CARDINAL Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga is emerging as a leading figure in Pope Francis’ pontificate. He is the coordinator of the Council of Cardinals – the so-called “C8” – established to advise on Church reform and is believed to have been an influence on the Latin American bloc of red hats to support Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He has said, however, that this new role is down to providence because during the conclave he had a fracture in his leg which he was unaware of at the time. “It was providential because should I have been diagnosed, I would have been in hospital not able to participate in the conclave,” he told the Canada-based Catholic television station Salt and Light in an interview last week. The Honduran cardinal went on to explain