Defined: Who’re Pope’s cardinals and what are their capabilities?

Pope Francis leads a consistory ceremony as he elevates 13 Roman Catholic prelates to the rank of cardinal, at St. Peter’s Basilica on the Vatican, November 28, 2020. (Fabio Frustaci/Pool through Reuters)

For the seventh time after turning into head of the Catholic Church in 2013, Pope Francis on Saturday appointed new cardinals — high-ranking officers from around the globe who get to determine who the brand new Pope will likely be each time the seat falls empty. The Pope is claimed to “create” new cardinals at such occasions, that are known as “consistories”.

At Saturday’s consistory, the place 13 new cardinals have been created, the Pope made historical past by including the primary African-American prelate, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., in addition to the primary representatives from Brunei and Rwanda to the Sacred School of Cardinals.

So, who’s a cardinal?

Cardinals are the highest clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, additionally known as its “Princes”. The phrase is derived from its Latin root “cardo” (hinge); cardinals are thus thought of “the hinges on which the Church revolves”.

They’re appointed for all times and belong to a few orders — the very best being cardinal bishops, then cardinals clergymen, and at last cardinal deacons. Of the three, cardinal clergymen are essentially the most quite a few. Collectively, the orders kind what is known as the Sacred School of Cardinals, which at present has 229 members.

Cardinals obtain the symbolic crimson biretta and ring from the Pope when they’re created at consistories, and are addressed as “Eminence”. The prelates are additionally recognized for his or her distinctive crimson apparel – the color expressing the cardinals’ willingness to die for his or her religion, and the ring signifies their marriage to the church.

American new Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory leaves the Vatican after he was appointed by Pope Francis. (Fabio Frustaci/Ballot through AP)

What are their capabilities?

The job for which cardinals are most popularly recognized is through the papal conclave, after they elect from amongst themselves a successor to St Peter. To have the ability to vote at this all-important gathering of the School, cardinals have to be beneath the age of 80 at first of the Papal emptiness. At the moment, 128 among the many 229 cardinals are able to voting on the conclave, as per the Vatican Press Workplace.

The pope’s election, although, is just one amongst their many duties. Cardinals primarily work as counsellors to the Pope, and lots of are leaders of the diocese or archdiocese of their dwelling international locations. In addition they take up vital positions within the Vatican forms, often called the Roman Curia. As per Canon regulation, cardinals might be summoned by the Pope for explicit wants, and have direct entry to him. They’re additionally answerable for the Church’s day-to-day governance each time the seat of the Pope falls empty.

Cardinals carrying protecting masks attend a consistory ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica on the Vatican, November 28, 2020. (Fabio Frustaci/Pool through Reuters)

Who’re the cardinals from India?

Of the 229, 4 cardinals are from India — Baselios Cleemis Catholicos, Main Archbishop of Trivandrum (Syro-Malankara); Telesphore P. Toppo, Archbishop Of Ranchi; Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop Of Bombay; George Alencherry, Main Archbishop Of Ernakulam-Angamaly (Main Archdiocese – Syro-Malabar).

Of the 4, all however Cardinal Toppo are cardinal electors, which means they might have the ability to vote for (or change into) the subsequent Pope if a conclave have been held at the moment. 📣 Comply with Specific Defined on Telegram

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Pope Francis arrives to have fun Mass the day after he raised 13 new cardinals to the very best rank within the Catholic hierarchy, at St. Peter’s Basilica, on the Vatican, November 29, 2020. (Gregorio Borgia/Pool through Reuters)

The School in numbers

From the 1960s, the School has change into more and more much less Eurocentric, and has added members from international locations having Catholic populations however which had by no means been represented up to now. This pattern has continued through the papacy of Francis, who has appointed 57 per cent of the 128 present cardinal electors, a lot of them hailing from far-flung nations.

Since Francis took workplace in 2013, the share of Europeans amongst cardinal electors has fallen from 52 per cent to 42 per cent, Pew Analysis information present. This area can nonetheless be thought of “overrepresented”, since solely 24 per cent of the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics reside right here, as per 2010 figures.

But, the Asia-Pacific area, dwelling to 12 per cent of Catholics worldwide and of which India is part, has seen its illustration rise from 9 to 15 per cent up to now 7 years. Essentially the most underrepresented a part of the world is Latin America and the Caribbean, the place 39 per cent of all Catholics reside, and which has seen its presence solely barely rise from 17 to 19 per cent throughout the identical interval.

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