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A rumor went out a couple of weeks ago that Pope Francis will soon announce another consistory to create new cardinals.
It would be the eighth of his pontificate.
There's actually no urgency for him to give out more red hats right now since there are still 121 cardinals under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave to elect the Bishop of Rome.
That's one more than the 120-ceiling of electors set by Paul VI, although successive popes have pushed the figure beyond that from time to time.
Barring any deaths, the number returns to 120 on November 7 when Cardinal Angelo Scola, retired archbishop of Milan, marks his 80th birthday.
Four more men lose their vote between next January and early June, and another six will age out in the second half of 2022.
So if Francis calls a consistory now he will again exceed the 120-limit. The only question is by how large a margin.
John Paul II twice pushed the number of electors beyond 130. And if Francis were to follow suit, no one would be surprised.
He has also continued another custom the late Polish pope started in 1983 -- creating at every consistory a number of non-voting cardinals, i.e. men already 80 or older.
Francis has done this at all but one of his seven consistories.
And in doing so he is once again sending mixed signals. Remember this is the pope that has always insisted that becoming a cardinal should not be seen as an honor.
But without the right to vote, that's all it is.
The only thing that legitimates the man-made institution of the College of Cardinals, which has no basis in scripture or early ecclesiastical history, is that it is the body that currently elects the Bishop of Rome.
Beyond that, it is the epitome of clerical elitism in an "all-boys club" that exclusively exercises sacramental ministry and governance in the Church.
The cardinalate is not a sacrament, nor is it of divine origins.
There have been non-ordained members in the past. And some have argued that, by again putting aside the current requirement for Holy Orders, making female cardinals would be a good way to give women a greater role in the Church without having to ordain them.
But the anti-clericalist Pope Francis has rejected that idea on that grounds that the cardinalate would "clericalize" women in the pejorative sense.
Yet, he continues to make more priests and bishops cardinals because... they are already clericalists or somehow immune to becoming such?
Leaving all that aside, if the Jesuit pope were to hold another consistory to make new cardinals before the end of this calendar year, it's quite possible that the announcement could come this Sunday.
That is if he's planning to hold the ceremony on the weekend of the First Sunday of Advent, like he did in 2020. This year that would be November 27-28.
New Korean and English cardinals?
It is hard to predict from which obscure outpost around the globe Francis will choose his next batch of cardinals.
The first New World pope in history has gone where no Roman Pontiff has gone before to stock the electoral college.
But whenever he finally decides to hold the next consistory, he's expected to give a red hat to at least two or three men closer to his current home -- officials in the Roman Curia.
The first is Korean Archbishop Lazarus You Heung-sik, the newish prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. He turns 70 next month.
Then there is English Archbishop Arthur Roche, 71, who was recently named prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments.
These two appear to be shoe-ins. But it's possible that a third or even fourth curial official could also be named.
A Legionary of Christ in the mix
One of them is Spanish Bishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga who, earlier this month, was surprisingly catapulted to be "governor" of Vatican City State (SCV).
A member of the Legionaries of Christ who turns 77 in March, Vérgez had been the SCV
secretary-general (or No. 2 official) of the start of the current pontificate.
He would be the first Legionary in the scandal-stained congregation's relatively brief history to become a cardinal, although Cardinal Kevin Farrell, current head of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, is a former Legionary who later became a diocesan priest.
Naturally, the pope can bestow the honor upon anyone he wishes, even people in positions that never have been (or are rarely) headed by cardinal.
He's already done that by giving the red hat to a papal nuncio still in post, the papal almoner and bishops who lead modest-sized or seemingly insignificant dioceses.
Each time Francis creates new cardinal-electors, there is a chance that one of them could turn out to be his successor.
But most of the men in each new consistory are not viable candidates for papacy. But they are electors.
Someone of uncommon wisdom and creative vision
And it is important that this group includes at least some who are known for their uncommon wisdom and insight, which can help the other electors discern who among them can best lead the Church at the present moment.
One such person is Timothy Radcliffe, the 76-year-old former head of the Dominicans.
The British friar, who is as comfortable in French as in his native English, was Master of the Order of Preachers from 1992-2011.
The author of numerous books and a popular lecturer, Radcliffe possesses numerous gifts, include those of listening and synthesizing, as well as building consensus.
He's a creative thinker and theological centrist who has a reverence and love for the Church's "big-T" tradition.
And his sense of compassion and respect for dignity of even those who have been uncharitable and cruel towards him are legendary.
The former Master of the Dominicans has been dealing with some health issues the past few years that probably would disqualify him as papabile (a candidate for pope) if he were to actually be made a member of the College of Cardinals.
But the Church could benefit immeasurably if he and more men -- and women -- like him were to be given a key role in helping to decide who comes next after Francis.
Follow me on Twitter @robinrome
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