VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service
David Gibson | Feb 22, 2014
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis created his first batch of new cardinals on Saturday (Feb. 22) and used the ceremony – which featured the first public appearance by Pope Benedict XVI since his retirement last year – to launch a new appeal for peace amid the violence racking so many countries.
In his remarks, Francis focused on the plight of Christians in particular but in an extemporaneous addition to his prepared speech he also called on the church “to fight any discrimination” and “exclusion.”
“The Church needs your compassion, especially at this time of pain and suffering for so many countries throughout the world,” Francis told the 18 new cardinals who were present in St. Peter’s Basilica, along with hundreds of other cardinals and bishops whose colorful vestments and diverse origins offered a grand tableau of global Catholicism.
Adding to the drama of the day, Benedict was a surprise participant at the ceremony, his first public appearance at a Vatican event since he resigned the papacy on Feb. 28 last year — a stunning move that paved the way for the election of Francis two weeks later.
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