Pope Francis Expected to Choose Cardinals From Developing World

VATICAN CITY
Wall Street Journal

By LIAM MOLONEY And TAMARA AUDI
Jan. 1, 2015

ROME— Pope Francis is likely to look to the developing world in his appointment of more cardinals this month, as he seeks to reshape the makeup of the Roman Catholic hierarchy to more closely reflect where the church is flourishing.

The Argentina-born pope also may use his power to name cardinals to strengthen his support within the Vatican administration, known as the Roman Curia, and to signal his encouragement to beleaguered Christians in the Middle East, experts said. No American or Italian cleric appeared to be strong candidates to make the pontiff’s list of appointees.

The pope is set to make public the names of the new cardinals possibly as soon as Sunday. The announcement will be followed by a formal elevation ceremony in mid-February at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

It will be the second class of clerics elevated to the College of Cardinals by this pope, the first non-European pontiff in some 1,300 years. He created 19 new cardinals in February, and could appoint up to 12 this time.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.