In the group of 13 newly appointed cardinals were clergymen from Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Two Asian cardinals did not come to Rome because of the coronavirus epidemic.
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Thousands of people are usually present at the ceremonial meeting of the corps of cardinals, and on Saturday the newly appointed could invite a maximum of ten guests to St. Peter’s Basilica due to the epidemic. The pope handed over the ring and the cardinal’s red biret to the new cardinals.
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There are nine men under the age of 80 in the group – they will have the right to sit in the conclave when a new pope is elected.
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For Francis, Saturday’s consistory (assembly of cardinals) was the seventh since his appointment as pope in 2013. Of the current 128 possible members of the papal electorate, Francis appointed 57 percent. Eighteen of him named come from countries that have never been represented among the cardinals. According to the Reuters agency, with each consistory, the Argentine František increases the chance that his successor, like him, will not be from Europe.
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In his Saturday sermon, Francis urged those present to continue to look away from God, to avoid any corruption, and not to succumb to the worldly way of life.
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Everyone who was in the basilica, except Francis, had veils. The nominees removed them only when they knelt before the pope; according to Reuters, only Gregory did not do so. He was one of several new cardinals who had to spend ten days in quarantine in the Vatican before being appointed.
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Archbishop Gregory pointed out that the pope “appointed cardinals from countries that had never had them before, and evidently wants the composition of the cardinal corps to reflect the great diversity of the (Catholic) Church.” In addition to Italy, the Vatican and the United States, the newly appointed cardinals also operate in Brunei, Chile, Rwanda and the Philippines.
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Wilton Gregory became Archbishop of Washington, the most prestigious position in the American Catholic Church, last May. In office, he criticized President Donald Trump for abusing religion for political purposes and supported protests against racial discrimination.
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The new cardinal wants to enter into a dialogue with the next American president Joe Biden, who according to AFP will be only the second American president of the Catholic faith after John Kennedy. However, regarding the relationship with the next American president, the Catholic Church in the USA is not united, due to Biden’s views on abortions, which are not in line with Catholic doctrine. In mid-November, a more conservative section of American bishops exchanged a group to address the question of whether Biden can be admitted. The group is chaired by Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit, who is considered one of the main figures in the Conservative wing.
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