It was way back in 2006 when Pope Benedict XVI foresaw the rise of Catholic Latin America and the expansion of the church beyond Europe.
Pope Benedict’s global vision has proven prophetic with the recent announcement of 21 cardinals-to-be hailing from 18 nations across the world. Many of these Cardinals-Elect come from as far afield as Iran (Archbishop Dominique Joseph Mathieu, OFM Conv), India (Monsignor George Jacob Koovakad), Peru (Archbishop Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio), Indonesia (Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur, OFM), and of course Australia, (Ukranian-Australian Bishop Mykola Bycok, CSsR).
Cardinal-designate Ignace Bessi Dogbo of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, told reporters through an interpreter that the church is opening up and needs to listen.
“All the parts and the regions of the world have something to say,” he said.
His words were echoed by Cardinal-designate Jaime Spengler of Porto Alegre, Brazil who said “When we say Catholic, we are not just making reference to a religious belief, we want to point to an openness, generosity, which is quite unique,
“That generosity and magnanimity which is proper to God who can have a dialogue with all cultures, differences, peoples, languages.”
Cardinal-designate Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo, told reporters, “The centre of the mission of the church is shifting from Europe to other areas of the global south … that is the indication of these appointments.”
Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has created 142 cardinals from 70 countries at nine consistories