Vatican City: November 19, 2016. (PCP) Holy Father Pope Francis appoints 17 new Cardinals from Asia, Africa, North America and Latin America in a “Red Hat” ceremony but ignores millions of Pakistani Christians while honoring very tiny Christian minority of Bangladesh with one Red Hat. Islamic Republic of Pakistan had only one Cardinal Joseph Marie Anthony Cordeiro who was appointed by Pope Paul VI in 1973 who died in 1994 in Karachi. Before Cardinal Corderio from Pakistan, the issues of Catholic Church of Pakistan have been supervised by Cardinal from Iran. After 1994, there have been appointments of Cardinal many times but Pakistani has been ignored like recent appointments. As far as South Asia is concerned, India had always Cardinal and on some occasions had more than one Cardinal. Archbishop of Dhaka Patrick D'Rozario will be new Cardinal and first Cardinal from Bangladesh which is great honor and recognition of tiny Christian minority. The war torn Syrian Christian have been also awarded a Cardinal Mario Zenari Apostolic Nuncio to Syria, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, C.S.Sp. Archbishop of Bangui, Central African Republic, Carlos Osoro Sierra Archbishop of Madrid, Spain, Sérgio da Rocha Archbishop of Brasília, Brazil, Blase Joseph Cupich Archbishop of Chicago, United States of America, Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo Archbishop of Mérida, Venezuela, Jozef De Kesel Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, Maurice Piat, C.S.Sp. Bishop of Port-Louis, Mauritius, Kevin Joseph Farrell Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, Carlos Aguiar Retes Archbishop of Tlalnepantla, Mexico, John Ribat, M.S.C. Archbishop of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Joseph William Tobin, C.Ss.R. Archbishop of Indianapolis, United States of America, Anthony Soter Fernandez Archbishop Emeritus of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Renato Corti Bishop Emeritus of Novara, Italy, Sebastian Koto Khoarai, O.M.I. Bishop Emeritus of Mohale's Hoek, Lesotho and Ernest Simoni Priest of the Archdiocese of Shkodrë-Pult, Albania In this, his third Consistory, Pope Francis followed a very Francis line, naming Cardinals from the periphery including the Central African Republic, Mauritius, Lesotho, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil. The Pope also appointed five European Cardinals while three others, including Irishman Kevin Farrell, are USA church figures. 69-year-old Dublin-born Cardinal Farrell, who left Ireland as a 19-year-old, has spent most of the last 50 years in Church service in the USA, first in Washington and then as Bishop of Dallas, Texas. Not all 17 Cardinals were able to attend the ceremony with 86-year-old Cardinal Sebastian Khoarai from Lesotho, who was not well enough to travel to Rome, being appointed in absentia. Saturday’s ceremony followed along traditional Vatican lines with the new Cardinals kneeling in front of the Pope at the altar of St. Peter’s, where he placed their red hat (biretta) on their heads, as well as putting an episcopal ring on their finger. The cardinals wear red because, as the Pope’s closest advisers, they are expected to be ready to shed their blood for the church and Christ. Underlining that point, the Cardinals swore to “remain faithful to Christ and his Gospel, constantly obedient to the Holy Apostolic Roman Church, to blessed Peter in the person of the Supreme Pontiff” With Saturday’s appointments, Francis continues to put his imprint on the Church since he himself has now chosen 44 of the 121 ‘elector’ Cardinals (those under 80 years of age) in the College of Cardinals. Dr. Nazir S Bhatti, President of Pakistan Christian Congress PCC has appealed Pope Francis to give Christians of Islamic Republic of Pakistan a Cardinal in near future for which millions of Catholic Christians are praying. Dr. Bhatti said that Cardinal for Pakistani Christian will be great hope and honor because Pakistan have very large number of Catholic congregation.