POPE Francis has assigned red hats for 21 new cardinals, including three in Oceania but no Australian additions to the list.
Last year, Cardinal George Pell lost his eligibility to vote for the next pope after turning 80, the cut-off age for voting eligibility.
This left Australia with no voting members of the College of Cardinals.
Of the 21 new cardinals, 16 would be eligible to vote for the next pope and five were over the age of 80 years.
Many of the new cardinals did not come from traditional cardinalatial dioceses like Milan, Venice, Paris and Krakow.
They were not chosen from among prefects of the Holy See’s dicasteries, which was also typical in times past.
Instead, Pope Francis has expanded global representation with cardinals created in East Timor, Paraguay and Singapore for the first time.
The new cardinals include six from Asia, four from Europe, four from America and two from Africa.
The profiles of the cardinals selected by Pope Francis demonstrated his vision for the Church too.
Nigerian Bishop Peter Okpaleke was appointed bishop of Ahiara in 2012, but had trouble settling in to his diocese because local Catholics demanded a bishop of another ethnicity.
He was consecrated outside his diocese and he was prevented by local clergy and laity from entering his cathedral.
The stand-off lasted years.
In 2017, Pope Francis ordered local clergy to send letters to him promising obedience to Bishop Okpaleke or be suspended.
The clergy sent letters of apology, but continued to protest.
Bishop Okpaleke resigned his post in 2018.
In response, Pope Francis created a new diocese called Ekwulobia and appointed Bishop Okpaleke as the first bishop.
Bishop Okpaleke was appointed one of the new cardinals.
It has been seen as a show of strength against Catholics who would oppose the Pope’s power to appoint bishops, especially over ethnic reasons.
A similar case was Hyderabad Archbishop Anthony Poola, who has become the first Dalit to be named a cardinal, sending a clear message to India over its caste system.
Dalits are the lowest group of castes in Indian society, a group formerly called “untouchables”.
Other appointments like San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy show Pope Francis’ hand in the ongoing debates in the United States about allowing pro-abortion politicians to receive Holy Communion.
Bishop McElroy was critical of attempts to block President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from receiving communion.
He was also one of two US bishops invited to the Amazon synod.
English Archbishop Arthur Roche, who is prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, was also named among the new cardinals.
Archbishop Roche made headlines last year when he became embroiled in the “liturgy wars” after he released a document responding to questions raised about the apostolic letter Traditionis Custodes (“Guardians of the Tradition”).
Traditionis Custodes aimed to limit celebrations of the Traditional Latin Mass.
While Europeans still out-numbered the other continents at the College of Cardinals, the new additions have brought more balance.
With each new set of cardinals, Pope Francis also builds his influence on who will be the next pope.
A papal candidate needs two-thirds, or 84 cardinals, to reach a quorum and be elected.
At the end of 2022, the number of cardinals created by Pope Francis eligible to vote would be 82, only two less than would be needed to secure the papacy.
The consistory for the creation of the cardinals is set for August 27, which is not a traditional date but it married up with a summons by Pope Francis for all cardinals to meet and discuss the new constitution Praedicate evangelium on August 29 and 30.
