Francis Appoints New Cardinals UPDATED!

SOME INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS BY TOM REESE

Pope Francis is remaking the College of Cardinals—and setting the stage for the eventual election of his successor

Italy has been on a rollercoaster under the last three popes. John Paul reduced Italians to 16.5% of the college. Benedict brought them back up to 24%, and now Francis has put them back down to 17.4%, still higher than at the end of John Paul’s papacy.

Similarly, the Roman Curia has gone from 24% of the college at the end of John Paul’s papacy to 35% under Benedict and back to 24% under Francis.

Europe now makes up 42% of the college, down from 52% in the 2013 conclave. Despite these losses, Italy and the rest of Europe will still hold a major bloc of votes at the next conclave.

  Pope Francis announces 21 new cardinals, including key allies

CRUX – Pope Francis announced Sunday that he will create 21 new cardinals Aug. 27, including Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego, long seen as one of his key allies in the United States.

Three of the new cardinals come from the Roman curia, meaning the Catholic Church’s central government: Arthur Roche, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; Lazzaro You Heung sik, Prefect for the Congregation for Clergy; and Fernando Vergez Alzaga, who runs the Vatican city state.

The other prelates under the age of 80 are:

Archbishop Jean-Marc Aveline, of Marseille (France).

Archbishop Peter Okpaleke, of Ekwulobia (Nigeria).

Archbishop Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, of Manaus (Brazil).

Archbishop Filipe Neri António Sebastião of Rosário Ferrão, of Goa e Damão (India).

Bishop Robert Walter McElroy, of San Diego (U.S.A.).

Archbishop Virgilio Do Carmo Da Silva, of Dili (East Timor).

Bishop Oscar Cantoni, of Como (Italy).

Archbishop Anthony Poola, of Hyderabad (India).

Archbishop Paulo Cezar Costa,, of Brasília (Brazil).

Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobr M. Afr, of Wa (Ghana).

Archbishop William Goh Seng Chye, of Singapore (Singapore).

Archbishop Adalberto Martínez Flores, of Asunción (Paraguay).

Archbishop Giorgio Marengo, Prefect of Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia).

Pope Francis names 16 new cardinal electors, including San Diego's Bishop McElroy

NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER McElroy, 68, will become the seventh residential U.S. cardinal under the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote in a papal conclave and the fifth U.S. cardinal named by Pope Francis, joining the ranks of Blase Cupich of Chicago; Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey; Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C.; and Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. 

The other cardinal electors of the United States are Sean O'Malley of Boston; Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston; and Timothy Dolan of New York, all of whom were named by Pope Benedict XVI. 

McElroy, who was first made an auxiliary bishop of San Francisco in 2010 and then named bishop of San Diego by Pope Francis in 2015, will be the first cardinal for the Diocese of San Diego.

He has been among the most vocal champions of Pope Francis' pastoral agenda among the U.S. hierarchy, frequently echoing the pope's prioritization of environmental concerns, migration and a more welcoming approach to LGBTQ persons.

In 2019, McElroy was one of two Americans to be named by Francis to participate in the Vatican's Synod on the Amazon region, which opened up discussions on celibacy requirements for the priesthood and the possibility of restoring the ministry of women to the diaconate.

"I'm in favor of it," McElroy told NCR at the time on the question of women deacons. "My view on it is [that] women should be invited into every ministry or activity we have that's not doctrinally precluded," he said.

McElroy's selection by Francis also comes at a time when the U.S. church has been roiled by debates over whether pro-choice Catholic politicians should be denied Communion, most recently led by Archbishop Salvatore Cordielone of San Francisco, California who earlier this month announced he would bar U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi from receiving the sacrament. McElroy, by contrast, has warned against the "weaponization" of the Eucharist for political ends.

His elevation to cardinal means that Francis has once again chosen to pass over the more conservative leaning Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, who heads an archdiocese that has normally been led by a cardinal. Gomez is also currently the president of the U.S. bishops' conference.

Cupich, one of Francis' closest U.S. allies, told NCR that he is "both happy and yet not really surprised," by the pope's decision to name McElroy to the College of Cardinals."He is one of the most gifted bishops in the United States, and I think that his nomination today is a sign of the esteem that he has in the life of the church, which is held by the Holy Father," Cupich said.

In a statement, McElroy said he was "stunned and deeply surprised" by the pope's decision to make him a cardinal. McElroy said he prays he can "assist the Holy Father in his pastoral renewal of the Church."

The creation of 16 new cardinal electors will put their total number well above the limit of 120 set by Pope Paul VI in 1975. Both Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI also exceeded that number at various points during their papacies. 

As of August 27, there will be 132 electors. (Not counting Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who remains a cardinal in title but renounced "the rights connected to the cardinalate" in Sept. 2020 due to a series of financial scandals for which he is now on trial at the Vatican.)

At that time, of the 132 electors eligible to vote in a papal conclave, 11 will have been named by John Paul II, 38 by Benedict XVI and 83 by Francis, meaning Francis will have named over 62% of the men who will eventually elect his successor.

Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego

AMERICA The choice of Bishop McElroy is the biggest surprise of this consistory for the church in the United States. A graduate of Harvard, Stanford and the pontifical Gregorian universities, Bishop McElroy has demonstrated that he is one of the strongest supporters of the pope’s vision of church among the American bishops since Francis appointed him to be bishop of San Diego in March 2015. By choosing him to be a cardinal, instead of others, Pope Francis is sending a powerful message to the American bishops and church.

“Bishop McElroy is an American analogate of the late Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini,” an American bishop who knew both men well, told America when he was appointed to San Diego. The bishop, who asked for anonymity then but is now dead, described Bishop McElroy as “a prayerful, contemplative man,” endowed “with an extraordinarily gifted intelligence and imagination,” and “not self-promoting.” He portrayed him as a true pastor, concerned about his people and very attentive to them, especially when they are suffering or in difficulty. Moreover he said, “Bishop Bob” has “the gift of prudence” but also “the courage to break new ground.”

Putting stamp on future, pope names cardinals with tilt towards Asia

REUTERS By then the first pope from Latin America will have appointed about 63% of cardinal electors, further increasing their presence in the developing world, and again loosening the grip Europe had for centuries on the College of Cardinals.

It will be the eighth consistory since Francis, 85, was elected in 2013 and with each he has continued what one diplomat on Sunday called "a tilt towards Asia," increasing the likelihood that the next pope could be from the region.

By appointing cardinals in Singapore, Mongolia, India and East Timor, Francis appears to be seeking to increase the Church's prestige and clout in Asia, a growing economic and political powerhouse.

Once again, Francis passed over archbishops of major cities in Europe and the Americas that traditionally had cardinals before his election in 2013, preferring to appoint men in far-flung places where the Church is small or growing and more vibrant than in Europe.