 1983 version of the code dictates that in addition to being chosen from among men who are at least priests, new cardinals are to accept ordination as bishops.

Appointing a layman or woman would require a change to, or at least a dispensation from, the law.

Yet in the late 1960s, Pope Paul VI considered making the French philosopher Jacques Maritain a lay cardinal, an idea Maritain himself rejected.

There is a rumour that Mother Teresa turned down Pope John Paul II when he asked her to become a cardinal.

So lay and female cardinals are not beyond the realm of possibility.

The question is, would it make any difference?

It would certainly be interesting.

Lay or deacon cardinals would be admitted to the College of Cardinals, which since 1179 has elected the next pope. It's highly unlikely a lay or female cardinal would be elected the bishop of Rome.

But Francis has already named a layman, former journalist Paolo Ruffini, to head the Dicastery for Communication, and the pope's emphasis on the church's mission of evangelization signals that his choice of personnel — male or female, married or single, ordained or not — depends solely on an ability and willingness to do the job within that context.

The message of "Praedicate Evangelium" is that becoming a cardinal is secondary and relative only to how gaining the title would or would not advance the task at hand.

That includes expanding management and ministry to laypeople.

That also includes telling the world that women are equally talented and capable human beings.

So, has the time come for female cardinals?

Maybe so, maybe no. But it is a new church.

• Phyllis Zagano is a senior research associate and adjunct professor of religion at Hofstra University and was a member of the 2016-2018 Pontifical Commission for the Study of Women in the Diaconate. She is the author, most recently, of "Women: Icons of Christ" and "Women Religious, Women Deacons: Questions and Answers."
• First published in RNS. Republished with permission.

During the interview, he envisioned that "the Holy See will one day be led by the Pope surrounded by a college of cardinals in which there would be women."

The Rheims archbishop's musings reminded me of many years ago when I was much younger, and older Catholics were first daring to discuss the ordination of women.

Invariably the debates about the probability of ordained women surrendered to the question of whether such ordination was possible.

Here arguments against the possibility were raised by invoking pervasive misogyny, local cultures, theology, canon law, the Bible and even the intentionality of Jesus at the last supper!

After exhausting a host of objections to the possible, invariably a senior in the room would suggest, "Why not make women cardinals?"

This often prompted quizzical stares from mostly everyone, but the clever proponent would remind them that until recently there were, indeed, lay cardinals. "They didn't have to be ordained," the proponent would expertly conclude.

It was only a hundred years ago that the "new" Code of Canon Law (1917) decreed that cardinals had to be ordained.

Before that they were either from the laity or the ordained, though clearly the majority were the latter.

Ordination was introduced, in part, to correct abuse in the appointment of cardinals.

For instance, in 1735, Pope Clement XII made Luis Antonio de Borbón, son of King Felipe V of Spain, a cardinal, he was 8 years old. Ordination would give some surety that the person was an adult and theologically educated.

In 1983, the code required that cardinals be bishops.

We should not think, however, that these laws negated the possibility of popes making lay cardinals.

While we can rarely know what a pope intends to do, until he discloses it, there have been fairly consistent reports that Pope Paul VI wanted to or actually offered to make the French philosopher Jacques Maritain one, and later that Pope John Paul II offered the appointment to Mother Teresa.

Both persons reportedly declined the offer.

Moreover, in 2013 on these pages Jesuit Fr Frederico Lombardi, director of the Holy See's press office, commented that women cardinals were "theologically and theoretically … possible."

Like my seniors 50 years ago, he added, "Being a cardinal is one of those roles in the church for which, theoretically, you do not have to be ordained."

He said this, however, to quell speculation that a woman would be among those named for the next consistory.

Why should women cardinals matter?

Like the discussions 50 years ago, the Rheims archbishop's comments remind us of a variety of ways that the laity in general and women, in particular, can and should exercise authority and leadership in the church.

He entertained the question of women deacons, but he was much more interested in the diversity of leadership roles in the church that were not being filled by the laity nor especially by women whether religious or lay.

Thus he noted that he was "completely flabbergasted" that non-ordained religious brothers could vote at the Synod of Bishops' meetings, but women could not.

Reminding us that the ordained "are in principle neither more learned nor closer to God than the laity," he added, "The voice of all the baptized laity, from the moment they try to embrace Christianity, should be able to count as much as that of the clergy."

Then he turned to the question of competency: "Nothing prevents them from holding many more important functions in the workings of the institution, with everything being a matter of competence." Continue reading

The Better Church Governance Group aims to compile dossiers "in the manner of political opposition research" on cardinal electors ahead of the next conclave, the gathering that elects a new pope.

During Sunday's "Red Hat Cocktail Party" when the evaluation was launched, Better Church Governance's chief operating officer and development director questioned Pope Francis's election.

He asked those present if Francis would have been elected pope in 2013 had opposition research been available at the time to the gathered electors.

Philip Nielsen, who is the executive director of the governance group and managing editor of the Red Hat Report, says the Group is "a non-profit watchdog" organisation comprising "academics, Vatican reporters, and about thirty others" as well as anonymous contributors.

Better Church Governance says The Red Hat Report, "is not intended to be a political project and will not endorse or attack any cardinal."

The team researching the report will follow an eight-point plan to "audit" the cardinals. It will name those credibly accused in scandal, abuse, or cover-up and will also report research on those who have "responded strongly against corruption."

Better Church Governance says it will also use the information gathered "to edit the cardinals' English language Wikipedia pages.

"It is well known that at the last papal conclave many of the cardinals' secretaries used these pages to help the cardinals better know each other," Nielsen says.

Better Church Governance says it aims to expand its research to the entire episcopacy, not just cardinals, and to become a permanent commission.

Source

• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Metro

The College of Cardinals is structured in three orders, or ranks: the order of "cardinal deacons," the order of "cardinal priests," and the order of "cardinal bishops."

There are customarily six cardinal bishops from the Latin Church, who are given a particular ceremonial title as the "titular bishops" of Rome's ancient suburbicarian sees. The dean of the College of Cardinals is also assigned as titular bishop of the Roman see of Ostia.

Eastern Catholic patriarchs who are cardinals are also cardinal bishops.

Though, in modern times, cardinal bishops do not actually govern the suburban dioceses in the vicinity of Rome, the custom of corresponding the rank of cardinal bishop to those dioceses is ancient.

The pope's new appointments break with that custom, which is established in canon law, as he has appointed cardinal bishops who will not be ceremonially connected to those suburbicarian sees. In fact, those sees already have titular bishops, each of whom is a cardinal bishop over the age of 80, the age at which cardinals are no longer eligible to vote in the conclave that elects a pope.

Those elevated to the rank of cardinal bishop are Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State; Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches; Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect for the Congregation of Bishops; Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People.

Among these new cardinal bishops, Cardinal Filoni was until now a cardinal deacon, while the others were all cardinal priests.

The Pope's June 26 rescript says that popes have "always looked with fraternal fondness to the College of Cardinals," as they "offer a particular support to the mission of the Successor of Peter, bearing the valuable contribution of their experience and of their service to the particular Churches spread all over the world."

The rescript then noted that "in the last decades" the College of Cardinals has expanded, thus increasing the number of cardinal priests and deacons, while the number of cardinal bishops has stayed untouched with time, and so the pope made the decision to expand that group.

The decision derogates from canons 350 and 352 of the Code of Canon Law, and will come into effect since the next June 28.

All three ranks within the College of Cardinals have ancient historical roots. Cardinal deacons were anciently entrusted with the administration of the six offices of the Lateran Palace (the See of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope) and of the the seven departments of Rome, including care for poor. After Pope Sixtus V, they became 14, two for departments, and were given a "deaconry" of administration, that is, a church in Rome for which they were responsible.

The cardinal priests were those entrusted with the care of the most ancient Churches in Rome, called "titles," and are by tradition connected with a Roman parish. After ten full years as a cardinal deacon,"a cardinal can "opt" to become a cardinal priest.

There were originally seven cardinal bishops, the bishops of Rome's suburbicarian sees.

The present cardinal bishops, in addition those named today, are Tarcisio Bertone (Frascati), José Saraiva Martins (Palestrina), Roger Etchegaray (Porto Santa Rufina), Giovanni Battista Re (Poggio Mirteto) and Francis Arinze (Velletri-Segni).

Cardinal Patriarchs of Eastern Catholic Churches, who are also cardinal bishops are Patriarch Bechara-Boutros Rai, of Antioch of the Maronites; Patriarch Pierre Sfeir, emeritus of Antioch of Maronites; Patriarch Antonios Naguib, emeritus of Alexandria of the Coptics.

Cardinal-Elect Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, will be added to the list after the June 28 consistory.

The Pope choose to expand the rank of cardinal bishop to include the prefects of some Vatican offices, although some notable prefects are missing from the list.

Some have speculated that Cardinal-elect Luis Ladaria is likely to be appointed to the order of cardinal-bishop, as is as Cardinal-elect Konrad Krajewski, Papal Almoner.

In a recent interview with Reuters, Pope Francis said: "It think there are two long arms of the pope - that of being custodian of the faith, and there the work is done by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the prefect has to be a cardinal, and the other long arm of the pope is the almoner, and there must be a cardinal there. These are the two long arms of the pope - faith and charity."

Another rescript will be needed if the Pope wants to derogate again from the norms of canon law, in order to include other cardinals in the rank of cardinal-bishop.

Far from being just honorific titles, the ranks of cardinals give them specific obligations.

For example, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, elected from among the cardinal bishops, presides at the conclave for the election of the pope. The Dean has also the responsibility to communicate the pope's death to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See and to the heads of nations, he represents the Holy See during the sede vacante, and he is the one who asks the pope-elect if he accepts the election, and what name he will take.

If the new pope is not a bishop, the Dean has the right to ordain him.

If the Dean is older than 80, and so not eligible to take part in the conclave, the senior cardinal bishop presides over the conclave.

First published in the Boston Pilot. Shared as requested.

The new cardinals include prelates based in Madagascar, Peru, Mexico and Japan as well as Iraq and Pakistan, where Christians are a vulnerable minority.

"The countries of provenance express the universality of the church, which continues to announce the merciful love of God to all men on Earth," Francis said when he made his announcement.

Francis announced the names of the new cardinals from a Vatican palace window to pilgrims and tourists gathered in St Peter's Square.

Eleven of the new cardinals will be eligible to cast ballots in the secret conclave to elect Francis' successor, provided they are still under the age of 80.

This is the fifth time Francis has selected new cardinals since he was elected pontiff in 2013.

The new Cardinals are:

His Beatitude Louis Raphaël I Sako - Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon

His Excellency Luis Ladaria -Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

His Excellency Angelo De Donatis - Vicar General of Rome

His Excellency Giovanni Angelo Becciu - Substitute of the Secretary of State and Special Delegate for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

His Excellency Konrad Krajewski - Almoner of the Office of Papal Charities

His Excellency Joseph Coutts - Archbishop of Karachi

His Excellency António dos Santos Marto - Bishop of Leiria-Fátima

His Excellency Pedro Barreto - Archbishop of Huancayo

His Excellency Desiré Tsarahazana - Archbishop of Toamasina

His Excellency Giuseppe Petrocchi - Archbishop of L'Aquila

His Excellency Thomas Aquinas Manyo - Archbishop of Osaka

His Excellency Sergio Obeso Rivera - Emeritus Archbishop of Xalapa

His Excellency Toribio Ticona Porco - Emeritus Bishop of Corocoro

Reverend Father Aquilino Bocos Merino - member of the Claretian order

Source

• Zenit
• The Washington Post
• Image: World Religious News

As a result, one time-honored way of evaluating consistories, the events in which popes create new cardinals, is in terms of what they portend for the choice of that pope's successor.

Applying that lens to the consistory over which Pope Francis presided on Wednesday, in which he created five new cardinals, the only honest answer any respectable vaticanista can give to the question of what it means for the next pope probably is, "Who knows?"

(To be clear, there is no indication - none, zero - that a papal vacancy is imminent.

There's no health crisis around Francis, and no signal he's on the brink of resigning. That fact, however, doesn't make speculation about what might come next any less irresistible.)

Perhaps the defining hallmark of Francis's four consistories to date has been the global character of his picks.

Including yesterday, Francis has now named cardinals from thirteen nations that have never had one before, including some extremely improbable locales - such as, for instance, the island nations of Tonga and Mauritius.

As a result, a healthy share of these new "Francis cardinals" come from outside the West, and thus from outside the usual analytical framework observers apply to Church affairs.

Generally speaking, what Westerners are most interested in is whether a given pope is appointing more "liberal" or "conservative" cardinals, and thus men inclined to steer the Church, should they become pope themselves one day, in a more progressive or traditional direction.

Those categories, however, often don't apply to non-Western cultures, where the issues that matter often don't break along the fault lines of left v. right.

I learned that lesson roughly a decade ago, when I was in Uganda on a reporting trip and met with Catholic students studying political science at a university in Kampala.

They were bright, articulate, and well-informed, and at one stage I asked, "So are you guys liberals or conservatives?"

There was an awkward moment of silence, after which one of the 20-something Ugandans said, "We know what those terms mean from our classes, but can you be more specific?" Continue reading

• John L. Allen Jr. is the editor of Crux, specializing in coverage of the Vatican and the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis says on 28 June he will hold a consistory to appoint the cardinals, who come from El Salvador, Laos, Mali, Spain and Sweden. They will add diversity to the church, Francis says.

Apart from Spain, none of the countries has ever had a cardinal before.

The new cardinals are:

73-year-old Archbishop Jean Sevo from Mali;

71-year-old Archbishop Juan Jose Omella from Spain;

67-year-old Bishop Anders Arborelius from Sweden;

73-year-old Vicar Apostolic Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun from Laos;

74-year-old Auxiliary Archbishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez from El Salvador.

The cardinals' diversity expresses the "Catholicity of the church, diffused throughout the earth," Francis said.

Francis is known for his concern for church to look to the peripheries and bring them to the center.

In this respect, the new cardinals have much in common with others Francis has appointed. Many are also from "far-flung, often overlooked dioceses where Catholics are a distinct minority".

The new cardinals are also joining a number of others who are eligible to vote for the next pope. All five are currently well under the age of 80.

(Francis has been increasing the pool of eligible voters for some years. Of the 19 new cardinals he created in 2014, 16 are under 80.)

The new cardinals roles will include working as papal advisors.

The new cardinals and Francis will say Mass together the day after they are appointed. It will be the feast of Saints Peter and Paul.

Source

• Crux
• DeutscheWelle
• Image: Spiegel

The Pope Francis has now chosen 44 cardinal electors. That's about a third of the number allowed by Church Law to choose his successor.

Thirteen of his newest Cardinals are under the age of 80. While they are under 80 they are eligible to choose his successor.

Three of them are from the US, while others come from a wide variety of places, including Malaysia, Lesotho, Bangladesh and Mauritus.

Some are from places where Catholics are in the minority.

The only Italian is the Papal envoy to Syria.

In Saturday's ceremony elevating the 17 to the College of Cardinals, Francis warned them against becoming victim to a "growing animosity" between people and xenophobia.

He is particularly concerned that they avoid creating or falling into divisions within the Church.

At present divisions within the Church are appearing as some conservative Cardinals are challenging his stance on matters involving including divorce, remarriage and communion.

The Pope also encouraged them to look out for refugees and protect them.

Francis, who celebrates diversity, said "We come from distant lands; we have different traditions, skin color, languages and social backgrounds; we think differently and we celebrate our faith in a variety of rites.

"None of this makes us enemies; instead, it is one of our greatest riches."

The new Cardinals are looking forward to stepping up to meet the challenges.

One said, "It's getting out of hand in society today, where people almost have this contagious inflammation of animosity towards each other because they're different, they speak different languages, they look different. Are we going to be swept up in this violence?"

Another agreed. "We cardinals have to contribute… to make sure there is respect and dialogue everywhere, both in the Church and in the world."

Source

• BBC NEWS
• Inquirer.net
• Image: KBC TV

Father Ernest Simoni is the only non-bishop on the list of 17 who will receive the red hat in November.

Tortured and imprisoned at the time of the Communist persecution, his testimony moved Pope Francis to tears during the apostolic visit to Tirana in 2014.

More than 80 years old, Cardinal Simoni will be a non-elector in case of a Conclave.

On announcing his name yesterday, Sunday, October 9, the Pope specified that he chose "a priest who rendered a clear Christian testimony."

During Vespers in the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Tirana on November 21, 2014, in the presence of Pope Francis, Father Simoni — who will celebrate his 88th birthday on October 18 — recounted his arrest in 1963, after eight years of priesthood.

Beaten and tortured because he proclaimed Christ, he spent years in prison and in forced labour until the collapse of the regime in 1990. Becoming the Spiritual Father of numerous prisoners, he celebrated Mass in Latin by heart, distributed Communion and heard confessions secretly. He wrote on the wall of his cell: "Jesus is my life."

"Today we have touched martyrs," said Pope Francis after his testimony and that of a woman religious: "With this simplicity, they suffered very much physically, psychically, with the anguish of uncertainty, not knowing if they would be shot or not, and they lived with this anguish. The Lord consoled them. (…) He consoles in the depth of the heart and by His strength."

Pope Francis saw this elderly priest again during a General Audience last April: he then kissed his hands in sign of respect. Continue reading

Sources

• Zenit article by Anita Bourdin, a journalist accredited to the Holy See press office since 1995.
• Image: Daughters of St Paul

In 2011, a Spanish bishop claimed that Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, then head of the Pontifical Council for the Family, had declared that the United Nations was conspiring to make half the world's population homosexual over the next 20 years.

Like the U.N. quest for world peace, health and education, if such a program indeed exist it seems to be behind schedule.

A more recent asinine declaration by a cardinal comes from Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.

Repeating a call he has made many times, in a recent interview the cardinal said he wants priests to face east when celebrating the liturgy.

In my childhood parish in New York City, built long before Vatican II, facing east would have entailed the clergy and congregation turning 90 degrees to the left toward the side wall of the building, since the altar was at the south end of the structure.

The plot of land on which it stood allowed for no other layout. In fact, because of the layout of streets in New York, most sanctuaries are at either the north or south end of churches. Even churches with an east-west layout often have the sanctuary at the west end.

Presumably, Cardinal Sarah is not calling upon congregations to do a military-style "left face," "right face" or "about face" toward the rising sun.

What he seems to actually want is for the clergy and congregation to face the same direction when offering prayer to God. But, that direction often, or even generally, cannot be the east.

There may be merit to such an opinion, but the cardinal does his position no favor by using such patently stupid phrasing to present it. It merely demonstrates ignorance of the actual places where Catholics gather to worship.

The cardinal seems to use the phrase because it literally translates the Latin, "ad orientem," and Cardinal Sarah is among those committed to fidelity to Latin even when it becomes nonsense. Continue reading

• Father William Grimm, MM, is publisher of ucanews.com and is based in Tokyo.

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, said the cardinals' council reflected on what criteria is currently used to select prelates "in the light of their pastoral identity and mission".

The cardinals have also done an office by office review of the Vatican's bureaucracy.

This is in the hope of creating a new general constitution outlining a curial organisational structure.

Continue reading

As such, he joins a list of 23 other cardinals who have lost this position from the 15th century onwards. The list of legitimate and illegitimate cardinals who for various reasons lost their rights and powers as cardinals between 1440 and today was published by Italian religious news blog Il Sismografo and is based on documentation provided by Salvador Miranda.

The pseudo-cardinals, the monk and the Duke of Valentinois

The list begins with the names of four former cardinals who lived in the 15th century: Johann Grünwalder, Otón de Moncada y de Luna, Wincenty Kotz Dębna and Bartolomeo Vitelleschi.

They are considered "pseudo-cardinals" because they were all elevated to the Cardinalate between 1440 and 1449 by the Antipope Felix V. The case of young Ardicino Della Porta, who was created cardinal in March 1489, was quite different.

Three years later he retired to a Camaldolese monastery with the Pope's permission. He was summoned back to Rome to take part in the Conclave that elected Rodrigo Borgia Pope Alexander VI. He fell ill and died a short while later.

The list of former cardinals that lived in this century ends with one of Alexander VI's illegitimate sons, Cesare. His father had him appointed bishop, archbishop and then cardinal in 1493. Five years later he asked his father for permission to withdraw from ecclesiastical life, which he obtained, resigning from the cardinalate. Continue reading

Sources

• Vatican Insider
• Image: aleteia

Some of those who spoke at a consistory said there is a need for an enhanced role for laity, particularly women.

Dozens of cardinals spoke about the work of the Curia, and many of them stressed the need for decentralisation and collegiality.

The consistory was discussing proposals for Curia reform proposed by Pope Francis's "C9" Council of Cardinals.

The Pope told the assembled cardinals that reform is not an end in itself.

Rather, it is about promoting a more effective evangelisation, a fruitful ecumenical spirit and a strengthening of unity in the Church, he said.

It is understood that significant reform will not be announced before 2016.

Continue reading

He said Oceania is not Australia by itself, and the region has a wide variety of nations and peoples.

So it is possible that the Pope may appoint at least one cardinal from among the more than 80 bishops who make up the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania when he creates new Cardinals at a consistory he has called for 14 and 15 February 2015.

If the traditional practice is followed those who are to be to be made a cardinal will be announced mid-January.

At present there are no active Cardinals resident in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea/Solomon Islands and all of Oceania.

George Pell, formally archbishop of Sydney, is now working in the Vatican as secretary for the economy, and living in Rome.

The emeritus archbishop of Wellington, Thomas Williams, is retired.

The only Pasifika cardinal, the late Pio Taufinu'u, was appointed by Pope Paul VI as a personal gesture, soon after his Papal visit to Samoa.

Because Oceania encompasses so many independent nations, covering such a vast area, it is hard to predict which of its bishops would be likely to be made a cardinal.

The Pacific Regional Seminary which serves most of Oceania, is in Suva, Fiji, and its recently appointed Archbishop, Peter Loy Chong, has attracted some attention.

There has never been a cardinal appointed from among the bishops of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Almost two-thirds of the voting cardinals (69) still come from the global north, while two-thirds of the world's Catholic population today lives in the global south.

When Pope Francis holds the consistory, there will be 110 voting cardinals; those under 80.

Two other cardinals turn 80 in March and April, so Francis may appoint 10-12 new voting cardinals.

Between April and June a further three cardinals turn 80, so in the course of the next year, Pope Francis will therefore have the option of creating 15 new voting cardinals.

According to Universi Dominici Gregis, St John Paul II's apostolic constitution governing conclaves, the maximum number of cardinal electors must not exceed 120, however a pope is not obliged to follow the rules.

When he made the announcement of the consistory last Friday, Fr Lombardi, the director of the Holy See's press office also announced two other important appointments: a meeting of the Council of Cardinals for the reform of the Roman Curia (9 to 11 February) and a meeting of the College of Cardinals (12 to 13 February) to discuss matters relating to the reorganisation of the Holy See.

Sources

• News.va
• Crux
• New Zealand Catholic
• Catholic World Report
• Image: catholicleader.com

After a consistory on February 20-21, Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said the cardinals' discussions had focussed mainly on three topics.

These were the Christian vision of people and family life, pastoral support for families and ministry to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

Synods in October this year and next year will address similar family-related themes.

Retired German Cardinal Walter Kasper gave a two-hour opening presentation to the consistory, laying out the biblical and theological basis of Church teaching on marriage.

He also emphasised the challenge of finding ways to remain faithful to Jesus' words about the indissolubility of marriage as well as embodying the mercy God always shows to those who have sinned or fallen short.

Several cardinals spoke about the Church's process for granting annulments and possible ideas for improving the process or simplifying it.

Other cardinals, Fr Lombardi said, spoke about the desire of some divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to be able to receive Communion even though they have not received an annulment.

"The discussion was very interesting, very broad, very serene," the spokesman said.

"No decisions were made," but there was "a clear commitment to finding the best way to keep together fidelity to Christ's words and mercy in the life of the Church."

Cardinal Kasper told reporters that Pope Francis had asked him to pose questions to the cardinals to prompt a debate.

"We cannot change the doctrine," Cardinal Kasper said. "It's a question of applying the doctrine to concrete situations."

He cited a case with which he was involved regarding a remarried Catholic mother whose daughter was preparing for her first Communion, but the woman couldn't receive Communion because her first marriage wasn't annulled.

"The mother wants to live the faith. She educated her daughter in the faith. She went to Confession because her marriage had failed. But is not a remission of sin possible in this case?" the cardinal asked.

As a bishop in Germany in the 1990s, Kasper had tried to institute a policy that would allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion in certain circumstances, but this was rejected by Rome.

In opening the consistory, Pope Francis said the Church needs a "pastoral" approach that is "intelligent, courageous and full of love" and not focused on abstract arguments.

Sources

• Catholic News Service
• Codewit/Associated Press
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Daily Mail/Getty Images

The former and present pontiffs were at a ceremony at St Peter's Basilica to formally install 19 new cardinals on February 22.

Benedict entered the basilica discreetly from a side entrance surrounded by a small entourage and was greeted with applause and tears from the stunned people in the pews.

He smiled, waved and took his seat in the front row, off to the side, alongside the cardinals.

At the start of the ceremony Francis greeted his predecessor, embracing him in a hug.

Benedict, in what may have been a sign of obedience to Francis, removed his white skullcap during the greeting. The two also exchanged greetings at the end of the ceremony.

In a sign that Benedict still commands the honour and respect owed to a pope, each of the 19 new cardinals — after receiving his red hat from Francis at the altar — went directly to Benedict's seat to greet him before exchanging a sign of peace with the other cardinals.

Francis told the prelates that among their responsibilities is expressing compassion and building peace.

In short remarks following a Gospel reading, Francis explained what the Church would require from them, stating frankly: "I will tell you what the Church needs."

"The Church has need for your compassion, especially at this time of pain and suffering for so many countries around the world," Francis said.

"The Church needs us also to be peacemakers, building peace by our own works, our hopes and our prayers: let us therefore invoke peace and reconciliation for those peoples presently experiencing violence, exclusion and war," he said.

Concluding his remarks, Francis called on the cardinals to "walk together behind the Lord" and "always be called together by him, in the midst of his faithful people - the holy people of God - to holy mother the Church".

Sources

• Washington Post
• National Catholic Reporter
• Catholic News Service
• Image: Japan Times

Here's the key point: When Francis talks about "more space" for women, it's less about creating new roles and more about assigning greater value to the roles women already play. It's psychological, theological and moral "space" he wants to enhance, not so much corporate and institutional.

As a veteran of the pastoral front lines, Francis grasps that if its women were to walk away tomorrow, the Catholic church would come grinding to a halt.

He knows it's women who raise kids in the faith, women who make parishes run, women who keep alive popular devotions and practices, women who mobilize the church's human resources when people are in need, and on and on.

If the Catholic church is a "field hospital," as Francis has put it, he knows that women are its primary medical staff.

That's not to say Francis won't create more "space" for women in the conventional sense of the term. He could, for instance, name a woman as his spokesperson, a job that's generally the second most visible in the Vatican after the papacy. Continue reading.

John L. Allen Jr is a journalist reporting on 'All things Catholic'. This is from his final post in the National Catholic Reporter, before becoming an Associate Editor at the Boston Globe.

Source: NCR Online

Image: patheos.com

Speaking to the Vatican expert, Andrea Tornielli, in response to rumours earlier this year that Pope Francis was going to appoint a female cardinal, the Pope said: "I don't know where this idea sprang from. Women in the Church must be valued not 'clericalised'. Whoever thinks of women as cardinals suffers a bit from clericalism." Read more