Vatican City, 22 February 2014 (VIS) –
This morning in the Vatican Basilica, Pope Francis celebrated an
Ordinary Public Consistory during which he created nineteen new
cardinals, to whom he imposed the biretta, consigned the ring and
assigned the title or diaconate church.
The celebration was also attended by
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, whom Pope Francis embraced upon entering
the basilica and who was also greeted by secretary of State Pietro
Parolin in his address. Parolin was the first among the new cardinals
and addressed some words of thanks to the Holy Father in the name of
all the new cardinals. Bishop Loris Francesco Capovilla was not
present, and the biretta will be consigned over the next few days to
his residence in Sotto il Monte, in the Italian province of Bergamo.
Today's ordinary public consistory was
the first of Pope Francis' pontificate; he began his allocution with
the phrase from the Gospel of St. Mark, read on this occasion: “And
Jesus went before them”.
“At this moment too, Jesus is walking
ahead of us”, he said. “He is always before us. He goes ahead of
us and leads the way. This is the source of our confidence and our
joy: to be his disciples, to remain with him, to walk behind him, to
follow him. When we joined with the cardinals to concelebrate the
first Mass in the Sistine Chapel, the first word which the Lord
proposed to us was to 'walk', to journey with him: to journey, and
then to build and to profess. Today this same word is repeated, but
now as an action, an action of Jesus which is ongoing: 'Jesus was
walking…'. This is something striking about the Gospels: Jesus is
often walking and he teaches his disciples along the way. This is
important. Jesus did not come to teach a philosophy, an ideology, but
rather a 'way', a journey to be undertaken with him, and we learn the
way as we go, by walking. Yes, dear brothers, this is our joy: to
walk with Jesus. But this is not easy, or comfortable, because the
way that Jesus chooses is the way of the Cross. As they journey
together, he speaks to his disciples about what will happen in
Jerusalem: he foretells his passion, death and resurrection. And they
are 'shocked' and 'full of fear'. They were shocked, certainly,
because for them going up to Jerusalem meant sharing in the triumph
of the Messiah, in his victory – we see this in the request made by
James and John. But they were also full of fear for what was about to
happen to Jesus, and for what they themselves might have to endure.
“Unlike the disciples in those days,
we know that Jesus has won, and that we need not fear the Cross;
indeed, the Cross is our hope”, continued the Pope. “And yet, we
are all too human, sinners, tempted to think as men do, not as God
does. And once we follow the thinking of the world, what happens? The
Gospel says that 'When the ten heard it, they began to be indignant
at James and John'. They were indignant. Whenever a worldly mentality
predominates, the result is rivalry, jealousy, factions. And so the
word which Jesus speaks to us today is most salutary. It purifies us
inwardly, it enlightens our consciences and helps us to unite
ourselves fully with Jesus, and to do so together, at this time when
the College of Cardinals is enlarged by the entry of new members.
“And Jesus called them to himself”,
Pope Francis observed. “Here is the other action of Jesus. Along
the way, he is aware that he needs to speak to the Twelve; he stops
and calls them to himself. Brothers, let us allow Jesus to call us to
himself! Let us be 'con-voked' by him. And let us listen to him, with
the joy that comes from receiving his word together, from letting
ourselves be taught by that word and by the Holy Spirit, and to
become ever more of one heart and soul, gathered around him. And as
we are thus 'con-voked', 'called to Him' by our one Teacher, I too
will tell you what the Church needs: she needs you, your cooperation,
and even more your communion, with me and among yourselves. The
Church needs your courage, to proclaim the Gospel at all times, both
in season and out of season, and to bear witness to the truth. The
Church needs your prayer for the progress of Christ’s flock, the
prayer which, together with the proclamation of the Word, let us not
forget, is the primary task of the Bishop. The Church needs your
compassion, especially at this time of pain and suffering for so many
countries throughout the world. We express our spiritual closeness to
the ecclesial communities and to all Christians suffering from
discrimination and persecution. We must fight against every form of
discrimination. The Church needs our prayer for them, that they may
be firm in faith and capable of responding to evil with good. And
this prayer of ours extends to every man and women suffering
injustice on account of their religious convictions.
“The Church needs us also to be
peacemakers”, he concluded, “building peace by our words, our
hopes and our prayers: let us therefore invoke peace and
reconciliation for those peoples presently experiencing violence and
war. Thank you, dear Brothers. Let us walk together behind the Lord,
and let us always be called together by him, in the midst of his
faithful people, God's holy faithful people, our holy Mother the
Church”.
Following his allocution, the Pope
pronounced the formula for the creation of the new cardinals, their
names, and the titular or diaconate churches assigned to them. The
new cardinals recited the Creed and gave their oath of faithfulness
and obedience to the Pope and his successors. They then received
their biretta and ring from the hands of the Holy Father, who also
assigned them their title or diaconate.