It is also a sign of the Holy Father's commitment to making the Consistory truly global and to reaching out beyond the European foundations of the Church to the world.

It gives Hong Kong three Cardinals — a rare privilege for any diocese — as Cardinal-elect Chow takes his place alongside Cardinal John Tong and the courageous 91-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen.

For these reasons, his appointment is welcome and should be celebrated by Hong Kong Catholics.

And the fact that Pope Francis has appointed Hong Kong's Bishop Chow as the new — and latest — Chinese Cardinal, rather than Beijing's Archbishop Li, the head of the Catholic Patriotic Association, shows that there is still recognition within the Vatican of Hong Kong's certain uniqueness. This is welcome.

However, Cardinal-elect Chow is no Cardinal Zen or a Cardinal Kung.

The Vatican's motivation for conferring the red biretta on his head raises some alarm bells.

From everything I have heard from Hong Kong Catholics, Chow is a good, spiritual and pastoral leader.

When his appointment as the city's bishop was announced, I welcomed it because I understood that while he was unlikely to be a vocal cheerleader for democracy; at the same time he was unlikely to be Beijing's stooge.

He appeared to be the compromise candidate acceptable to all — to pro-democracy Hong Kongers, to the pro-Beijing camp, and to ordinary Hong Kong Catholics.

I was hopeful that he would have the right mix of pastoral skills, wisdom and spirituality.

Over the past six months, however, it has become clear that — perhaps under pressure from Beijing, local Hong Kong authorities, the Vatican and the overall circumstances, or perhaps as a result of his natural instincts — Chow has taken a worryingly soft, conciliatory, compromising approach towards the Chinese Communist Party regime and its crackdown in Hong Kong.

To be frank, I never expected Chow to speak truth to power with the bluntness and boldness of Cardinal Zen.

But nor did I expect him to visit Beijing and return, calling his flock to show their patriotism.

True patriotism — love of country — is something most of us would accept.

But you have to be naïve to not realize that in today's China, an official call to "love your country" is easily confused with loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party regime — especially in Hong Kong today, with the so-called oaths of patriotism, which public servants are required to swear.

Cardinal Zen — whose Episcopal motto is Ipsacuraest ("He cares about you," from 1 Peter 5:7) — received his red biretta in 2006 from Pope Benedict XVI, who also appointed Cardinal Tong six years later — whose motto is Dominus Pastor Meus ("The Lord is my Shepherd").

Back in 1979, Pope St John Paul II created Shanghai's Bishop Ignatius Kung Pin-mei a Cardinal in pectore. His motto was Ut Sint Unum Ovile Et Unus Pastor ("That there may be one fold and one shepherd").

Chow's Episcopal motto is Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam ("For the greater glory of God").

All four mottos are of course deeply inspiring.

But while it is clear that Cardinal Zen was honoured for his commitment to justice and human rights, Cardinal Kung was recognized for his 30 years in jail and his lifelong commitment to religious freedom.

Even Cardinal Tong — although he was milder-mannered and more inclined to compromise — called for the release of Chinese Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo and all underground clergy in jail in China in his Christmas message in 2010.

It is unclear where exactly Hong Kong's new Cardinal Chow's conscience and voice lie.

On the evidence, it would seem that his red biretta is an affirmation of or reward for his soft stance towards Beijing, which is a break from the legacy of Zen, and Kung in particular, which is in keeping with the Vatican's current approach.

So what is the Vatican's approach? It appears to be a policy of appeasement and kowtow.

The Vatican-China deal signed in 2018, renewed in 2020, and again in 2022 — each time in extraordinary secrecy, with no transparency, scrutiny, or accountability — has bought the silence of the Holy Father over grave atrocity crimes and human rights violations in China and amounts to the Reichskonkordat of today.

In summary, it has resulted in a situation where a Pope who speaks out more often than many of his predecessors on injustice and persecution in one corner of the world or another — almost every Sunday as he prays the Angelus — is yet continuously and conspicuously silent over one very large part of the world.

Pope Francis is the first pontiff in the past several decades not to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

He has said almost nothing — and nothing meaningful — on the genocide of the Uyghurs, and been silent in the face of the dismantling of Hong Kong's freedoms, forced organ harvesting, and the persecution of Falun Gong and Christians in China.

He has said nothing of significance that could be reassuring to Taiwan.

The latest, and perhaps worst, example of Rome's kowtowing to Beijing is the news last week that Pope Francis has confirmed the appointment of Bishop Joseph Shen Bin as Bishop of Shanghai.

This appointment was made by Beijing, without consulting Rome, in total violation of the Vatican-China agreement earlier this year.

This is at least the second violation of the agreement by Beijing, following the illicit appointment by China of an auxiliary bishop in Jiangxi, in a diocese not recognized by the Holy See.

That drew a mild complaint from the Vatican, which accused Beijing of breaching the agreement.

But the news that Pope Francis now confirms the Shanghai appointment is a hammer blow to any thought that the Vatican might be waking up.

Instead, it is an indicator that Rome's kowtow policy will continue.

I know that within the body of Church teaching, there is room for interpretation and there is a need for a wide range of charisms.

We need those like Cardinal Zen and Cardinal Kung who stand up uncompromisingly for human rights and justice, and we need others — perhaps like Hong Kong's new Cardinal Chow — who pursue justice through dialogue.

Justice and peace go together. Dialogue and reconciliation have a key part to play, alongside truth and accountability. But what we can never do is have one without the other. To lose any one of these is like amputating a limb.

I pray Chow's Episcopal motto will lead to new heights for Hong Kong. But I tend to think that the motto of Myanmar's Cardinal Bo — Omnia Possum in Eo ("I can do all things in Him) — is a bit more ambitious.

There is only one place to genuflect: at the altar of God. Rome should never be genuflecting at the gates of Zhongnanhai.

• Benedict Rogers, a human rights activist and writer, is the co-founder and chief executive of Hong Kong Watch, and Senior Analyst for East Asia at Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a rights organisation specialising in freedom of religion or belief.
• First published in UCANews.com. Republished with permission.

The Vatican says the consistory will have a courtesy meeting today and Mass will be celebrated tomorrow, which is the Solemnity of the Saints Apostles Peter and Paul.

At this time Francis will impose the Pallia on the new cardinals. (The Pallia is a vestment symbolising the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See).

The traditional pre-consistory meeting is an opportunity for the Pope to consult with members of the College of Cardinals, who act as his closest advisors.

Francis held pre-consistory meetings in February 2014 and 2015. They lasted two days, and enabled Francis to hear about issues and concerns from around the world.

He also updated the cardinals on Vatican-related issues and those of the universal Church.

Last November when Francis chose not to hold pre-consistory meetings, Vatican journalist Marco Tosatti speculated it was to prevent the "Dubia cardinals" from meeting Francis.

He said by sidestepping the pre-consistory meetings, Francis prevented the dubia cardinals from using the opportunity to press him to reply to their demands for clarification of Amoris Laetitia.

Source

• National Catholic Register
• Catholic Culture
• Image: The Independent

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 meeting, also known as an "ordinary public consistory," formally ends the process of approving a new saint.

Vatican observers expect that Blessed Teresa's canonization will take place on Sept. 4, the day before the 19th anniversary of the nun's death on Sept. 5, 1997.

Pope Francis approved on Dec. 17 a second miracle attributed to Blessed Teresa's intercession. The miracle involved the healing of a now 42-year-old mechanical engineer in Santos, Brazil, who was in a coma after being diagnosed with a viral brain infection that resulted in multiple brain abscesses.

The Albania-born nun studied briefly in Rathfarnham, Dublin, when she was 18 before moving to India.

Mother Teresa was conferred the title Blessed in Rome, Italy, on Oct. 19, 2003, after Pope St. John Paul II recognized the miraculous healing of an Indian woman with a tumour in her abdomen.

Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu‎ of Albanian parents on ‎Aug. 26, 1910, in Skopje, in what ‎is ‎Macedonia today, Mother Teresa died in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, on Sept. 5, ‎‎1997.

Affectionately known as the "saint of the gutter" for her unconditional ‎love ‎for the poor, abandoned and the marginalized, she was awarded ‎the ‎Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. ‎

Sources

Catholic News Service
Vatican Radio
The Irish Catholic
Image: The Irish Catholic

There is as yet no definitive reform plan, and the current proposals are subject to modification.

Pope Francis convened this extraordinary consistory, as the meeting is called, to brief the cardinals on the ongoing work to reform the Roman Curia and to get their feedback.

Some 165 of the 207 members of the college were present when he opened the meeting, among them 19 of the 20 cardinal-designates who were to receive the red hat from the pope at a special ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica on Feb 14.

The pope reminded the college in his opening talk that reform was "strongly advocated" by the majority of cardinals in the pre-conclave meetings.

Its aim is to promote "greater harmony in the work of the various dicasteries and offices" of the Roman Curia "in order to achieve a more effective collaboration in that absolute transparency which builds authentic synodality and collegiality."

The reform "is not an end in itself," he stated; it is "a means to give a strong Christian witness, to promote a more effective evangelization, to promote a more fruitful ecumenical spirit, to encourage a more constructive dialogue with all."

The pope told the cardinals that "it is not easy to reach such a goal; it requires time, determination and above all everyone's cooperation."

It means "we must first entrust ourselves to the Holy Spirit, the true guide of the church, imploring the gift of authentic discernment in prayer." He called for their collaboration and, as at last October's synod, he urged them to speak boldly, with courage and openness.

Cardinals from all continents expressed appreciation for the reforms already achieved or underway in the Roman Curia under Pope Francis, particularly on Vatican finances.

There is a clear feeling among the cardinals that the first Latin American pope is getting the work done, and he has the support of the overwhelming majority of them.

Since the cardinals were meeting behind closed doors, Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Vatican Press Office, briefed journalists.

By the second day of the consistory, several cardinals raised the question of the relation between the Roman Curia and the local churches, emphasizing "decentralization" and "subsidiarity." A key question of many has been,

"Where can a question be best resolved: in the local church or in the Roman Curia?" Continue reading

Image: The Spectator

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

Vatican Insider described the scene after the ceremony:

"Tonga's first Cardinal was, "Surrounded by faithful and relatives who have formed a chorus and are singing a traditional song at the top of their voices."

"There is about 30 of them and they are wearing a traditional oversized white shirt with necklaces made of red stones."

"They stand out because hanging from their necks is a photo taken about 20 years or so ago of the new cardinal surrounded, in shirtsleeves, by a large number of brothers and sisters."

Just before the solemn celebration in St Peter's Basilica, Cardinal Mafi sat down with Philippa Hitchen to talk about the strong Christian faith in his country and about why the King and Queen of Tonga were also present to celebrate with him at Saturday's Consistory.

Asked what the Church in Tonga can offer to the universal Church, the cardinal talks about the simplicity of lifestyle and the sense of God in peoples' lives.

Also he says families ties are still strong and there is a respect for the elders in society.

Mafi said he met the King and Queen of Tonga for a regular New Year greeting on January 1st and learnt that they were planning a trip to Rome in February.

When he heard the news that he had been appointed a member of the College of Cardinals, he realised that the consistory would take place during the same time as their visit, thus they were able to share in the joy and celebration for all the people of the Kingdom of Tonga.

• Listen to interview
• More photographs

Source

• Vatican Radio
• Vatican Insider
• Image: Reuters/Vatican Radio

Dew, the Archbishop of Wellington, and current President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference was the fourth to kneel before Pope Francis as he placed the Cardinals ring on his finger and a biretta (a red hat worn by Cardinals) on his head and declared him a Cardinal.

Speaking after the the consistory Dew said he reflected on the role he is to undertake.

"Since the announcement in early January I have been thinking of what it means for the Archdiocese, New Zealand and the Oceania region."

"Being here, I am convinced that we in Oceania have much to offer the wider Church. Just as the Church has much to offer us."

"Being on the periphery does not mean having nothing to offer - just think of all the saints who were offside with conventional wisdom or practice of the time!"

• See more photographs on Archdiocese of Wellington Facebook page.
• Watch video of Consistory on Youtube

Pope Francis, in his address to the new Cardinals, said "The cardinalate is certainly an honour, but it is not honorific."

"This we already know from its name - "cardinal" - from the word 'cardo', a hinge."

"As such it is not a kind of accessory, a decoration, like an honorary title. Rather, it is a pivot, a point of support and movement essential for the life of the community."

"You are "hinges" and are "incardinated" in the Church of Rome, which "presides over the entire assembly of charity."

The Holy Father went on to say to the new Cardinals, who now become advisers to the Pope, that "The greater our responsibility in serving the Church, the more our hearts must expand according to the measure of the heart of Christ."

The scarlet red colour worn by Cardinals signifies their willingness to act with courage even to ‘shedding their blood' to the point of death for the faith.

Source

• Supplied - New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference
• Cardinal John Dew Facebook
• Archdiocese of Wellington Facebook
• Image: AFP/Radio New Zealand

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

That is according to an Italian journalist writing about the February consistory at the Vatican.

In an article for the Turin daily, La Stampa, on March 24, Marco Tosatti wrote that Cardinal Kasper's plan was greeted with a storm of criticism.

In his address to the cardinals on February 22, the German cardinal argued that Catholic divorcees who remarry should, after a period of atonement, be allowed to seek re-admittance to the sacraments.

Tosatti claimed the vast majority of cardinals who spoke in the subsequent discussion criticised the proposal.

Tosatti named 10 cardinals as speaking in this vein including Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Cardinal Tauran reportedly said he felt the proposed change would do nothing to further the Church's support for the family or its relations with Islam.

Another alleged critic was Cardinal Camillo Ruini, former Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, who according to Tosatti claimed that 85 per cent of the cardinals who had commented on Kasper's proposal opposed it.

Tosatti reports that other Kasper critics included the President of the Italian Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Angela Scola, the Prefect of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza and Cardinal Battista Re, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Bishops.

When given leave by Pope Francis to reply at the end of the discussion, Cardinal Kasper is said to have shown his "irritation" with his critics.

The Pope had asked Cardinal Kasper to introduce a discussion at the consistory about family life ahead of October's synod.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, also criticised Cardinal Kasper.

"There are many difficulties with the text of Cardinal Kasper," he said in an interview with the Catholic television station EWTN.

Cardinal Burke said that he expected "the error of his [Kasper's] approach to become ever clearer" in coming weeks as theologians and canonists examine it.

Among those who have gone on record as sympathetic to Kasper's proposals are Cardinals Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, Karl Lehmann of Mainz, Rainer Maria Woelki of Berlin, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Freiburg and Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga of Honduras.

Cardinals Marx and Rodríguez are members of the C8 group of cardinals appointed to advise the Pope.

Sources

• The Tablet
• Rorate Caeli
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Zimbio

"Then he'll die as my secretary," replied the future pope, now known as Blessed John XXIII.

Today, at age 98, now-Archbishop Capovilla has outlived his employer by half a century and remains an indefatigable custodian of his legacy, running a small museum dedicated to Blessed John's memory in the late pope's native town of Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII, about 25 miles northeast of Milan.

On Feb. 22, Pope Francis is scheduled to make the archbishop the world's oldest living cardinal. Continue reading.

Source: National Catholic Reporter

Image: Cardinal-elect Capovilla in the museum dedicated to Blessed John XXIII in Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII, Italy, in February 2012 CNS/Paul Haring

The Rome-based French religious agency I-Media says the consistory will be on February 21 and 22, following a two-day meeting of the Pope with the entire College of Cardinals to discuss his plans for Vatican reforms.

The consistory will give Pope Francis the opportunity to show his criteria for the selection of cardinals.

A commentary on the Catholic Culture website suggests that the Pope, who has shown a strong preference for decentralisation of Church authority, may choose to name the leaders of major archdioceses, rather than Vatican officials, for most of the available spots in the College of Cardinals.

Pope Paul VI set a limit of 120 cardinals eligible to vote in a conclave. By February 2014 there will be 14 vacancies that could be filled by new cardinal electors below the age of 80.

There are three prelates in the Roman Curia who are not cardinals: the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller; the new prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, Archbishop Beniamino Stella; and the new Secretary of State, Archbishop Pietro Parolin.

All three are expected to receive a red hat in the next consistory.

By the time the consistory is held, the eight-member council of cardinals appointed by Pope Francis to look into Curia reform will already have met three times.

A month after the consistory, the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family will be held.

There were 117 cardinals eligible to vote in the conclave that elected Pope Francis, but only actually 115 voted after Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien — accused of abuse — chose not to attend the conclave and Indonesian Cardinal Julius Riyadi Darmaatmadj resigned.

Sources:

Vatican Insider

Vatican Insider

Catholic Culture

Image: Whispers in the Loggia

The new cardinals include 63-year-old U.S. Archbishop James M. Harvey, prefect of the papal household; Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai, 72; Archbishop Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, 53, head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church; Nigerian Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, 68; Colombian Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota, 70; and Philippine Archbishop Luis Tagle of Manila, 55.

The pope made the announcement at the end of his weekly general audience, which was attended by about 20,000 pilgrims.

Pope Benedict said he had the "great joy" of announcing new cardinals, adding that cardinals have "the task of helping the successor of Peter in his ministry" of strengthening people's faith and promoting the unity of the church.

The pope asked Catholics to pray that the new cardinals would "always love Christ and his church with courage and dedication."

Of the six soon-to-be cardinals, only Cardinal-designates Harvey and Salazar were not members of the world Synod of Bishops on the new evangelization, which was meeting at the Vatican when the pope made his announcement.

The late-November consistory will bring the total number of cardinals to 211 and the number of cardinals under age 80 to 120. Until they reach their 80th birthdays, cardinals are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope.

Pope Paul VI limited the number of cardinal-electors to 120. After the Nov. 1 birthday of Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze and the Nov. 23 birthday of Italian Cardinal Renato Martino, there will be six vacancies.

Sources

• Catholic News Service
• AP/The Washington Post
• Image: CNS