VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — The Archbishop of Naples will become a cardinal in the December consistory after Bishop Paskalis Syukur make the remarkable decision to decline receiving the red-hat.

In a statement from the Holy See Press Office director late on Monday night, the twenty-first member of the upcoming December consistory was named. The Archbishop of Naples, Domenico Battaglia, will now become a cardinal on December 7 along with twenty other clerics who were named by Pope Francis on October 6.

JUST IN: After Bishop Syukur recently announced he would decline the red-hat which #PopeFrancis announced he would receive, the #Vatican stated today that Archbishop Battaglio of Naples will become a cardinal on Dec 7 consistory. pic.twitter.com/vDslkIYCvs

— Michael Haynes 🇻🇦 (@MLJHaynes) November 4, 2024

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Battaglia’s inclusion has come about due to the surprise announcement by Indonesia’s Bishop Syukur October 22 decision not to accept the cardinalate.

A brief statement issued by the Holy See press office that day read that Syukur had requested that Francis allow him to not become a cardinal, due to his “desire to grow further in priestly life, service to the Church and the people of God.” The move peaked great interest, with seasoned Vatican analysts suggesting that there is much more to the development than a pious desire to avoid honor.

Who is Battaglia?

Now 61, he was made the Bishop of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant’Agata de ‘Goti in 2016. Pope Francis then moved him to lead the Archdiocese of Naples in 2020.

He has earned a reputation for closely mirroring the image which is portrayed of Cardinal Bergoglio – namely of being a priest on the streets, giving priority to social justice cases and also engaging in high-profile pushback against the local Mafia. His image is very much in the style of Bergoglio’s.

‘Don Mimmo,’ as he is known, has enjoyed notable favor from Francis, with the latter famously using Battaglia’s writings as papal gifts to fellow bishops in Italy in the 2021 Italian bishops’ assembly.

He has also become more internationally known for his public role in the customary ceremony which takes three times a year to display the liquified blood of Naples’ St. Januarius. The vial of the saint’s blood is elevated for all to see, with tradition recording that if the blood does not liquify then a “bad omen” is predicted.

The well-connected Italian blog Messa in Latino (MiL) reported that Battaglia had in fact been included in the initial list of cardinals which Francis announced on October 6, but that he was left out at the last minute due to a continuously growing scandal about the hiring of Mafia-linked personnel in the Theological Faculty of Southern Italy in Capodimonte, which Battaglia oversees.

MiL documented that there is growing discontent against Battaglia amongst his archdiocesan clergy, due to his priority of hushing the matter up rather than allowing justice to take its course. The clergy, report MiL, also critique Battaglia’s style of leadership, accusing him of refusing to receive them in audience.

Battaglia also sparked outrage in his archdiocese earlier this year when he moved to restrict the traditional Mass in the area. By removing permission for diocesan priests to continue saying well-established Masses, he limited its celebration to two Mass centers – served by the Institute of Christ the King – prompting protests from devotees of the traditional Mass and a petition campaign for the measures to be reversed.

Reacting to his being raised to the cardinalate, Battaglia asked not to receive the customary greeting of “Eminence,” saying he would “always remain Don Mimmo.”

He added that as cardinal he would highlight “the joys and hopes, the sadness and anguish of today’s men, of the poor above all and of all those who suffer in our South and in all the south of the world, existential south and not only geographical.”

Syukur disappears

Battaglia’s inclusion in the roster of December’s new cardinals – of whom 20 will be able to vote – comes after the surprise move by Syukur to decline his red hat. Much has been made of the Indonesian bishop’s notably rare decision as being motivated by pious desire to deepen his “priestly life,” as was the official reason given.

Deeper research has suggested that Syukur’s decision was motivated by internal politics in Indonesia’s ecclesial sphere with additional rumors suggesting he has a mistress and child he wishes to keep secret.

The veteran Vaticanist Luis Badilla – who ran the highly respected site Il Sismografo – highlighted a discrepancy in Syukur’s actions. Badilla reported that Syukur welcomed his being named cardinal and attended numerous parties based on his new-found honor – in short joyfully living in anticipation of receiving the cardinal’s scarlet robes.

Something then happened to precipitate Syukur’s shock decision to decline the nomination, Badilla writes. Regarding the rumor of Syukur having a mistress or a child, Badilla commented that none of his sources in the Vatican or in Indonesia had either confirmed or denied the story.

Certain reports have also emerged, both locally and internationally, attesting that Syukur did not act properly in response to cases of sexual abuse, and that he was additionally heavily implicated in the case of a fake monk who was subsequently imprisoned over abusing young boys. So far, though, it seems that while there is much discussion about possible links Syukur has to controversial topics, there is not monumental scandal in the public domain – at least, no greater than that with which a number of other cardinals have received their red hats from Francis.

Battaglia’s inclusion in the college of cardinals is certainly a more expected move than was Syukur’s. But due to Pope Francis’ style of choosing cardinals it seems that not only are the candidates themselves unaware but that sufficient research is not performed into their history.

Be that as it may, with the December 7 consistory, Francis will thus render the College of Cardinals to be almost entirely composed of men he appointed.

By the end of 2024, with the new cardinals and with two others aging out (reaching their 80th birthday and being too old to vote in a papal conclave), Francis will have created 111 of the 140 eligible voters.