By Spy Uganda Correspondent
Pope Francis on Saturday elevated 21 clergymen from the four corners of the world to the rank of cardinal, saying diversity was indispensable to the future of the Catholic Church.
Under sunny skies and with a crowd that filled half of Vatican Cityโs grandiose, colonnaded St Peterโs Square, the 86-year-old pope welcomed the new, so-called โPrinces of the Churchโ.
โThe College of Cardinals is called to resemble a symphony orchestra, representing the harmonyโฆ of the Church,โ said Francis, seated under a canopy before the gathered cardinals on the steps of St Peterโs Basilica.
โDiversity is necessary; it is indispensable. However, each sound must contribute to the common design,โ said the Argentine Jesuit.
The choice of the new cardinals, who include diplomats, close advisers and administrators, is keenly watched as an indication of the priorities and position of the Church.
One of them could also one day be elected by his peers to succeed Francis, who has left the door open to stepping down in the future should his health warrant it.
Saturdayโs ceremony, known as a consistory, is the ninth since Francis in 2013 was named head of the worldโs 1.3 billion Catholics.
โ Bishops Taking Action โ
One by one, the scarlet-clad cardinals knelt before the pope, who bestowed on them the two symbols of their high office: a scarlet four-cornered cap known as a biretta, and a cardinalโs ring.
To some, a grinning Francis uttered an encouraging โBravo!โ or โCourage!โ as he shook their hand.
Eighteen of the 21 newly made cardinals are under the age of 80 and thus currently eligible to vote as โcardinal electorsโ in the next conclave, when Francisโ successor will be decided.
They are among 99 cardinal-electors created by Francis, representing about three-quarters of the total.
That has given rise to speculation that the Churchโs future spiritual leader will be cast in the same mould as Francis, preaching a more tolerant Church with a greater focus on the poor and marginalised.
Throughout his papacy, Francis has sought to create a more inclusive, universal Church, looking past Europe to clergy in Africa, Asia and Latin America to fill the Churchโs highest ranks.
With his latest roster of cardinals, Francis has again looked to the worldโs โperipheriesโ โ where Catholicism is growing โ while breaking with the practice of promoting archbishops of large, powerful dioceses.
The variety of cardinals represent โa richness and a variety of experience, and thatโs what the Church is all about,โ he added.
โ Diplomats And Managers โ
There are three new cardinals from South America, including two Argentinians, and three from Africa, with the promotion of the archbishops of Juba in South Sudan, Tabora in Tanzania, and Cape Townโs Brislin.
Asia is represented by the Bishop of Penang in Malaysia and the Bishop of Hong Kong, Stephen Chow, who is seen as playing a key role in seeking to improve tense relations between the Vatican and Beijing.
Some of the new cardinals, such as Chow, have experience in sensitive zones of the world where the Holy See hopes to play an important diplomatic role.
The list also includes the Holy Landโs top Catholic authority, Italian Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the first sitting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem to be made cardinal.
โJerusalem is a small laboratory, interreligious and intercultural, and thatโs a challenge that the whole world is facing at this point,โ Pizzaballa said.
Also promoted was the apostolic nuncio, or ambassador, to the United States, Franceโs Christophe Pierre, whose decades-long diplomatic career includes posts in countries including Haiti, Uganda and Mexico.
Francis also tapped top administrators in the Curia, the Holy Seeโs government.
His new choices include Claudio Gugerotti, the Italian prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches; Argentinaโs Victor Manuel Fernandez, whom Francis recently named head of the powerful Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Chicago-born Robert Prevost, a former missionary in Peru who leads the Dicastery for Bishops.
Following the ceremony, the new cardinals were congratulated by members of the public at the Vaticanโs sumptuous Apostolic Palace.
