Bladi.net English

Pope Elevates Archbishop of Rabat to Cardinal, Strengthening Catholic-Muslim Ties in North Africa

– bySylvanus@Bladi · 1 min read
Pope Elevates Archbishop of Rabat to Cardinal, Strengthening Catholic-Muslim Ties in North Africa

On the sidelines of the Ordinary Public Consistory, on Saturday, October 5, in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis elevated thirteen archbishops to the rank of Cardinal, including Mgr Cristobal Lopez Romero, a Spanish Salesian, also Archbishop of Rabat.

Mgr Cristobal Lopez Romero, 67, is one of the thirteen new Cardinals from the College of Cardinals, reports Vatican news. A missionary vocation and a notable attachment to interreligious dialogue have contributed to this elevation.

"It is not a problem to be few, the problem would be to be insignificant, to be a light that illuminates no one," said the new Cardinal. He is the Archbishop of Rabat in Morocco, a kingdom where Islam is the state religion, but where Catholicism finds its place with some 20,000 faithful.

In the eyes of the now Cardinal Cristobal Lopez Romero, his elevation represents "a recognition by Pope Francis of the action of the Church throughout North Africa, in Tunisia, Algeria, but also in Libya". According to him, "the Pope wants to make visible Churches that are practically invisible".

For the record, the Supreme Pontiff had visited Morocco on March 30 and 31, 2019.

Category: Morocco
Keywords:
Religion Rabat

Related Articles