BLOG: Meet the Cardinals
By Lise Alves Catholic News Service SAO PAULO (CNS) — Cardinal-designate Arlindo Gomes Furtado, whose diocese is part of an archipelago 400 miles off the coast of West Africa, said the challenges to the church in Cape Verde mirror those found elsewhere. “We are trying to make the church more open, welcoming … more dynamic ...read more
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Spain’s newest cardinal-designate is known as an outspoken champion of peace and reconciliation — a common trait among some of the men chosen by Pope Francis to join the College of Cardinals in February. Cardinal-designate Ricardo Blazquez Perez, who has been archbishop of Valladolid since ...read more
By Catholic News Service YANGON, Myanmar (CNS) — Cardinal-designate Charles Bo’s appointment as Myanmar’s first cardinal is seen as support for his efforts to push national reconciliation, peace, justice and freedom as his people struggle with religious and ethnic tensions and other problems. The new position draws attention to Cardinal-designate Bo’s country, formerly Burma, which ...read more
By Peter Grace Catholic News Service WELLINGTON, New Zealand (CNS) — Cardinal-designate John Dew of Wellington has appealed for a more pastoral approach for some of the family issues facing New Zealand Catholics. At the 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist, he called on church leaders to discuss a “pastoral approach” to ending “the ...read more
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Instead of accepting the letter of resignation that the archbishop of Ancona-Osimo, Italy, submitted in October, Pope Francis named him a cardinal. Cardinal-designate Edoardo Menichelli is 75 — the age church law requires bishops to submit their resignations — but he still kicks a soccer ...read more
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Vietnam’s cardinal-designate sees hope and continuing challenges ahead for the church in a nation that still has to fully embrace religious freedom. Cardinal-designate Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon of Hanoi, 76, said he saw Pope Francis’ decision to induct him into the College of Cardinals as ...read more
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Not long after Pope Francis became pope, Cardinal-designate Francesco Montenegro was standing next to him “and I could feel his heart beating as he repeated, ‘What suffering.'” As archbishop of Agrigento on Sicily’s southern coast, the cardinal-designate’s archdiocese includes Lampedusa, the Mediterranean island where thousands ...read more
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Portugal’s newest cardinal-designate is known as a humble man of faith and culture who is also a strong communicator working hard to reach out to the excluded. Portuguese Patriarch Manuel Macario do Nascimento Clemente of Lisbon has been characterized as a “good shepherd,” who is ...read more
By Bronwen Dachs Catholic News Service CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) — Ethiopia’s cardinal-designate hopes his story of serving the people in one of Africa’s poorest countries will inspire young people to do the same. While Ethiopians are “easily tempted to leave” to live and work in developed countries, “the need for educated people here ...read more
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinal-designate Dominique Mamberti, the only official of the Roman Curia among the 20 new cardinals named by Pope Francis, said the honor binds him even more closely to the pope and the church of Rome. Pope Francis’ announcement came just days before the cardinal-designate, the ...read more