No Indians among new cardinals
Sakal Times Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Friday, 9 January 2015 AT 01:37 PM IST
Pune: There are no Indians among the 20 church officials whom Pope Francis elevated to the rank of cardinals on Sunday. This has certainly disappointed the local clergy and also the laity who expect a bigger share for the country in the international church hierarchy. Pope Francis announced names of 15 archbishops and bishops whom he will consecrate as cardinals on February 14. The pontiff will also elevate five retired archbishops and bishops as cardinals in recognition of their “service of the Holy See and of the Church.”
Incidentally, 15 of the 20 new cardinals are below 80 years and thus eligible to join the conclave who will elect the pope’s successor. They are from 14 countries and from every continent, symbolising the universal nature of the Church. Nonetheless, as in the past, among the 20 new ‘princes of the Church’, Europeans are the single largest group with seven including three Italians.
Pune Bishop Thomas Dabre said that India already has four cardinals at Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, Ranchi and Ernakulam. The Holy See appoints cardinals as per the Catholic population proportion of the respective country and this may have been the main factor why no new cardinals have been appointed in India, he said.
Diago Almeida, Chairman of the Catholic Association of Poona, said that the Vatican should have elevated an Indian bishop or archbishop as cardinal in view of the large Catholic population in the country. “Catholic population in India may be hardly 2.5 per cent but the Catholic Church has been doing impressive work in the country,” he said.
Disappointed-
Diago Almeida, Chairman of the Catholic Association of Poona said, “The Vatican should have elevated an Indian bishop or archbishop as cardinal in view of the large Catholic population in the country.”
