New cardinals appointed: And then Pope Francis kisses Benedict’s hand

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P.The monkey Francis continues to rebuild the influential college of cardinals according to his ideas. On Saturday, the leader of Catholics appointed 13 new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica, including clergy from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Six of the newly appointed cardinals are from Italy.

Francis urged the new dignitaries to resist corruption and continue to be “close to the people”. He also urged men not to deviate from the right path. “We think of the many types of corruption that exist in the priestly life,” he said. Then you are no longer a priest close to the people.

The ceremony took place in a reduced form due to the crown pandemic. Two new Asian cardinals could only participate via video switching.

Meeting with the Pope Emeritus

Surprisingly, some of the newly appointed cardinals then met with Pope Emeritus Benedict at his residence in the former Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican Gardens. Recently there had been numerous speculations about the alleged fragile health of the 93-year-old.

The current photos, on the other hand, show both Francesco and Benedetto in good spirits and rather joking. The rules of the Crown were generously interpreted at the meeting of the two highest dignitaries of the Catholic Church: a photo shows how Francis kisses the hand of Benedict seated.

Unlike the other large-scale ceremonies, this time there were only about 200 attendees and cardinals in St. Usually all cardinals come to greet the new dignitaries in their ranks, this was omitted. Traditional receptions, to which the new cardinals receive congratulations from numerous guests, also did not take place.

Instead, the believers sat at some distance from each other and a face mask on individual chairs to protect themselves from the corona virus. Some were activated via video on a screen. The traditional embrace of the cardinals was also canceled. On Sunday, Francis celebrates a mass with the new purple bearers, which cannot be attended by other faithful.

It is Francis ‘seventh cardinal appointment since 2014. One of the cardinals’ main tasks is to elect a new Pope in conclave. Inquiry is also generally a means for the Pope to influence the course of the Church and to influence its succession. At 73, the Argentine himself appointed more than half of the electoral cardinals. According to media reports, many of the newcomers are committed to helping the poor – a central theme of Francis’ church policy.

This year’s cardinal appointment also contains some news. With Cornelius Sim and the Archbishop of Kigali, Antoine Kambanda, Brunei and Rwanda of East Africa now have representatives among the cardinals. Additionally, the nomination of the Archbishop of Washington, Wilton D. Gregory, was the first black American to be accepted into the quorum.

Wilton Gregory, the man who scolded Trump

The African American born in Chicago he had clearly positioned himself several times against US President Trump. Among other things, he had condemned his photo shoot in Washington.

Trump posed with a Bible in his hand in front of the episcopal church of San Giovanni. Previously, the security forces had to make their way through the “Black Lives Matters” movement protesters.

Gregory published a statement at the time, according to the LA Times, condemning the president’s actions as an attempt to “silence, disperse or intimidate the crowd” just to “get a photo opportunity in front of a church.”

There are now a total of 229 cardinals. However, only 128 are likely to take part in a papal election, as the age limit for this is 80.

At the end of next year, another six will exceed the age limit, two of which are nominated by Francesco. According to the Holy See, Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller and the two of them under Pope Benedict XVI. Archbishop Reinhard Marx and Bishop Rainer Maria Woelki take part in the conclave. There are eight German cardinals in total.