Cardinal Radcliffe: Extraordinary Consistory Could Bring Estranged Cardinals Back into the Fold

In a new interview, the English cardinal explains why he believes the cardinals chose Pope Leo, and voices support for moving swiftly to ordain women as deacons.

(Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe. Photo credit: Edward Pentin)

VATICAN CITY, 6 January 2026 — Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe has said Pope Leo XIV’s first Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals, scheduled for Jan. 7–8, could serve as a means of drawing back into the fold those estranged by the late Pope’s approach.

Noting that Francis’ pontificate held almost no such meetings apart from with his “C9” council of cardinals, he said “many cardinals think that there should be at least one a year.”

It is vital that the cardinals are happy, he said: “A Church which is miserable can’t preach the Gospel.”

The Dominican friar, 80, who is a former master general of the Order of Preachers, made the comments in a wide-ranging conversation with the UK’s Daily Telegraph published Jan. 6.

The Telegraph noted that Radcliffe is the grandson of a baronet, an “urbane and cultured man and one of the most important contemporary religious figures in the country” who has been fighting the “progressive fight for more than half a century.” The interview touched on his role in the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV and his long friendship with the late Pope Francis.

He described the 2025 conclave as an unexpectedly “brotherly” atmosphere among the 133 electors, far from the politicking often imagined. He said Pope Leo XIV was chosen both to “bring in the people who had been alienated by Francis” and to continue the late Pope’s push for a more consultative, “synodal” Church that resists clericalism and keeps bishops and priests rooted in their people.

The article mentions the cardinal’s stress on “inclusivity,” said to have been forged over decades of ministry at the margins, notably during the Aids crisis when he and fellow Dominicans welcomed same-sex attracted men who felt shunned by both society and Church.

That experience helped inspire the controversial “Soho masses” for the homosexual community, which he insisted were never a political campaign but a simple message of “You’re welcome.” Today he said he is “not worried about somebody being gay” and even suggested there has “probably” already been a homosexual pope, arguing that love, not sexual identity, is what truly matters and that he would be “worried if they didn’t love anybody.”

In the interview he said “no one can simply say ‘I’m a woman’” as he warned that biology remains “fundamental” to human identity, even while insisting that transgender people must be welcomed and accompanied within the Church. He argued that true freedom is discovered “in the adventure of living,” not by declaring an identity detached from the body.

On women’s roles in the Church, Cardinal Radcliffe said he backed rapid progress on ordaining women as deacons while warning that pushing for women priests without the consensus of the global Church risks becoming a Western “arrogance.” He pointed to African bishops who are politically progressive yet firmly opposed to female ordination, and stressed that women already wield significant influence in Catholic education, healthcare and Vatican leadership.

For him, the deeper issue is overcoming a “clericalist” mindset that treats priests as the only figures who matter. In Radcliffe’s view, “saints are more important than priests”, and a joyful Church where “all are welcome” is the only one capable of preaching the Gospel convincingly.

Read Cardinal Radcliffe’s full profile here, at The College of Cardinals Report.