The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-11-28
copyright. 1871

fall on the sacred college of cardi
nails of the Roman Catholic church
IL to elect a new pope. The age anc
- feebleness of Pope Leo make 1t
practical certainty that he cannot
live very much longer.
The choice of Leo's successor on tht
throne of St. Peter rests with the cardi-
nails and is of their number. THESE
chosen advisers and assistants of the
sovereign pontiff constitute the supreme
council or senate of the church
Bishops, priests and deacons make uE
the three orders of the cardinalate. Ihe
six cardinal bishops are always bishops
and have their origin from the seVeral
sees Of the church located in the Vlcinl-
ty of Rome. The cardinal priests, with
few exceptions, are archbishops or DISH
ops and the cardinal deacons generally
priests Choice of a cardinal is not re-
stricted to the priesthood, and the Ia
nous Cardinal Antonelli, privy coun-
ciIor of Plus TX, was only a deacon.
The first cardinal bishop is dean, the
first of the priests first priest and the
first o. the deacons first deacon Of the
sacred college. The dean consecrates
and the first deacon prociaims and
crowns a new pope.
Seventy cardinals compose the full
membership of the sacred college,
though it is very seldom that there are
so many. A cardinal is always created,
never made or nominated, and his ere
alton sometimes precedes by several
years his publication" or proclama-
ton.
In such instances, as was the case
with Cardinal Satolli he is said to be
reserved in petto, and when proclaimed
takes precedence according to the date
of creation. a cardinal wears the red
hat. which is the symbol OF his rank,
but once-when the pope puts 1t on his
head in the consistory at which he is
created and which follows the semi
priyate bestowal of the red berretta. 1t
is then put away to be laid on his bier
when he dies. After he is buried, it is
brought from the place where his grave
has been made and held to await the
creation of his successor. In second
consistory the pope closes the mouth
of the candidate; in other words, for
bids him speaking, for the time being,
at meetings of cardinals. In third
consistory. however, this prohibition is
removed, and at the same time he is
given a ring, on receipt OF which he Is
expected to give a considerable sum of
money in charity and is assigned tit
ular or parish church in Rome. If the
candidate is absent or prevented from
reaching Rome at that time, the red
berretta is sent to him, and on receiving
il he is bound to make oath that he
will, within a year, visit the tomb of
the apostles and pledge himself to de-
fend the church and its peace with his
blood.
Pope Leo XIII has displayed a great
deal of independence and latitude in his
choice of cardinals, and the sacred col
lege differs very much in its present
makeup from those that have preceded
It.
So recently as the days OF Plus TX,
aristocratic names predominated among
the cardinals. But today this is no
longer the case, the plebeian element be-
ing far in the majority. The Bona
parties, the Shuarzenbergs and the
Howards are no longer represented, and
even scions of the Italian nobility have
disappeared. except a small group of
aristocracy in the coming conclave will
be represented only by Cardinal Hohen-
lohe. a member of the famous family
to which belongs the present chancellor
of the German empire, but he is count
ed as having small influence in the COL
lege.
Men born among the masses now con-
stitute a majority of the sacred college.
and their influence will weigh heavily
in the choice of the new pontiff Car
dinal Parocchi is the son of poor mill
Ter; Cardinal Logue is the son of an
Irish peasant, and Cardinal Cascaiares
was an officer of humble rank in the
Spanish army before he entered holy
orders.
Moreover, while in times past France.
Austria and Spain have vetoed papal
elections, and still claim the privilege
TO do so, bull issued some years ago
for the conduct of the coming conclave
confirms TO the sacred college the exclu-
sive right 20 elect the pope, absolutely
excluding any intervention on the part
of the secular power. All previous rules
as to the duties of civil and municipal
magistrates in connection with the con-
clave have been done away with and
the ordering of all matters connected
with 1t left in the hands of the car
dinals.
The sacred college in electing a pope
has the world 10 choose from. for any
faithful Catholic is eligible; but for
precedent for layman pope it would
have to so back to 1924, when the pa
trician Crescentius became Pope John
XIX. Again, of the 26S popes regis
tered in Catholic statistics. 294 have
haa Tfal
turtles and half no one but an Italian
has sat upon St. Peters throne. and it
is as certain as any future event can
be that the next incumbent of the holy
see VIII be of the same nationality.
There are many convincing reasons for
this belief. Gradually TO establish an
alliance between the papacy and the
Italian government without thereby
loosening the bonds that unite other
foreign Catholic nations TO the holy
see"-that is the keynote of the secret
pelicy Of the Vatican which led TO the
election of Leo NH in 1873, which viii
predomlnate in the election of his sue
cessor and which the Italian members
OF the sacred college believe can best
be carried forward by one of their own
countrymen- These are in a majority
IN tnat body and possess the very great
advantage Of living either in or near
Rome, whereas many of their foreign
colleagues have such great distances
TO traverse that il is practically inn
possible for them to arrive in time 10
take part in the conclave. which is held
as quickly as possible after the death
OF the holy father-indeed. If there is
NO TE n y y