Pope Francis is expected to convene his eighth consistory in 2022, in order to add a new list of names to the 70 cardinals he has already chosen since the beginning of his pontificate in 2013. Predicting how a year unfolds in the Vatican is always complicated, especially in light of a pontificate no short of surprises and the Covid pandemic.
But one event can be easily foreseen, a consistory of new cardinals and whether a number of much-expected ‘cardinabili’ will be awarded their biretta. Currently, the College of Cardinals has 120 cardinals under the age of 80 who are therefore eligible to vote in the event of a conclave. The limit of 120 electors set by Pope Saint Paul VI has often been exceeded, even by Pope Francis. In 2022, at least 10 cardinals are expected to be created, as many as those who are already past the age of 80 or their birthday occurs throughout the year.
There’s something unique about Francis’ style in appointing cardinals. In the list of the new ‘princes of the Church’ nominated since 2013, the pastors of some of the most important
dioceses in Italy and across the world are still archbishop, falling short of the traditional elevation to the cardinalate traditionally linked to a particular see. Peripheral dioceses such as Perugia, Agrigento and l’Aquila in Italy or even Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea have been elevated to the cardinalate at the expense of some of the more famous dioceses.
An example is the archdiocese of Milan, the most populous in the world. Its pastor, Archbishop Mario Enrico Delpini, is not yet a cardinal. Delpini replaced Cardinal Scola in 2017, but with Scola turning 80 in November 2021, there could be a chance of Delpini’s rise to the college of Cardinals.
The most incredible case is that of the Patriarch of Venice, Mons. Francesco Moraglia, appointed in 2012 by Pope Benedict when Scola moved to Milan. In the last century, Venice has given the Church three popes, Pius X (Giovanni Sarto), John XXIII (Angelo Roncalli) and John Paul I (Albino Luciani), yet much has been said about Moraglia remaining an Archbishop ten years after his appointment.
In 2014, Anthony Fisher, was appointed the ninth Archbishop of Sydney, replacing Cardinal George Pell. In 2021, Pell turned 80. Will Francis appoint Archbishop Fisher to the College of Cardinals in 2022? The Archbishop of Sydney holds the title of Catholic Primate of Australia but if appointments in the Church have for a long time been managed in a certain way, the last 9 years have shown the world that anything is possible in Rome.
The year 2022 could end up being the lucky year for a few names whose views and actions are more closely aligned with the Pope’s agenda. Fisher, an expert on bioethics and morality, also holds a number of Vatican posts, including being a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Congregation for Eastern Churches.
In the horizon, however, an interesting trio of possible Australian candidates to the Cardinalate include Archbishop Coleridge from Brisbane, Archbishop Comensoli from Melbourne or even Bishop Randazzo, former officer at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, now Bishop of Broken Bay.
Last but not least, Australia’s next Cardinal could be the “fuoriclasse” of the Catholic Church in Australia and Bishop of Parramatta Vincent Long. Much debated for his pastoral views on Migrants and the Environment, the Franciscan, self-styled “Vietnamese Australian” and former refugee, has been a champion of Pope Francis’ sensitivities since his appointment to the see of Parramatta in 2016. His elevation to the College of Cardinals would not be unusual after all.
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