Miami, United States. – Cardinal Archbishop of Havana, Juan de la Caridad García Rodríguez, left for Rome to participate in the funerals of Pope Francis and in the conclave that will choose the next pontiff. With 76 years of age, the Cuban appears among the 135 cardinals that make up the Cardenalicio College, and, although his choice as a new Pope is unlikely, his presence in the conclave represents a symbolically relevant fact for the church in Cuba.
“His eminence is a CARDENAL ELECTOR And, at the same time, it is one of the Eligible cardinals. Although this fact is unlikely, it is a real pride to know that the Church in Cuba will be represented in the next conclave ”, He wrote on Facebook The priest Elixander Torres Pérez, Vicar Pastoral of the Archdiocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana. “We pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten the Cardinal College to choose a shepherd according to the heart of Jesus,” he added.
García Rodríguez, who was appointed Cardinal by Pope Francis in 2016, is the only Cuban who will go to the conclave, according to A report from the EFE news agency.
The death of Pope Francis on April 21 It has opened a key deliberation process for the future of more than 1.3 billion Catholics in the world. Although the main candidates are in Europe and Asia – as Matteo Zuppi, Pietro Parolin and Luis Antonio Tagle – the diverse configuration of the current Cardinal College allows names from traditionally peripheral regions in the Vatican hierarchy.
It is not the first time that a Cuban is mentioned among the so -called “papable.” In 2005, the then Archbishop of Havana, Jaime Ortega and Alamino, was included in lists of candidates, although with “scarce possibilities”, As reported at that time the AP agency.
Ortega stood out for his role in the organization of the historic visit of John Paul II to Cuba in 1998 and his diplomatic ability in the interlocution with the Cuban regime. However, no Cuban has come to occupy the throne of San Pedro, which for almost 2,000 years has been reserved mostly to Europeans.
With the current Cuban cardinal among the voters, the church on the island is again present in one of the most transcendental decisions of Catholicism. The age of García Rodríguez (76 years) places it to the limit of the vote range, which closes at age 80.
The next conclave will be held in the midst of strong internal tensions and global challenges. Francisco’s succession will be marked by debates about the continuity of his reformist legacy, ecclesiastical decentralization, the relationship with China, the situation of sexual abuse in the Church, and the role of Catholicism in regions where secularism or competence of other religions grows.
