Posted on 02/17/2026 5:21:21 PM PST by ebb tide
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Sr. Simona Brambilla as a member of the Dicastery for Bishops, and confirmed a very broad roster of cardinals and prelates elevated under Pope Francis.
On February 14, the Pope appointed Sr. Simona Brambilla, M.C., who serves as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, as a member of the Dicastery for Bishops. In addition, he confirmed numerous cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and other prelates as existing members of the dicastery under Francis, thereby maintaining its composition under his own pontificate.
“Sister Brambilla now joins two other women: Sister Raffaella Petrini, President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and of the Governorate, and María Lía Zervino, former President of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations. They were appointed by Pope Francis as members of the Dicastery for Bishops in July 2022 and confirmed today by Pope Leo XIV,” comments Vatican News. “Together, they are called to offer their contribution to the work of the Dicastery that deals with all matters concerning the appointment of diocesan and titular Bishops, Apostolic Administrators and, in general, the provision of the particular Churches.”
The confirmation of the remaining members of the dicastery shows that Pope Leo XIV intends to continue Bergoglio’s line in episcopal appointments, a direction already evident from the majority of appointments made so far.
READ: How ‘seamless garment’ theology explains Pope Leo’s stances on major issues
The Dicastery for Bishops is, together with the Secretariat of State and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the Roman Curia’s key offices: working in coordination with the Secretariat, it selects new bishops worldwide, helping shape the Church’s leadership for the future. In this regard, the decision to confirm Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, as a member of the dicastery is particularly telling.
Moreover, among the confirmed names stands out that of Brazilian Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, a leading progressive figure and former prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life since 2011. A strong supporter of restricting the traditional Mass, he has long advocated a broad “revision” of the Church’s power structures. “The concepts of obedience and authority must be re‑examined,” he said. He also stated that those who distance themselves from the Second Vatican Council “kill themselves.” Francis appointed him as a member of the Dicastery for Bishops soon after his election as pope in 2013.
Cardinal Sérgio da Rocha is another very progressive cardinal, noted for the speed of his rise in 2016. As general relator of the Synod on Youth, he likewise called for structural renewal. In 2023, he was added to Francis’s Council of Cardinals, tasked with reforming the Curia. A prominent figure within the Church’s LGBT lobby, he supported the introduction of a “Mass in memory of the victims of transphobia.”
We also find the less vocal Cardinal Lazarus You Heung‑sik, known for his progressive leanings and for putting “pressure on Tradition,” according to The College of Cardinals Report website.
Among the leading figures of American progressivism are Cardinals Blase Cupich and Joseph Tobin, archbishops of Chicago and Newark respectively. Also standing out are several other neo‑modernist cardinals closely aligned with Francis: Jean‑Marc Aveline, archbishop of Marseille; José Cobo Cano, archbishop of Madrid; José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education; Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod on Synodality; Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship; Juan José Omella Omella, archbishop of Barcelona; and Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
In addition, Leo has confirmed José Antonio Satué Huerto, bishop of Málaga, Spain. He is a strong supporter of Fiducia supplicans on the blessing of same‑sex “couples” and is openly hostile to liturgical tradition – a particularly significant point given that his diocese has one of the highest proportions of traditional liturgical observance within Spain.
READ: Pope Leo appoints leader of heterodox ‘interfaith’ meetings as bishop of Indian diocese
Also noteworthy among the confirmed names are Cardinals Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and Anders Arborelius, OCD, bishop of Stockholm.
Although often described as “Ratzingerian,” Koch authored a controversial official study document on the role of the Bishop of Rome, in which he calls for a reform of the papacy in a more synodal and ecumenical direction.
Arborelius, a convert from Lutheranism known for his conservative, gentle, and reflective profile, has remained orthodox on issues such as sexuality, life, priestly celibacy, and the role of women, yet has enforced Traditionis Custodes very strictly against the Traditional Latin Mass and is a strong supporter of ecumenism.
In recent months, LifeSiteNews has reported the episcopal promotion of several priests and religious regarded as heterodox, united by their support for the female diaconate, liturgical inculturation, and forms of syncretism presented as “interreligious prayers and dialogue.”
Ping
He got chosen for being as Red as Francis
He got chosen for being as Red as Francis
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..
I believe something’s about to happen for the first time in the history of the Church, namely a schism establishing a Protestant church that’s more traditionally Catholic than the one presided over by the Roman Pontiff!
“He got chosen for being as Red as Francis
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..
I believe something’s about to happen for the first time in the history of the Church, namely a schism establishing a Protestant church that’s more traditionally Catholic than the one presided over by the Roman Pontiff!”
____________________________________________________________
You mean like the Church of England?
Assuming such a schism hasn't already happened - which church would be the protestant one? Being Catholic is more than obeying a superior who demands you jettison the Faith. That's servility and legal posivitism (or papal posivitism in this case) and is decidedly uncatholic.
Quotes from St. Athanasius:
“May God console you! ... What saddens you ... is the fact that others have occupied the Churches by violence, while during this time you are on the outside. It is a fact that they have the premises -- but you have the apostolic faith. They can occupy our churches, but they are outside the true faith. You remain outside the places of worship, but the faith dwells within you. Let us consider: what is more important, the place or the faith? The true faith, obviously. Who has lost and who has won in this struggle -- the one who keeps the premises or the one who keeps the faith?
“True, the premises are good when the apostolic faith is preached there; they are holy if everything takes place there in a holy way ...
“You are the ones who are happy; you who remain within the Church by your faith, who hold firmly to the foundations of the faith which has come down to you from apostolic tradition, and if an execrable jealously has tried to shake it in a number of occasions, it has not succeeded. They are the ones who have broken away from it in the present crisis.
“No one, ever, will prevail against your faith, beloved brothers, and we believe that God will give us our Churches back some day.
“Thus, the more violently they try to occupy the places of worship, the more they separate themselves from the Church. They claim that they represent the Church but in reality they are the ones who are expelling themselves from it and going astray.
“Even if Catholics faithful to tradition are reduced to a handful, they are the ones who are the true Church of Jesus Christ."
Leo mainly appoints homosexual cardinals to key positions. Like his hero Bergoglio, he hates conservative cardinals who uphold the faith and appoints them to nothing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.