(Adds names, background, list of electors)
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, leaving his
mark on the Roman Catholic Church into the future, named 13
cardinals from eight countries on Sunday, including nine who are
eligible to enter a conclave to elect his successor after his
death or resignation.
The nine new cardinal electors, whom the pope listed in a
surprise announcement while addressing pilgrims from his window
overlooking St. Peter's Square, include Archbishop Wilton
Gregory of Washington D.C.
Gregory, who will become the first African-American to hold
the rank, has become a national figure in recent months. He has
called for dialogue to ease racial tensions in the United States
following the death of George Floyd in the custody of
Minneapolis police in May.
He has also indirectly clashed with U.S. President Donald
Trump last June when he said he found it "baffling and
reprehensible" a Catholic Church in Washington allowed Trump to
use the facility for a photo opportunity. Trump supporters later
denounced Gregory.
The 13 new cardinals will be elevated to the high rank at a
ceremony known as a consistory at the Vatican on Nov. 28, and
the selection of more cardinal electors increases the
possibility that the next pope will be someone who will continue
Francis' policies.
Francis has now appointed about 57% of cardinal electors,
whose number rises to about 128 with the naming of the new
cardinals. The others were appointed by Francis' two more
conservative predecessors, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul
II.
Church rules usually limit the number of cardinal electors
to 120 but popes have bent that limit by naming more, factoring
in that some will turn 80 in the coming year.
The nine new electors come from Italy, Malta, Rwanda, the
United States, the Philippines, Chile, Brunei and Mexico.
Two of the new cardinals, Archbishop Antoine Kambanda of
Kigali, Rwanda, and Bishop Cornelius Sim of Brunei appear to be
part of Francis' policy of giving more prestige to the Church
in far-flung places, often where Catholics are a tiny minority.
His elevation of Archbishop Celestino Aos Braco of Chile to
the rank of cardinal is significant because it is part of
Francis' attempt to heal the country still reeling from a sexual
abuse crisis.
The new cardinal's predecessor as archbishop of Santiago,
Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, was the highest-ranking member of the
Chilean Church to be caught up in the scandal.
The appointment of Aos Braco was particularly stinging to
Chileans because he is Spanish and not a native, signalling the
pope's conviction that an outsider was needed to clean up the
situation.
LONG SERVICE
The four non-electors, who will not be allowed to enter a
conclave because they are over the age of 80, are being elevated
to the high rank because of their long service to the Church.
They come from Italy and Mexico.
They include Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, an Italian who has
worked around the world and is one of the Church's top experts
on immigration.
The nine new cardinal electors under the age of 80 are:
- Archbishop Mario Grech, 63, Maltese, Vatican-based
Secretary of the Synod of Bishops.
- Archbishop Marcello Semeraro,73, Italian, prefect of the
Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
- Antoine Kambanda, Rwandan, 61,Archbishop of Kigali.
- Wilton D. Gregory, American, 72, Archbishop of Washington
D.C.
- Jose F. Advincula, 68, Filipino, Archbishop of Capiz.
- Celestino Aos Braco, 75, Spanish, archbishop of Santiago,
Chile.
- Archbishop Cornelius Sim, 69, Brunei, apostolic vicar of
Brunei
- Augusto Paolo Lojudice, 56, Italian, archbishop of Siena,
Italy.
- Father Mauro Gambetti, 54, Italian, custodian of the
Franciscan convent of St. Francis in Assisi.