Today Pope Francis appointed 19 new cardinals. These appointments reflect a shift in the influence of the global south in the worldwide Roman Catholic Church. The National Catholic Reporter shares the details:
For his first crop of new cardinals, Pope Francis also seems to be using red hats to teach. In effect, the first pontiff from the developing world is offering a lesson in the realities of life in a global church.
The obvious take-away from the 19 new cardinals announced by Francis on Jan. 12 is that ten come from outside Europe, with only four Vatican officials (three Italians and one German), just two other new residential European cardinals, and only one from North America…
Today’s announcement thus represents not only an acknowledgement of the church in the developing world, but also, arguably, a healthy reminder to Catholics in traditional Western powerhouses such as the United States of where they stand in terms of the Catholic footprint in the early 21st century.