Pope to new cardinals: Put aside pride, jealousy and anger

Pope Francis welcomed 20 new cardinals Saturday into the elite club of churchmen who will elect his successor and immediately delivered a tough-love message, telling them to put aside their pride, jealousy and self-interest and instead exercise charity. Francis issued the marching orders during the ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica to elevate the new “princes of the church” into the College of Cardinals and give them their new red hats. Many of the new cardinals hail from far-flung, often overlooked dioceses where Catholics are a distinct minority — a reflection of Francis’ insistence that the church look to the peripheries and reflect them in its governance. Several are pastors who, like Francis, have focused their ministries on the poor and disenfranchised.

Even here, charity, and charity alone, frees us.

Pope Francis

World pope cardinals