Cardinal (Catholicism)

The coat of arms of a cardinal are indicated by a red galero (wide-brimmed hat) with 15 tassels on each side (the motto and escutcheon are proper to the individual cardinal).

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually a bishop, of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and making themselves available individually or collectively to the pope if he requests their counsel. Most cardinals have additional duties, such as leading a diocese or archdiocese or running a department of the Roman Curia.

A cardinal's other main function is electing the pope whenever, by death or resignation, the seat becomes vacant. In 1059, the right of electing the pope was reserved to the principal clergy of Rome and the bishops of the seven suburbicarian sees. During the sede vacante, the period between a pope's death and the election of his successor, the day-to-day governance of the Church as a whole is in the hands of the College of Cardinals. The right to enter the conclave of cardinals who elect the pope is now limited to those not over 80 years old on the day of the pope's death or abdication.

The term "cardinal" at one time applied to any priest permanently assigned or incardinated to a church,[1] or specifically to the senior priest of an important church, based on the Latin cardo (hinge), meaning "principal" or "chief". The term was applied in this sense as early as the ninth century to the priests of the tituli (parishes) of the diocese of Rome.[1] In the twelfth century the practice of appointing ecclesiastics from outside Rome as cardinals began, with each of them being assigned a church in Rome as his titular church, or being linked with one of the suburbicarian dioceses, while still being incardinated in a diocese other than Rome.

Contents

History

Pietro Ottoboni, the last Cardinal Nephew, painted by Francesco Trevisani

The election of the pope was not always reserved to the cardinals; the pope was originally elected by the clergy and the people of the diocese of Rome. In medieval times, Roman nobility gained influence. The Holy Roman Emperors had a hand in choosing the pontiff. But as the pope gained greater political independence, the right of election was given to the cardinals in 1059.

Cardinal de Fleury, chief minister of France

However the influence of temporal rulers, notably the French kings, largely reemerged via cardinals of certain nationalities or politically significant movements; there even developed traditions entitling certain monarchs — e.g. of Austria, Spain, and Portugal — to nominate one of their trusted clerical subjects to be created cardinal, a so-called crown-cardinal.

In theory, the pope could substitute another body of electors for the College of Cardinals. Some proposed that the Synod of Bishops should perform this function, a proposal that was not accepted, because, among other reasons, the Synod of Bishops can only meet when called by the pope.

In early modern times, cardinals often had important roles in secular affairs. In some cases, they took on powerful positions in government. An example of this was found in Henry VIII's England where his chief minister was Thomas Wolsey. An even more prominent example is that of Cardinal Richelieu, whose power in France was so great that he is considered by many as the world's first Prime Minister. Indeed, Richelieu was so successful his successor, Jules Mazarin was also a cardinal. André-Hercule de Fleury was another cardinal to hold this rôle.

As of 2008, the youngest cardinal is Péter Erdő - the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Primate of Hungary. The oldest living cardinal is Paul Mayer - the President Emeritus of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.

College and orders of cardinalate

Pope Sixtus V limited the number of cardinals to 70, composed of six cardinal bishops, 50 cardinal priests, and 14 cardinal deacons; however, Pope John XXIII began to exceed the overall limit of 70, and this has continued under his successors. At the start of 1971, Pope Paul VI set an age limit of eighty years for electors, who were to number no more than 120, but set no limit to the number of cardinals as a whole, including those over eighty. (As a result of the setting of the age limit at the start of 1971, twenty-five living cardinals lost the right to participate in a conclave.) On one occasion, 21 October 2003, Pope John Paul II brought the number of cardinals with the right to enter the conclave to over 120, perhaps calculating that, though his death was approaching, the number would be sufficiently reduced when his successor was elected. And in fact, at John Paul II's death, only 117 of the then-current 183 cardinals were young enough to be electors.[2] Pope Paul VI also increased the number of cardinal bishops by giving that rank to patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches who are made cardinals.

Title

Theodor Innitzer, cardinal of the title of San Crisogono

Each cardinal takes on a "title" to a certain church in Rome or one of the suburbicarian sees. The only exception is for patriarchs of Eastern Catholic Churches. The Dean of the College of Cardinals always adds the title Bishop of Ostia to the title of the suburbicarian see that he already holds. Not only Eastern patriarchs, but also Western bishops and archbishops retain the governance of the particular Church that is in their charge at the time of their appointment to the cardinalate.

Since 1630, cardinals have taken the style Eminence. In accordance with Latin tradition, they sign by placing the title Cardinalis (abbreviated Card.) after their personal name and before their surname as, for instance, "John Card. Doe", or, in the period when surnames had not yet come into use, before some other determinant such as the place they came from or the diocese which they ruled. The same order is followed, in Latin, for popes (e.g. "Benedictus Pp. XVI" - "Pp." is an abbreviation for "Papa" meaning "Pope" in Latin) and kings (e.g. Michael Rex). In English, the title is normally placed first, as "Pope Benedict XVI", "King Michael", "Cardinal John Doe". This is the order usually found in English in the media. It is also the usual form on the Holy See's website, and almost all sites of episcopal conferences.[3] Some writers prefer to use the Latin order even in English, a usage that has the support of James-Charles Noonan, in The Church Visible.[4] Both forms are found on diocesan sites of cardinals.[5]

According to the writer's choice, the full style of a cardinal is either "His Eminence Cardinal First-Name Last-Name" (usual English order) or "His Eminence, First-Name Cardinal Last-Name" (Latin order), followed, in each case, by the office held, such as "Archbishop of ..." or "Prefect of the Congregation for ..."

A well-known instance of the use of the Latin order (in the Latin language) is that of the proclamation by the cardinal protodeacon of the election of a new pope: "Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; habemus Papam: Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum (first name) Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem (last name), ..."[6]

Cardinal bishop

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, current Dean of the College

Cardinal bishops, or cardinals of the Episcopal Order, are among the most senior prelates of the Catholic Church. Since most cardinals are also bishops, the title of cardinal bishop only means that the cardinal in question holds the title of one of the "suburbicarian" sees — they include the Dean of the College of Cardinals — or is a patriarch of an Eastern Catholic church.

The cardinal bishops are the only order of cardinals who have always been required to be bishops, and in former times when a cardinal of one of the lower orders became a cardinal bishop, and so the head of a diocese, he was consecrated a bishop. Since 1962 all cardinals have been bishops with rare exceptions, and those cardinals exceptionally allowed to decline episcopal consecration obviously cannot head a suburbicarian see as a cardinal bishop.

The Dean, the head (as primus inter pares) of the College of Cardinals, is elected by the cardinal bishops holding suburbicarian sees from among their own number, an election, however, that must be approved by the pope. Formerly the position of Dean belonged to the longest-serving of the cardinal bishop, all six of whom then headed a suburbicarian see. Though these sees are seven, there were only six cardinal bishop, since the Dean always adds the title of Ostia to his original suburbicarian diocese.

In early times the privilege of papal election was not reserved to the cardinals, and for centuries the pope was customarily a Roman priest and never a bishop from elsewhere; to preserve apostolic succession the rite of consecrating the pope as a bishop had to be performed by someone who was already a bishop. The rule remains that, if the person elected pope is not yet a bishop, he is consecrated by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, the Cardinal bishop of Ostia.

Currently the cardinal bishops of the suburbicarian diocese are:

Since the death of Bernardin Gantin on May 13, 2008, the suburbicarian diocese of Palestrina is vacant.

For a period ending in the mid-20th century, long-serving cardinal priests were entitled to fill vacancies that arose among the cardinal bishops, just as cardinal deacons of ten years' standing are still entitled to become cardinal priests. Since then, cardinals have been advanced to cardinal bishop (except for the Eastern Rite Patriarchs, no one ever joins the College of Cardinals as a Cardinal Bishop) exclusively by Papal appointment. Only leading figures close to the pope can expect to be appointed.

In 1965 Pope Paul VI decreed in his motu proprio Ad Purpuratorum Patrum that patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches who were named cardinals would also be part of the episcopal order, ranked after the six cardinal bishops of the suburbicarian sees (who had been relieved of direct responsibilities for those sees by Pope John XXIII three years earlier). Not holding a suburbicarian see, they cannot elect the dean nor become dean. The four Eastern patriarchs who are now cardinal bishops are the following:

The Latin Rite Patriarchs of Lisbon and Venice, while in practice always made cardinals at the consistory after they take possession of their sees, are made cardinal priests, not cardinal bishops. Although the incumbents of such prestigious sees are usually created cardinal, no see carries an actual right to the cardinalate. In matters of precedence, membership in the college outranks any title conferred by an office, other than the see of Rome.

Cardinal priest

Franz König, former Protopriest

Cardinal priests are the most numerous of the three orders of cardinals in the Catholic Church. They formally rank above the cardinal deacons and below the cardinal bishops though this is not a matter of exercise of authority. Those who are named cardinal priests today are generally archbishops of important dioceses throughout the world, though some hold Curial positions.

In modern times the name "cardinal priest" is interpreted as meaning a cardinal who is of the order of priests. Originally, however, the understanding of which word modified the other was the opposite: of the priests of the Diocese of Rome, certain key priests of important churches were recognized as the cardinal priests, the important priests chosen by the pope to advise him in his duties as Bishop of Rome (the Latin cardo means "hinge," and the term was used in the same way that "key" is used in English today: certain clerics in many dioceses at the time, not just that of Rome, were said to be the "key" personnel, or, in Latin, the "hinges," cardinals — the term gradually became exclusive to Rome to indicate those entrusted with electing the bishop of Rome, the pope).

All cardinals are given "titles", though they may be bishops or archbishops elsewhere. While the cardinalate has long been expanded beyond the Roman pastoral clergy and Roman Curia, to this day every cardinal priest has nominal title to a parish church in Rome, just as cardinal bishops are given the honorary title of one of the suburban dioceses around Rome. A cardinal priest has no functional relationship to the parish's operations, though his name and coat of arms are still posted in the church. Pope Paul VI abolished all administrative rights cardinals had with regard to their titular churches.

While the number of cardinals was small from the times of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance, and frequently smaller than the number of recognized churches entitled to a cardinal priest, in the 16th century the College expanded markedly. In 1587 Pope Sixtus V sought to arrest this growth by fixing the maximum size of the College at 70, including 50 cardinal priests, about twice the historical number. This limit was respected until 1958, and the list of titular churches modified only on rare occasions, generally due to a building falling into disrepair. When Pope John XXIII abolished the limit, he began to add new churches to the list, which Popes Paul VI and John Paul II continued to do. Today there are close to 150 titular churches, out of over 300 churches in Rome.

The cardinal who is the longest-serving member of the order of cardinal priests is titled cardinal protopriest. He had certain ceremonial duties in the conclave that have effectively ceased because he would generally be over the age of 80, past which cardinals are barred from the conclave. Since the death of Franz König, the cardinal protopriest has been Stephen Kim Sou-hwan of South Korea.

Cardinal deacon

Cardinal Wolsey

The cardinal deacons are the lowest-ranked of the three orders of cardinals of the Catholic Church. Cardinals elevated to the diaconal order are either officials of the Roman Curia or priests elevated after their eightieth birthday. Bishops with pastoral responsibilities on the other hand are created cardinal priests.

Cardinal deacons derive originally from the seven deacons in the Papal Household and the seven deacons who supervised the Church's works in the districts of Rome during the early Middle Ages, when the Church administration was effectively the government of Rome and provided all social services. Cardinal deacons are given title to one of these deaconries. There were traditionally 14 cardinal deacons, but this number has been expanded in recent years.

Under the 1587 decree of Pope Sixtus V that fixed the maximum size of the College of Cardinals until 1958, there were fourteen diaconates, but the number has increased. As of 2005, there were over fifty recognized titular diaconates, though only thirty cardinals were of the order of Deacons. Cardinal deacons have long enjoyed the right to "opt for the order of cardinal priests" (optazione) after they have been cardinal deacons for ten years, and after this they rank in precedence as if they had been cardinal priests from when they first became cardinals. They may on such elevation take a vacant title (church allotted as the titular dignity of a cardinal priest) or their existing diaconate may be elevated to title for that occasion.

Until 1918 it was possible for someone who was not a priest, but only in minor orders (and so perhaps married), to become a cardinal (see on "lay cardinals" below), but they were enrolled only in the order of cardinal deacons. For example, in the 16th century, Reginald Pole was a cardinal for 18 years before he was ordained a priest. After 1918 it was established that all cardinals, even the cardinal deacons, had to be priests, and since 1962 all cardinals have been bishops with rare exceptions where permission was granted to decline episcopal consecration because of advanced age. Today, Canon 351 specifically requires that a cardinal be at least in the order of priesthood at his appointment, and those who are not already bishops must receive episcopal consecration, save by dispensation from the pope. Most of these dispensations have involved eminent theologians who are priests, such as was granted in 2001 to Avery Dulles.

A cardinal who is not a bishop is still entitled to wear the episcopal vestments and other pontificalia (episcopal regalia: mitre, crozier, pectoral cross and ring) and to possess a cardinalatial coat of arms.

When not celebrating Mass but still serving a liturgical function, such as the bi-annual Urbi et Orbi Papal Blessing, some Papal masses and some events at Ecumenical Councils, cardinal deacons can be recognized by the dalmatics they would don with the simple white mitre (so called mitra simplex).

The cardinal protodeacon (that is, the senior cardinal deacon in order of appointment to the College of Cardinals) has the privilege of announcing a new pope's election in the famous "Habemus Papam" announcement given from the central loggia at the Basilica of Saint Peter. The current cardinal protodeacon is Agostino Cacciavillan.

Protodeacons since 1911

"Lay cardinals"

Main article: Lay cardinal

At various times there have been "lay cardinals", i.e. cardinals who had not been ordained as deacons or priests, but had only received first tonsure and minor orders, and were thus permitted, though classified as clerics, not as laymen, to marry or to live in an already contracted marriage. Teodolfo Mertel was among the last of the lay cardinals. When he died in 1899 he was the last surviving cardinal who was not at least ordained a priest. With the revision of the Code of Canon Law promulgated in 1917 during papacy of Pope Benedict XV, only those who are already priests or bishops may be appointed cardinals.[7] Since the time of Pope John XXIII a priest who is appointed a cardinal is to be ordained a bishop unless he obtains a dispensation.[8]

In pectore and secret cardinals

In addition to the named cardinals, the pope may name secret cardinals or cardinals in pectore (Latin for in the breast).

Cardinals in pectore

During the Western Schism many cardinals were created by the contending popes. Beginning with the reign of Pope Martin V,[1] cardinals were created without publishing their names until later, termed creati et reservati in pectore. A cardinal named in pectore is known only to the pope; not even the cardinal so named is necessarily aware of his elevation, and in any event cannot function as a cardinal while his appointment is in pectore. Today, cardinals are named in pectore to protect them or their congregations from reprisals if their identities were known.

If conditions change, so that the pope judges it safe to make the appointment public, he may do so at any time. The cardinal in question then ranks in precedence with those raised to the cardinalate at the time of his in pectore appointment. If a pope dies before revealing the identity of an in pectore cardinal, the cardinalate expires. Some speculate that the pope could leave instructions in writing, perhaps in his will, for the appointment to be made known after his death; but it is difficult to imagine a case in which the pope would consider that his own death would remove the obstacle in the way of publishing the name.

Pope John Paul II named four cardinals in pectore during his pontificate. Three of the names were published later.[9][10]

Secret cardinals

The secret creations, instead, are different than those created and reserved in pectore. They are known to the other cardinals. Pope Martin V was the first pope who created cardinals without "publishing" them at the same time (secret creation), while it was Pope Paul III who created the first cardinals in pectore.[11]

Vesture and privileges

The choir dress of a cardinal: red cassock, rochet trimmed with lace, red mozetta,and pectoral cross on cord. At the bottom, from left to right: zucchetto, white damask mitre and fringed fascia (window display at Gammarelli's, via Santa Chiara, Rome)
two cardinals and nuncio

Excluding the rochet, which is always white, a Latin-rite cardinal wears scarlet garments- the blood-like red symbolizes a cardinal's willingness to die for his faith.[12][13] When in choir dress, including the cassock, mozzetta, zucchetto, and biretta. Until the 1460s it was customary for cardinals to wear a violet or blue cape unless granted the privilege of wearing red when acting on papal business. His normal-wear simar is black but has scarlet piping and a scarlet fascia (sash-like belt). Occasionally, a cardinal wears a scarlet ferraiolo which is a cape worn over the shoulders, tied in a bow by narrow strips of cloth in the front, without any 'trim' or piping on it. (It is because of the scarlet color of cardinals' vesture that the bird of the same name has become known as such.)[14]

Eastern-rite cardinals continue to wear the normal dress appropriate to their rite, though some may line their cassocks with scarlet and wear scarlet fascias, or in some cases, wear Eastern-style cassocks entirely of scarlet (there is a unique photograph of Joseph Cardinal Slypyj of the Ukrainian Catholic Church wearing the traditional eastern bishop's habit and a cardinal's galero).

George Cardinal Pell wearing the ordinary dress of a Cardinal: black (cassock) with red piping and buttons, red fascia (sash), pectoral cross on a chain, and a red zucchetto.

In previous times, at the consistory at which the pope named a new cardinal, he would bestow upon him a distinctive wide-brimmed hat called a galero. Though this custom has been discontinued, and the investiture now takes place with the red biretta, in ecclesiastical heraldry, the scarlet galero is still displayed on the cardinal's coat of arms. Cardinals had the right to display the galero in their cathedral, and when a cardinal died, it would be suspended from the ceiling above his tomb. Some cardinals will still have a galero made, even though it is not officially part of their apparel.

If the cardinal is not already a bishop, he is usually consecrated a bishop upon appointment. The designated cardinal however can petition the pope to dispense him from this requirement.

When celebrating Mass, a cardinal wears the same vestments as a bishop, even if he has not been consecrated as a bishop. A cardinal deacon, on certain occasions will wear a deacon's dalmatic as well as the episcopal mitre.

To symbolize their bond with the papacy, the pope gives the cardinals he appoints a gold ring, which is traditionally kissed by Catholics when a cardinal is greeted. The pope chooses the image on the outside: under Pope Benedict XVI it is a modern depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus, with Mary and John to each side. The ring includes the pope's coat of arms on the inside.

Cardinals have a "privilege of forum" (i.e., a right to hear cases) in matters arising directly under canon law. Only the pope is competent to judge them in cases that refer to matters that are spiritual or linked with the spiritual, or with regard to infringement of ecclesiastical laws and whatever contains an element of sin, where culpability must be determined and the appropriate ecclesiastical penalty imposed. The pope can either pass judgement in person or delegate the decision to a body of the Holy See, such as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith or the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. All other ecclesiastical courts, even the Roman Rota, are not considered to have authority over them.[15] This privilege, however, still leaves cardinals subject to normal civil authority.

Cardinals in popular culture

See also

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wikisource-logo.svg Sägmüller, Johannes Baptist (1913). "Cardinal". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 
  2. ↑ Electing a New Pope | Ask a Franciscan - May 2005 Issue of St. Anthony Messenger Magazine Online
  3. ↑ United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, the Irish Bishops Conference and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. The Bishops' Conference of Scotland uses both the Latin and the usual English form, even on the same page.
  4. ↑ Noonan, The Church Visible, p. 205.
  5. ↑ The Latin order is found on diocesan sites of Boston, Chicago, Dublin, New York, Toronto, Washington; the usual English order on those of Armagh,Los Angeles, Philadelphia, St Andrews and Edinburgh, Wellington, Westminster.
  6. ↑ Benedict XVI, 19 April 2005
  7. ↑ canon 232 §1 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law
  8. ↑ Cf. canon 351 §1 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law
  9. ↑ "His Holiness John Paul II Short Biography". Holy See Press Office (30 June 2005). Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
  10. ↑ "His Holiness John Paul II Biography". Holy See Press Office (30 June 2005). Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
  11. ↑ "Consistories of Martin V - July 23, 1423 (II), Note". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church.
  12. ↑ Pope Benedict...He told them that the red signifies the dignity of their new office and that they must be ready "even to the point of spilling your blood for the increase of the Christian faith, for peace and harmony among the people of God, for freedom and the spread of the Holy Roman Catholic Church."
  13. ↑ Applause and tears in Basilica greet Pontiff (November 26, 2007) Belfast Telegraph. Accessed 2008-06-01. Quote: "In a ceremony televised across the world cardinal-elect Sean Brady knelt before Pope Benedict XVI and pledged his allegiance to the Church before receiving his special red birretta - a symbol of a cardinal's dignity and willingness to shed blood for the increase of the Christian faith."
  14. ↑ Instruction on the dress, titles and coat-of-arms of cardinals, bishops and lesser prelates.. L'Osservatore Romano, English ed.. 17 April 1969. pp. vol.4. http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/instruction69.htm. Retrieved on 2006-09-01. 
  15. ↑ Canon 1405 §1 and canon 1406 §2
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