ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
Today in Rome, Pope Francis is promoting 21 men to one of the world's most exclusive bodies - the Catholic Church's College of Cardinals. If you've seen the hit Hollywood movie "Conclave," you may know that one of the most important roles of the College of Cardinals is to elect the next Pope. But Pope Francis has radically changed the kinds of men he chooses as cardinals and the roles he wants them to perform in the Catholic Church. Claire Giangrave is the Vatican correspondent for Religion News Service. She's in Rome covering the pope and this collection of new cardinals. Hi, Claire.
CLAIRE GIANGRAVE: Hello.
NADWORNY: So what can you tell us about these 21 men?
GIANGRAVE: First of all, these men come from six different continents. Some represent very small Catholic communities from places like Japan and Serbia and Iran. It really is to show that Pope Francis wants to move the center of power in the Vatican away from the West and more towards a globalized church that can represent 1.3 billion believers around the world.
NADWORNY: I understand that you've had a chance to talk to some of the latest cardinals. What did you learn about their backgrounds?
GIANGRAVE: Well, the Vatican invited journalists to meet six of the new cardinals on Friday. And what really struck me is that these men are really representing the underdogs, not just in the political spectrum, but also when it comes to church teaching. For example, I spoke to a bishop born in Ukraine, who at 44 is going to be the youngest cardinal of the College of Cardinals. And this likely means that he'll see plenty of conclaves. He made an impassioned speech for the plight of the Ukrainian people and how much he hopes that this position will help him speak to the pope about what needs to be done to bring peace. The same can be said to the Chilean bishop of Palestinian origins, who was made a cardinal. And he also talked about how much there is a need to come to a solution in Gaza and bring peace and resolution to the conflict there.
And talk about underdog - the Dominican friar, Timothy Radcliffe, was basically sidelined for 50 years of his ministry, where he challenged church teaching on inclusivity and welcoming towards marginalized groups, and especially women or LGBTQ Catholics. And it really reflects what kind of vision Pope Francis has for the future of the church.
NADWORNY: Yeah. So what is that vision? Like, how has the role of being a cardinal changed under Pope Francis? What's different now?
GIANGRAVE: Well, Pope Francis has remade the College of Cardinals. This is the 10th time in his papacy that he adds new members to the crop. At this point, he has selected the majority of people who will decide who his successor is - 80%, in fact. It's a way for him to cement his legacy. But he's also changed dramatically what it means to be a cardinal in the Catholic Church. Once upon a time, they were considered princes of the church. They had comfy lodgings, and they couldn't be fired or tried if they did something wrong. That's no longer true under Pope Francis. In fact, during the mass that Pope Francis usually does after a consistory...
NADWORNY: And the consistory is the ceremony where they become new cardinals, is that right?
GIANGRAVE: Yes, correct. The Pope has taken to delivering a finger-wagging speech to the cardinals, telling them that this is not a time for them to settle down and relax. In fact, it's a moment for them to really come forward and be of service to their communities and represents the needs of this incredibly diverse and growing reality that is the Catholic Church.
NADWORNY: That's RNS Vatican correspondent Claire Giangrave. Claire, thank you.
GIANGRAVE: Thank you so much, Elissa.
NADWORNY: This story was produced through a collaboration between NPR and Religion News Service. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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