Pope Francis names 15 new cardinals from every corner of the world..., by Claire Carter, Daily Mail (January 4, 2015)

Pope Francis names 15 new cardinals from every corner of the world - including Tonga, Cape Verde and even Burma

Pope Francis has named 15 cardinals from countries across the globe, including nations in the developing world.

Cardinals have been appointed from Ethiopia, Tonga and Cape Verde as well as Vietnam and Sicily - reflecting the diversity of the church.

Pope Francis told a crowd gathered in St Peter's Square that the church leaders come 'from every continent' and 'show the indelible tie with the church of Rome to churches in the world'.

The 15 cardinals, who hail from a total 14 nations, are all under 80 and will therefore be able to vote for the Pope's successor.

He also made a surprise announcement and said he would lead a meeting of all cardinals to 'reflect on the orientations and proposals for the reform of the Roman Curia', the Vatican's administrative bureaucracy, between February 12 and 13.

Since he took on the role, Pope Francis has remained committed to root out corruption and inefficiency from the curia.

Among those elected were Francesco Montenegro, the archbishop of Agrigento in Sicily, and head of the Italian bishops' group that deals with migration.

Dominique Mamberti, who heads the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest court, was the only member of the curia, the central administration of the Holy See which governs the 1.2-billion strong Catholic Church, to be elevated to the post.

It is the second time Pope Francis has not appointed any Americans to the role.

As well as the 15 cardinals, Pope Francis also appointed five bishops and archbishops who are too old to take part in future votes for the next pope.

Francis is the first Latin American pope and never worked in the Italian-dominated Curia before he was elected.

He has not shied from complaining about the gossiping, careerism and bureaucratic power intrigues that afflict the Holy See.

At Christmas he delivered his message to the Curia and highlighted the '15 Ailments of the Curia', which included a desire for power and hypocrisy.

In January last year he sacked four of five cardinals who sat on a panel that oversees the Vatican Bank. The Vatican bank was caught in a money-laundering row in 2010 after Italian prosecutors uncovered allegedly suspicious financial activity within the organisation.

FROM COUNTRIES ACROSS THE WORLD - POPE NAMES 15 NEW CARDINALS

Archbishop Francesco Montenegro of Agrigento, Italy

Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Bishop Arlindo Gomes Furtado, of Santiago de Cabo Verde, Cape Verde

Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok, Thailand

Archbishiop Manuel José Macario do Nascimento Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal

Archbishop Pierre Nguyên Văn Nhon of Hanoi, Vietnam

Bishop José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuán of David, Panama

Archbishop Charles Maung Bo, S.D.B., of Yangon, Burma

Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi of Tonga

Archbishop John Atcherley Dew of Wellington, New Zealand

Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli of Ancona-Osimo, Italy

Archbishop Alberto Suàrez Inda of Morelia, Mexico

Archbishop Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet of Montevideo, Uruguay

Archbishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez of Vallodolid, Spain