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3 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 21 FEBRUARY 2025 NEWS GozoToday is a weekly newspaper focused primarily on Gozo. It hopes to serve as a source of information on business, culture, entertainment and of course current affairs. Gozo has a special charm about it but it is also a bustling Island with an identity of its own. GozoToday is published every Friday and is available to numerous outlets in Gozo and on the ferries that carry so many visitors to Gozo from Malta and beyond. GozoToday MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan San Gwann SGN 9016 EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Grech, who is the current sec- retary general of the Synod of Bishops, is considered a poten- tial moderate successor of Pope Francis. He has previously spoken of the necessity to reach out to those who are ostracized from the Church due to their sexual- ity or marital status. In a 2014 speech given at the Extraordinary General Assem- bly of the Synod of Bishops, Grech highlighted the Church's need to maintain continuity of teaching while allowing for cre- ativity in the methodology of speaking to the people. Grech was appointed as the head of the diocese of Gozo in 2005. In 2019, he was appoint- ed pro-secretary general of the Synod of Bishops in October 2019, before being confirmed secretary-general of the Synod in September 2020. He is the third Maltese na- tional to be appointed a car- dinal. He follows Prospero Grech, who died in December 2020, and Fabrizio Sceberras Testaferrata, who was made a cardinal in the 1800s. Technically any Roman Catholic man can be elected as the heir to St Peter, though invariably one of the 253 cardi- nals from around the world will be chosen. After a pope's death or resig- nation, a conclave is convened in the Vatican's Sistine Chap- el, where cardinals partake in rounds of voting to determine the next head of the Church. Of the 253 cardinals, only 138 will be able to serve as electors in the next conclave and no cardinals over the age of 80 can participate in voting. When he was named as a car- dinal by Pope Francis, Grech took to Facebook to reaffirm the relevance of the Catho- lic Church for Maltese and Gozitans alike "In spite of all its mistakes and defects, the Church is still root- ed in the hearts of our people," he posted. "The indications are that there is still place for the Church among us. Had it not still been relevant, would there have been so many who follow the Pope's message at midday on Sunday, and pray the Ange- lus with him? Had the Church not still meant something for Maltese and Gozitans alike, would there have been all this interest in the Pope's choices?" "I have been called to this of- fice so that as a cardinal I may help the Church to be that piv- ot in order for it to continue helping men enter into a rela- tionship with Jesus Christ: he is the foundation upon which our individual and collective lives rest. I am convinced that if Christ is the centre of our life, important reforms will follow; but no reform can be brought about, in our personal life, in family, social, political, eco- nomic and ecclesial life, if this foundation is missing." In the latter years of his bish- opric and now as a cardinal, Grech has spoken of the need for the Church to reform and to embrace those ostracised due to their sexuality or marital status. "The Church seeks to be close to the people, and this means that it has to be ready to adapt itself, to better understand the scriptures and apply them for our days, because sometimes the scriptures are interpreted in the same way as they were 50 or a 100 years ago," he told Sav- iour Balzan on Xtra weeks after raised to cardinal. And in an interview with sis- ter newspaper MaltaToday, Grech spoke of the challenges the Church faces. "I think there are still those who have not yet woken up to reality of the revolution we're passing through. And by 'revo- lution', I don't mean it in a neg- ative sense. To me, it is a very positive development," he said, "God appears to be far from society's horizons at the mo- ment. Today, people may be deriving satisfaction from oth- er things; but it is an illusion of satisfaction. It still leaves us with a thirst. So, we will reach a situation where humanity – society, the individual – will feel the need to look for God. A man without God on his hori- zons, is disabled." Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 70, Italy The Vatican's secretary of state, Pietro Parolin served in Pope Francis' Vatican for 11 years. He is considered a moderate politically and would be considered an extension of the legacy of Francis. He was made a cardinal in 2014 by Pope Francis. Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, 65, Democratic Republic of the Congo President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, Fridolin Ambongo Besungu made headlines when he rejected a controversial declaration of Pope Francis — with the papal blessing, no less. The conservative Capuchin declared the doctrine of Fiducia supplicans — which allowed priests to bless unmarried and same-sex couples —- null and void on the African continent. A Besungu papacy would be seen as a sharp rebuke of the left-leaning principles of Pope Francis. The current pontiff made Besungu a cardinal in 2019. Cardinal Peter Erdo, 72, Hungary Former president of the Council of Bishops Conferences of Europe and a devout Marian, Peter Erdo has long been a figure of consequence in the politics of the contemporary church. A conservative, Erdo has previously opposed the practice of divorced or remarried Catholics receiving Holy Communion due to the doctrinal belief in the insolubility of marriage. Erdo has also been vocal about his opposition to European countries accepting refugees, stating that it is tantamount to human trafficking. Erdo was made a cardinal in 2003 by Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Raymond Burke, 76, United States of America Raymond Burke is considered the leading arch- conservative in the church — a proponent of the Latin Mass and a public critic of Pope Francis' liberal tendencies. The Wisconsin native and former archbishop of St. Louis challenged Francis' willingness to allow divorced and remarried couples to receive the Eucharist. Burke has also challenged the Church's new language around artificial contraception, gay people and civil marriages as "objectionable." Burke was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, 69, Italy President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Matteo Zuppi was born in Rome and served in the key position of archbishop of Bologna, Italy — making him an insider in Francis' Vatican. A favourite of Francis, he was made a cardinal in 2019. Grech seen as 'potential moderate successor' of Pope Francis Other top cardinals who could succeed Pope Francis Bishop Mario Grech was made Cardinal by Pope Francis at a Concistory in the Vatican on 28 November 2020