Pope Francis named 15 new cardinals from 14 countries on Sunday (Jan. 4), continuing his efforts to diversify the church hierarchy and extend the global reach of the church …

“‘He’s breaking all the patterns of cardinal nominations,’ and even the bishops of dioceses that in the past led to a cardinal post ‘will have to earn his respect,’ said Alberto Melloni, the director of the John XXIII Center in Bologna. ‘What’s striking is how quickly he broke with a centuries-old mechanism.’”

By Elisabetta Povoledo, The New York Times — Click here to read the rest of this story.