The Washington herald., 1911-09-17
THE TREND OF THINGS
A CoNSIST0RY IN JANUARY
WILL ELECT NEW CARDINALS


1t can be stated on authority that a
consistory for the creation of members OF
the Sacred College will be held imme-
diately after THE first of the year, and
not before, and that a very large num-
ber of new cardinals will be created
1t is now nearly five years since the
last one convened. During that time
deaths have been very numerous, and
Plus KS senate has been reduced to
forty-seven. That is twenty-three short
OF the full number of seventy, and sew
enteen less than the number that met in
the Vatican just eight years ago to elect
successor to Leo XIII. The interval
between this last consistory and the next
one is already the longest for centuries,
and not for centuries has the number of
cardinals been so low. Deaths and some
other causes have brought changes in the
time, also that are of vital interest to the
Catholic Church.
When Leo XIII was elected. the ma
jority Of the cardinals were Romans, and
the immense majority Italians. The
conclave that elected Plus X was formed
of only a minority of Romans. but of
strong majority of Italians. II a con-
clave were held between now and next
March, the Italians would be in the slight
majority of only seven, and the pos
sibiity of the election of a Pope who
was not an Italian for the first time In
about 800 years would be imminent.
While the Pope was i'll a short time
ago the matter of a conclave rather than
a consistOry was in every Romans mind.
1t has not wholly vanished. for the Pope
is past seventy-six years of age, unused
to the confined life or the Vatican, and
bearing such burdens as few men have
ever been called upon to stand up under.
Plus y is not concerning himself about
the number of Italians in the Sacred Col
lege. The pressure for more cardinals
comes from the Curia. At least thirty
cardinals are required to perform the vast
routine, and twelve Of these are incapa-
citated by age and illness. So only eight
are at hand to do the work of thirty.
Nevertheless, PiuX Y will not yield and
hold consistory during the Italian jubi-
lee year. He has promised. since his re-
cOvery. to hold one Immediately after
the year is ended. possibly in January,
and certainly not later than March.
Three causes have contributed to Pope
Plus KS reluctance to hold a cOnsistory
hitherto. The first is that he wishes to
give effect to his resolution TO abolish
what are known as Cardinalitial posts,
that is, offices the mere tenure of which.
independent OF the qualities or success
Of their occupants, inevitably lead TO the
highest dignity in the church. The first
to Rel the effect of this decision was
Cardinal Lorenzelli. who, although he had
put in the normal time as nunCiO at
Paris was sent by Plus Y to govern the
Diocese of Pisa. and denied the coveted
hat until he had shown his administrative
ability there.
The second reason for the delay has
been an economical one. Every cardinal
who lives in Rome costs the holy see
between 5000 and $500 a year. So the
difference-between twenty and thirty car
dinaIs totals up toward $4,000 year-an
important consideration in the present
Straitened finances of the Vatican.
Finally, and even more troublesome, has
been the difficulty about the nunciO at
Vienna and the Patriarch of Lisbon. Ac-
cording to all precedent. the Austrian
prime minister should ask the Emperor
to promote the nunClo after a period of
five or six years. Mgr. Granite happened ,
TO fan foul of Aerenthal, and the latter
not only fatty refused to make the usual
request, but declared that the elevation
OF the nunciO would be regarded as an
offense to him and to his government.
In this case the Vatican has been obliged
to yield by accepting the resignation of
Mgr. Granite on the ground of ill-health.
The case of the Portuguese patriarch
was different. According to the concordat
between Portugal and the holy see up
to the time of the recent revolution, it
was provided that the patriarch should be
made cardinal at the first consistory
held after his appointment to the see.
But as the predecessor of the present
patriarch was still alive and a member !
of the Sacred College, II became doubtful |
If the holy see was obliged by the pact |
to make an indefinite number of Portu- |
guese cardinals, who might be removed |
through intrigue or otherwise from their |
positions as patriarchs.
Besides, even under the monarchy the |
Portuguese government frequently vio- !
lated the cOncordat, and Plus Y wished |
to make no concessions that he was not I
literally bound to make. That difficulty |
has also been removed by the tacit aboli-
tion of the concordat through the new
Portuguese separation law, and Mgr.
Bello will certainly be made a cardinal
at the next consistory, not by virtue of
any politicO-religious treaty. but on the |
strength of the attitude he has taken in
the defense of the holy see during the
last two years.
Benevolent Money Coming Hard.
officers of benevolent organizations re-
port this year to be the hardest for the
OF money gifts. small and large,
that they have ever known. Some say
it surpasses any of the panic years of
recent times. The income of many benev-
olences is far behind. Development is
not thought of, and nine in ten institu-
tIons are bending their entire efforts to
get funds for absolute necessities. The
came in early last winter.
reached bottom at the beginning of sum-
mer. and Is expected to continue to the
end of the current year at any rate.
Most officers of benevolent boards admit
that they see no improvement likely for
the coming year.
The difficulty is reported on the Pacific
Coast through the Middle States, and is
most acute in the principal cities of the
East, where 90 per cent OF the benevo-
lence of America Is garnered. 1t is also
reported in what is not pure benevolence,
because II has the religious appeal behind
Il. Missionary societies are feeling its
effects. Just what may be the cause, ex-
perts in the collection of money for
benevolent and religious purposes confess
they cannot tell. Replies from givers as
to why they will not give this year as
formerly, reveal little. Inquiries put to
them, and to expert collectors, bring a
variety of explanations.
On the Pacific Coast, givers of previous
years say they are confronted with per-
smptory demands from the projectors of
The Panama Exposition at San Francisco,
who tell them that unless such and such
sums are secured by such date the ex-