Cardinals listened to Pope Francis in December at the Vatican. Francis warned them that the church’s leadership risked drifting “towards mediocrity.

To some of the scarlet-clad cardinals seated in rows of gilded armchairs at the New Year's service, the answer was becoming clear. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, one of the highest-ranking Americans in the Vatican, found his influence diluted. Another conservative, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, was demoted. Among the bishops, Archbishop Guido Pozzo was sidelined.

To some degree, Francis, 77, is simply bringing in his own team and equipping it to carry out his stated mission of creating a more inclusive and relevant church that is more sensitive to the needs of local parishes and the poor. But he is also breaking up the rival blocs of Italians with entrenched influence in the Roman Curia, the bureaucracy that runs the church. He is increasing financial transparency in the murky Vatican Bank and upending the career ladder that many prelates have spent their lives climbing.

On Sunday, Francis made his first mark on the exclusive College of Cardinals that will elect his successor by naming prelates who in many cases hail from developing countries and the Southern Hemisphere. He pointedly instructed the new cardinals not to consider the job a promotion or to waste money with celebratory parties.

"It was an important year," said Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's second-ranking official and one of only four Vatican officials Francis will make a cardinal in February. Asked in a New Year's Eve interview about the personnel changes, he replied that it was only natural that the Argentine pope should prefer to have "certain people who are able to advance his policy."
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