The Dispatch: More from CWR...

Jesus asks us, ‘can I count on you?’ — Pope Francis creates 20 cardinals for the Catholic Church

Hannah Brockhaus By Hannah Brockhaus for CNA

Pope Francis with Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery of Divine Worship and Discipline of Sacraments, at the consistory in St. Peter's Basilica, Aug. 27, 2022 / Daniel Ibáñez / CNA

Rome Newsroom, Aug 27, 2022 / 08:31 am (CNA).

Pope Francis created 20 new cardinals for the Catholic Church during a liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica Saturday.

“Jesus calls us by name; he looks us in the eye and he asks: Can I count on you?” Pope Francis said in a homily addressed to the College of Cardinals and its new members on Aug. 27.

“The Lord,” he said, “wants to bestow on us his own apostolic courage, his zeal for the salvation of every human being, without exception. He wants to share with us his magnanimity, his boundless and unconditional love, for his heart is afire with the mercy of the Father.”

The pope’s reflection followed a reading from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12, verses 49-50: “In that time, Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!’”

“The words of Jesus, in the very middle of the Gospel of Luke, pierce us like an arrow,” Francis said.

“The Lord calls us once more to follow him along the path of his mission,” he said. “A fiery mission – like that of Elijah – not only for what he came to accomplish but also for how he accomplished it. And to us who in the Church have been chosen from among the people for a ministry of particular service, it is as if Jesus is handing us a lighted torch and telling us: ‘Take this; as the Father has sent me so I now send you.’”

The pope ended his homily mentioning that one cardinal-elect, Richard Kuuia Baawobr of Wa (Ghana), was not present. Francis asked for prayers for the African prelate, explaining Baawobr had been taken ill.

At the beginning of the consistory, Pope Francis pronounced the opening prayer of the ceremony in Latin.

During the ceremony, the new cardinals made a profession of faith by reciting the Creed. They then pronounced an oath of fidelity and obedience to the pope and his successors.

Each cardinal then approached Pope Francis, kneeling before him to receive the red birretta, the cardinal’s ring, and a document naming the titular church he has been assigned.

Pope Francis embraced each new cardinal, saying to him: “Pax Domini sit semper tecum,” which is Latin for “the peace of the Lord be with you always.” Each cardinal responded: “Amen.”

The new cardinals also exchanged a sign of peace with a number of the members of the College of Cardinals, representative of the whole college.

While placing the red biretta on the head of each cardinal, the pope recited these words: “To the glory of almighty God and the honor of the Apostolic See, receive the scarlet biretta as a sign of the dignity of the cardinalate, signifying your readiness to act with courage, even to the shedding of your blood, for the increase of the Christian faith, for the peace and tranquility of the people of God and for the freedom and growth of the Holy Roman Church.”

As he gave each new cardinal the ring, Francis said: “Receive this ring from the hand of Peter and know that, with the love of the Prince of the Apostles, your love for the Church is strengthened.”

In his homily, the pope said: “The Lord wants to bestow on us his own apostolic courage, his zeal for the salvation of every human being, without exception. He wants to share with us his magnanimity, his boundless and unconditional love, for his heart is afire with the mercy of the Father.”

He also recalled another kind of fire, that of charcoal. “This fire,” he said, “burns in a particular way in the prayer of adoration, when we silently stand before the Eucharist and bask in the humble, discreet and hidden presence of the Lord. Like that charcoal fire, his presence becomes warmth and nourishment for our daily life.”

“A Cardinal loves the Church, always with that same spiritual fire, whether dealing with great questions or handling everyday problems, with the powerful of this world or those ordinary people who are great in God’s eyes,” he said.

The pope named three men as examples for the cardinals to follow: Saint Charles de Foucauld, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, and Cardinal Van Thuân.

The consistory to create cardinals also included a greeting and thank you to Pope Francis, expressed by Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the liturgy dicastery, on behalf of all the new cardinals.

“All of us, coming from different parts of the world, with our personal stories and different life situations, carry out our ministry in the vineyard of the Lord. As diocesan and religious priests, we are at the service of preaching the Gospel in many different ways and in different cultures, but always united in the one faith and the one Church,” Roche said.

“Now, in manifesting your trust in us, you call us to this new service, in an even closer collaboration with your ministry, within the broad horizon of the universal Church,” he continued. “God knows the dust of which we are all made, and we know well that without Him we are capable of falling short.”

Roche quoted Saint Gregory the Great, who once wrote to a bishop: “We are all weak, but he is weakest of all who ignores his own weakness.”

“However, we draw strength from you, Holy Father,” he said, “from your witness, your spirit of service and your call to the entire Church to follow the Lord with greater fidelity; living the joy of the Gospel with discernment, courage and, above all, with an openness of heart that manifests itself in welcoming everyone, especially those who suffer the injustice of poverty that marginalizes, the suffering of pain that seeks a response of meaning, the violence of wars that turn brothers into enemies. We share with you the desire and commitment for communion in the Church.”

At the end of the consistory to create cardinals, Pope Francis convened a consistory for the cardinals to give their approval to the canonizations of Blessed Artemide Zatti and Giovanni Battista Scalabrini.

The new cardinals are:

— Cardinal Arthur Roche, 72, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and former Bishop of Leeds (England);

— Lazarus You Heung-sik, 70, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy and former Bishop of Daejeon (South Korea);

— Jean-Marc Noël Aveline, 63, Archbishop of Marseille, the first French diocesan bishop to get the honor during Pope Francis’ pontificate;

— Peter Ebere Okpaleke, 59, Bishop of Ekwulobia in the central region of Nigeria, who was created bishop in 2012 by Benedict XVI;

— Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, 77, Archbishop of Manaus, in Brazil’s Amazon region, a Franciscan who played a leading role during the Amazon Synod and as Vice President of the recently created Amazonian Bishops’ Conference;

— Filipe Neri António Sebastião do Rosário Ferrão, 69, Archbishop of Goa (India), appointed bishop by St. John Paul II in 1993;

— Robert McElroy, 68, Bishop of San Diego (United States), whose diocese is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, led by the President of the USCCB, Archbishop José Gomez;

— Virgilio do Carmo Da Silva, 68, a Salesian, since 2019 the Archbishop of Dili (East Timor);

— Oscar Cantoni, 71, Bishop of Como (Italy), appointed in January 2005 by St. John Paul II, who is suffragan to Milan;

— Archbishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, L.C., 77, president of the Governorate of the Vatican City State and of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State; the Spaniard is the first Legionary of Christ to become a cardinal;

— Anthony Poola, 60, Archbishop of Hyderabad (India), a bishop since 2008 and the first dalit to become a cardinal;

–Paulo Cezar Costa, 54, Archbishop of Brasilia (Brazil), the fourth archbishop of the Brazilian capital to become a cardinal;

— Richard Kuuia Baawobr, 62, Bishop of Wa (Ghana), former Superior General of the White Fathers, and bishop since 2016;

— William Goh Seng Chye, 65, Archbishop of Singapore since 2013;

— Adalberto Martinez Flores, 71, Archbishop of Asunción (Paraguay) and the first Paraguayan cardinal;

— Giorgio Marengo, 47, Italian Missionary of the Consolata and Apostolic Prefect of Ulan Bator in Mongolia, the youngest cardinal in recent history, along with Karol Wojtyla, who also was created a cardinal at 47, during the consistory of June 26, 1967.

Furthermore, Pope Francis appointed the following prelates over the age of 80, who are therefore excluded from attending a future conclave.

Jorge Enrique Jiménez Carvajal, 80, Archbishop Emeritus of Cartagena (Colombia); Arrigo Miglio, 80, Archbishop Emeritus of Cagliari (Italy); Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda, a Jesuit and former rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University, who extensively collaborated in the drafting of the  Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium; and Fortunato Frezza, 80, (Italy) currently a Canon at the Basilica of St. Peter, who collaborated for several years at the Secretariat General for the Synod of the Bishops.

Pope Francis had originally also nominated Ghent Bishop Luc Van Looy, 80, who later declined to accept the post because of criticism of his response to clergy abuse cases.


If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.


About Catholic News Agency 11968 Articles
Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)

9 Comments

  1. Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me – Prayer of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

  2. Consider the fab five US cardinals who Francis has appointed. Besides being intellectually and spiritually undistinguished, all of them are heterodox, gay-friendly (at the very least), politically leftist in the most extreme degree, tainted by multiple scandals and connected closely with McCarrick. He scraped the bottom of the barrel to come up with these guys.

    He temporarily reactivated McCarrick himself until the news of his crimes and abominations became public. There is no reason to doubt Vigano’s claim that Francis knew all about Uncle Ted from the very beginning of his Papacy, if not earlier. Gregory and McElroy were named Cardinals after the McCarrick scandal broke and Cupich, Tobin and Ferrell were given additional promotions since then despite, or more likely because, of their association with the fiend. Forgive the vulgar reference, but what a middle finger this is to Catholics horrified by the sexual scandals of the clergy. Not only are some of the most culpable figures in the hierarchy not punished, they are even promoted by Francis!

    This is just one blatant example that proves beyond any reasonable what Francis’ purposes have been since well before he became Pope. He has been on a mission to transform the Catholic Church into something none us would recognize as even Christian. One day, the Church will have to repudiate this Papacy and all its works. And it won’t just be a matter condemning errors and heresies.

    • The College of Cardinals, all younger than 80, elects Popes and requires at least 66% votes. Francis shall have it on 2/3/23 when Calcagno is 80, and Francis has 83/124 appointees. He need not appoint more before then, given his 16 new ones, who shall replace retired and current Cardinals through Cardinal D’Rozario who turns 80 on 10/1/43. On that date, there shall be 38 Non-Francis Cardinals. .
      .
      .
      Expect Francis to appoint 15 new Cardinals after that date, only 15 months away. They would replace 15 Cardinals through Cardinal Ricard, who turns 80 on 9/26/44. On that day, about 2 years from now, there would be 29 Non-Francis Cardinals with Francis Cardinals at 75%. If Francis were to retire when he turned 90 on December 17, 2026, then he shall have appointed 83% of the College.
      .
      .
      Benedict is 95. Francis shall be 95 on 12/17/31 if he is Pope: not probable but possible. Current College members, who are not “Francis Cardinals,” shall be only 6 then. 7 Cardinals were born before 1960; new Cardinal Marengo is 47. They shall elect 2 successor “Francis Popes”, and more shall follow: the same with Francis Cardinals and Francis Bishops, who shall appoint Francis Heads of Seminaries, who shall appoint Francis faculty, who shall teach seminarians to become Francis priests.
      .
      .
      The Francis Legacy also changed US Bishops. He appointed 131 of the 273 Bishops who are younger than 75, which is when he can retire them. That is 5 fewer than 50%. The 5 shall turn 75 by 11/19/22. Others turn 75 in the next 5 years from large dioceses (Detroit, Los Angeles, Newark, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Orange County), and 2 are the President and V.P. of USCCB. Soon, Francis Bishops shall control USCCB (retired Bishops cannot vote) and its agenda.
      .
      .
      To those who have resentment toward Francis, remember that old saying: “you don’t have the numbers.” They know that they shall have fewer numbers and more resentment with each new day, and they know that there is nothing they can do about it, given Catechism # 882:

      Pope Francis as the “Roman Pontiff has full, SUPREME and universal POWER over the WHOLE Church, a power which he can always exercise UNHINDERED.” Catechism # 882.

  3. Why no picture here in CWR to accompany any of the news reports of the Pope conferring the red hat on the lone American of this batch of Cardinals, San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy? Aren’t we proud and happy to have another American among the Pope’s closest advisers and who eventually will vote on his successor?

  4. Then Pilate asked: “What about your bishop Cordeleone publicly prohibiting Nancy Pelosi from receiving Hilt Communion, after years of repeatedly using the pastoral approach and writing privately to her to cease her promotion of abortion, and she refused to answer his private pastoral entreaties.”

    Then the Pontiff Francis answered:
    “When a bishop loses his pastoral nature, it causes a political problem. That’s all I can say.”

    https://www.reuters.com/world/exclusive-pope-francis-denies-he-is-planning-resign-soon-2022-07-04/

    Jesus can count on this as regards the Pontiff Francis and all of his “McElroy-McCarrick-minded-Cardinals: When Pilate objects to what Jesus wants, Pilate is the one who counts.

    (And the Pontiff Francis then reproached the young women in crisis, saying unto them: “And let me remind you, while I don’t want any political problems with my friends who happen to be pro-abortion themselves, if you yourself get an abortion, I view you as hiring a contract killer to do your dirty work.”)

  5. Jesus the Son of God, Our Savior does not say to new bishops or cardinals, “can I count on you?” Jesus does say the very same what He said to His first Apostles:–“All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28: 18-20)

3 Trackbacks / Pingbacks

  1. Jesus asks us, ‘can I count on you?’ — Pope Francis creates 20 cardinals for the Catholic Church – Via Nova Media
  2. Jesus asks us, ‘can I count on you?’ — Pope Francis creates 20 cardinals for the Catholic Church | Franciscan Sisters of St Joseph (FSJ) , Asumbi Sisters Kenya
  3. Jesus Asks Us, ‘can I Rely On You?’ — Pope Francis Creates 20 Cardinals For The Catholic Church - Google Trends Now

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.


*