Sajun.org
A '''cardinal''' is an official of the second-highest rank of the
Roman Catholic Church, inferior in rank only to the
Pope. The cardinals serve a number of functions: they advise the Pope, they run the
Vatican administration and the
Roman Curia (the government of the Church), and they
elect the Pope. They collectively form the
College of Cardinals. New cardinals are created in
consistories by the Pope.
A cardinal enjoyes many privileges. If the cardinal is not a bishop, he is allowed the ceremonial privileges of one, such as being saluted by being kissed on the
ring, which all cardinals receive on elevation along with the red
biretta and
zucchetto. Cardinals are also distinguished by their bright red
vestments the color symbolizing their willingness to die for the faith if necessary. Cardinals also place a red ''
galero'' above their
coat of arms, since the ''galero'' is the ancient symbol of their office. A cardinal takes the
style ''Eminence'', and upon elevation the word "Cardinal" becomes part of the
prelate's name, coming immediately before the surname. As an example, the full style of
Cardinal Pell is "His Eminence, George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney."
The cardinals did not always elect the Pope: the Pope was originally elected by the people of
Rome, but during the
medieval times the right of election was gradually restricted until only cardinals possessed it. But the current Pope or any future Pope could substitute another body of electors for the College of Cardinals at any time; in fact there have been proposals in the past to have the
Synod of Bishops perform this function (the proposals have not been adopted because, among other reasons, the Synod of Bishops can only meet when called by the Pope).
In
early modern times,
English and
French monarchs had cardinals
as their chief ministers -
Wolsey in England,
Richelieu and
Mazarin
in France. These men were cardinals, not because of their religious duties, but because it allowed their kings to
pay them from church revenues. Rome accepted the loss of some revenue in order to protect the rest of its property
and revenue.
The word 'cardinal' comes from
Latin for door-hinge, for the cardinals are supposed to be the 'hinges' of the church. The Latin form of the title is ''Cardinalis''. The term 'cardinal' for a red colour and a
red bird derives from cardinals' red vestments.
According to Canon 350 of the
Code of Canon Law, the College of Cardinals is divided into three orders:
* the episcopal order (cardinal bishops)
* the presbyteral order (cardinal priests)
* the diaconal order (cardinal deacons)
The cardinal bishops are those cardinals to whom the Pope assigns the title of a
suburbicarian church, and such
Patriarchs of the
Eastern Rite Churches as the Pope sees fit to appoint to the College (Eastern patriarchs retain the titles of their patriarchal sees). The cardinal priests and cardinal deacons are each assigned a title or deaconry in Rome by the Pope. Note that cardinal priests and cardinal deacons are actually
bishops.
Originally any Catholic male could be appointed to the College: for example in the 16th century
Reginald Pole was a cardinal for 18 years before he was ordained a priest. Today only bishops are normally created cardinals. Canon 351 specifically requires that a cardinal at least be in the order of
priesthood, and those who are not already
bishops must receive episcopal consecration. A recent example is
Rev. Avery Dulles,
S.J., who was a priest at the time of his elevation to Cardinal in 2001. He successfully petitioned the Pope for a dispensation from episcopal consecration due to advanced age.
Pope Sixtus V limited the number of cardinals to 70 (6 cardinal bishops, 50 cardinal priests, 14 cardinal deacons), after the College had expanded in the 16th century. Popes since
John XXIII have disregarded this limitation in order to make the college of cardinals a more representative body. Only those cardinals under age of eighty (nominally limited in number to 120 by
Paul VI, but
John Paul II has disregarded this as well) participate in the election of the pope. The cardinal bishops holding
suburbicarian dioceses elect the
Dean of the College of Cardinals to be the head of the college (the dean is ''
primus inter pares''); the election must be approved by the Pope. The present Dean is His Eminence
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, the
Prefect of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Pope John Paul II elevated an additional 31 cardinals in a
consistory on October 21, 2003, bringing the number of cardinal electors to 135 out of a total of 194 in the
College of Cardinals. As of
August 25,
2004 cardinal electors numbered 123 and the College as a whole 189.
==See also==
*
List of notable Cardinals
*
Papal election
*
Category:Cardinals
da:Kardinal (katolske kirke)
de:Kardinal
fr:Cardinal (religion)
it:Cardinale (ecclesiastico)
ja:枢機卿
no:Kardinal
pl:Kardynał (godność)
