2024-10-08 04:44:51
<a href="http://www.time.news/vatican-court-sentences-cardinal-to-5-and-a-half-years-in-prison-for-financial-fraud/" title="Vatican court sentences cardinal to 5 and a half years in prison for financial fraud”>Pope Francis said today that he plans to raise 21 priests to cardinal in December, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The Holy Father announced this in a speech to worshipers in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
The move would greatly expand the composition of the College of Cardinals, the body that will choose Francis’ successor in the future.
The ceremony is scheduled for December 8 at the Vatican.
About twenty of the new 21 cardinals will have the right to vote on a possible successor to Francis, as all members of the college under the age of 80 have the right to vote.
The vast majority of the voting cardinals were appointed by the Holy Father during his 11-year term, and the number will increase after the latest expansion of the collegium. The appointments allow Francis to exert significant influence over the selection of his successor, the DPA said.
In the past, the Holy Father has appointed bishops and archbishops from countries outside Europe, including clergy from Indonesia, Japan, Iran and Algeria. Francis, who is the first pope from Latin America, also appointed clergy from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru for the first time.