Pope Benedict XVI has created 22 men of god into the elite club of cardinals, some of whom will elect his successor. But critics see in his recent appointment an act of discrimination and neglect against Africa - a continent with one of the fastest growing number of catholic faithful. Some observers confirm further that the supreme pontiff’s appointments show a strong bias against Africa with only 11 out of the 125 elector cardinals. “The church and particularly catholic church is playing dirty politics in God’s name. But there will be a time when God will hear the cry of his people in Africa”, a catholic Christian bemoaned shortly after the consecration on Saturday, February, 18.

The Pope’s appointment consists heavily Europeans, thereby reinforcing Europe's dominance of the College of Cardinals, even though two-thirds of the world's Catholics are in the southern hemisphere. The new cardinals include 16 Europeans, two Americans, one Canadian, a Brazilian, an Indian and a Hong Kong Chinese.
Eighteen of the 22 newcomers are under 80, the cut-off age for cardinal electors. Yet, only three of the new under-80 cardinals — a Brazilian, an Indian and a Chinese — come from developing countries. Seven of the 22 were Italian, adding to the eight voting-age Italian cardinals named at the last consistory in November 2010.

The pope’s decision to favor Europe in his appointment has further cement the Italian majority in a future conclave. Italy now has 30 cardinals out of the 125 under age 80 (almost a quarter of the total, far outweighing any other country) and thus eligible to vote the pope’s successor. That in itself boosts Italy's chances of taking back the papacy for one of its own following decades under a Polish and a German pope — or at least playing the kingmaker role if an Italian candidate doesn't emerge. Only the U.S. comes close, with 12 cardinals under 80.

Unfortunately, African men of god are traditionally ruled out as papal contenders (despite their high level of spirituality couple with accountability and sound judgment of church doctrine and dogma) due to stark discrimination, nepotism and cronyism within the Catholic Church.

Out of the 125 "elector cardinals," 67 are now from Europe, with just 22 from South America, 15 from North America, 11 from Africa and 10 from Asia and the Pacific. In all, 63 of the electors have been named by the German pope and the other 62 by his Polish predecessor John Paul II.

Though the vast majority of previous popes -- more than 200 -- have been from Italy, observers say the Vatican's increasingly powerful Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone is behind the promotion of Italians up the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy.

In course of their consecration, the 22 newly appointed cardinals were given a gold ring, including scarlet cassock which symbolizes the blood that cardinals must be willing to shed to remain faithful to the church.

"The new cardinals are entrusted with the service of love: love for God, love for his church, an absolute and unconditional love for his brothers and sisters even unto shedding their blood, if necessary," said Pope Benedict. Within wide spread rumours surrounding the Catholic Church today, the pope asked the new cardinals to “serve the Church with love and vigour, with the clarity and wisdom of masters, with the energy and moral force of pastors (and) with the faith and courage of martyrs,”

Furthermore, the appointment and consecration of the new cardinals came on the hills of rumours of leaked internal documents alleging financial mismanagement and “dirty politics” within Vatican affairs, including reports in the Italian media of political jockeying among church officials who, sensing an increasingly weak and aging pontiff, are already preparing for a conclave.

The Vatican equally honored four cardinals over-80 in recognition of their long service to the church. Among them was Maltese Cardinal Prosper Grech, 86, the first Maltese cardinal in 168 years.

At the end of his remarks, Pope Benedict said: "And pray for me, that I may continually offer to the people of God the witness of sound doctrine and guide the holy church with a firm and humble hand." All of which has led to even more speculation that a conclave is very much on the minds of cardinals new and old even though some hope it doesn’t happen too soon based on the fact that it’s (conclave) one of the major responsibilities of cardinals.

Names of the newly appointed cardinal
Under 80 years old and eligible to enter a conclave to elect the next pope:

1. Archbishop Fernando Filoni, Italian, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.

2. Archbishop Manuel Monteiro de Castro, Spanish, head of Vatican office that deals with the sacrament of penance.

3. Archbishop Santos Abril y Castello, Spanish, archpriest of the Rome basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

4. Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio, Italian, head of the Vatican's Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants.

5. Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, governor of Vatican City

6. Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio, Italian, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.

7. Archbishop Joao Braz de Aviz, Brazilian, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Consecrated Life.

8. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, American, Grandmaster of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

9. Archbishop Domenico Calcango, Italian, President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.

10. Archbishop Giuseppe Versaldi, Italian, president of the Vatican's Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See.

11. His Beatitude George Alencherry, Indian, major archbishop of the Siro-Malabar rite in India

12. Archbishop Thomas Christopher Collins, Canadian, archbishop of Toronto.

13. Archbishop Dominik Duka, Czech, archbishop of Prague

14. Archbishop Willem Jacobus Eijk, Dutch, archbishop of Utrecht, Netherlands

15. Archbishop Giuseppe Betori, Italian, archbishop of Florence

16. Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan, American, archbishop of New York

17. Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki, German, archbishop of Berlin.

18. Archbishop John Tong Hon, Chinese, archbishop of Hong Kong.

Over 80 and therefore not eligible to enter a conclave:

1. His Beatitude Lucian Muresan, Romanian, major archbishop of Fagaras and Alba Iulia in Romania.

2. Father Julien Ries, Belgian, professor emeritus of religious history at the Catholic University of Louvain

3. Father Prosper Grech, Maltese, professor emeritus of various Italian universities

4. Father Karl Becker, German, of the Gregorian University in Rome

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