VATICAN CITY
Chiesa
VATICAN CITY, JANUARY 3, 2014 – The official news is that on February 22 Pope Francis will create the first cardinals of his pontificate. This means that at least one month before that date he will make public the list with the names of the churchmen he believes worthy of receiving the scarlet.
Creating new cardinals is a highly personal act of the pope, by which he can among other things influence the selection of his successor.
For this reason as well there is great curiosity over who will be the selections of Pope Francis.
In the past predictions could be made with a fair chance of guessing at least a good number of the new cardinals. It was enough to identify those occupants of ecclesiastical offices of longstanding “cardinalate tradition” – both in the curia and in the leadership of certain dioceses – who were still without the scarlet, and the trick was done.
But with Pope Francis, who has made surprise one of his management traits, the predictions are much more uncertain.
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