Pope Francis appoints his successor – not directly, of course, but with a clearly recognizable signature in personnel policy. In the eighth consistory of his term of office, which will bring 21 new cardinals to the Catholic Church on August 27, there will again be many names from the “periphery”, i.e. from areas and countries that have rarely or never been honored in past centuries had come. New “Pope’s Princes” come, for example, from East Timor, Ghana, Singapore, India, Nigeria, Paraguay and South Korea. There are many surprises again, men with no known names. But since Francis has always created surprising cardinals, the element of surprise has dulled somewhat over the years.
Of the 21, 16 will be under the age of 80, which would qualify them to attend the next conclave. One of them, the Italian Giorgio Marengo, apostolic prefect in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is only 47 years old. He would be the youngest voter in an upcoming papal election. Three top figures from the Roman Curia who have not yet worn purple are now being clothed in it, and this was expected. After the consistory, the total number of cardinals will increase to 229. 132 of them are of voting age.
Two criteria guide his personnel policy: periphery and commitment
The composition of the committee gives a first indication of who could then be the next to occupy the chair of Peter. Names are already circulating, although guessing, the so-called “Toto-Papa”, is neither appropriate nor reliable. But first to the numbers. Of the 132 voters, 38 are from Benedict XVI. been selected, eleven by John Paul II. Francis has therefore chosen 83 of them. In doing so, he will have a very striking impact on the next conclave. Two criteria that guide him are particularly striking.
First: The Argentinian Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who once introduced himself as the pope “from the end of the world” and who focused on caring for all peripheries, both geographical and existential, remains true to his motto and is readjusting the weights. The leadership of the universal church is also meant to be truly global and diverse. As a result, the central dominance of Italian and European churchmen is shrinking. In 2013, for Bergoglio’s election, 52 percent of the voters were European; after the new consistory, it was still 41 percent. The Italians make up the largest contingent with 21 out of 132 voters, compared to 28 out of 115 nine years ago. Italy is followed by the USA with ten and Spain with six. Recently, Africa has 17 electing cardinals, Asia 20, Oceania three, and all of America 38.
Second, when making the selection, Francis is not so interested in the prestige and tradition of the dioceses from which potential candidates come. In Italy, for example, six dioceses that used to guarantee the cardinal’s hat have been passed over: Milan, Turin, Genoa, Venice, Naples and Palermo. The only thing that seems more important to the Pope is that men who have distinguished themselves through particularly strong service commitments are given official positions.
Names are already circulating. But forecasts are worth a lottery ticket
Immediately following the consistory in August, the pope will gather the cardinals to discuss the new “constitution” of the Roman Curia. “Predicate Gospel”, 54 pages long, replaces the constitution “Pastor bonus” from 1988 and will come into force on the coming Pentecost Sunday. The aim is to put the church headquarters even more at the service of the local churches and to revitalize evangelization. Missionary work has become difficult: The many abuse scandals have permanently damaged the image of the church.
But now to the names passed around for the time after Francis, who is now 85 years old. His knee hurts, in the recent past he was often seen with a walker, but he doesn’t seem to have any worse ailments. The Roman Matteo Maria Zuppi, 66 years old, Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference since last week, is mentioned particularly often. Zuppi is close to the lay humanitarian organization Sant’Egidio and is also called “priest of the last” because he has often stood up for the poor and marginalized.
Opportunities are always given to the Vatican secretaries of state: At the moment, Pietro Parolin, 67, is Italian too. Luis Tagle, 64, Cardinal of the Philippines, and Seán Patrick O’Malley, 77, Archbishop of Boston, are also considered “papabile”, eligible for the Pope. Before a conclave is called, however, such forecasts are generally worth a lottery ticket.