The Washington herald., 1911-09-23
THE TREND OF THINGS
INLOOK AND OUTLOOK
ON AFFAIRS AT ROME

At this writing there are twenty-three
vacancies in the sacred college of car
dinals of the Roman Catholic Church.
1t is necessary to say 'at this writing"
for so many are the cardinals who are
past seventy-five years of age, and i'll,
and death has been SO active among
them of late, that any day may still
further reduce the number. When a
consistory to name new cardinals is held,
soon after the beginning of 1912. it is
now promised by Pope Plus X that a
very large proportion of the vacancies
will he filed. The pressure for the fill
ing of the vacancies comes not at all
from prelates who covet the honor. but
from cardinals now serving in the Curia
The Curia is made up of cardinals resi-
dent in Rome and charged with the de-
tails of administration. Heads of most
Of the congregations have long been
cardinals in rank. and for many rea-
sons it is held they should continue to
be. Besides there are very many oc-
caSiOnS when cardinals must serve.
NOminaIly there are twenty cardinals now
in the CurIa but really there are only
eight so many are incapaCitated by age
and nfTmiIies In some quarters there
is apprehension over the very small pro-
heing but four more than bare ma
jority Of present living members.
Much unfounded gossip has been
printed about another American cardinal.
Some said none will he named so long
as Cardinal Gibbons lives. Others have
said that Archbishop Ireland, of st. Paul.
must logically he named, if any Ameri-
can prclate is. and that. failing eleva-
tion for him. no American will receive
the honor. It is no secret in Rome that
the immedat" purpose is to name an
other American cardinal. and that he
is not to be the Archbishop of st. Paul.
The American situation was taken to
a certain stage five years ago, and As
no consistory has been held for four
years, the situation has not changed.
The preference Of the Pope five years
ago. and it is not known to have altered. |
was for Archbishop Farley, of New
York. both personally. on account of his |
character ard administrative ability, and I
from the importance Of the See of New |
York. which mas come to be regarded |
in Rome as one of the foremost centers |
in the world OF Catholic life and in !
ffuenCe. |
But Mgr. O'Conneu. present Archbishop !
OF Boston. during his six years resi- |
denCe in Rome as rector of the Ameri- |
can College. made many influential |
friends among the cardinals. These car |
dinais were not slow TO press the claims |
of BOstOn'S archbishop. Among other |
things they urged that the late Pope Leo .
XIII had offered cardinaIate to Arch
bishop O'COnneIIs predecessor. the late
Archbishop Williams. who refused the
honor because Of his retiring disposition. !
1t was urged there fore, that a stronger |
reason than ever existed to give Boston .
the honor now that it lost some years !
ago.
Finally a tendency was manifested in
some quarters to emphasize the growing |
importance of the Catholic Church in
the American Middle West Some who
poi! ted out this growth admitted that
Archbishop Ireland is the strong man
in many ways, nut admitted also that
If the Middle West is TO be honored. |
the place to honor it is Chicago and not |
st. Paul Hence the mention of the name
of Archbishop Quigley. not wholly in his |
own right, but in part to honor a city |
more than 100000 Catholics.
The apostolic delegate at Washington,
Mgr. Falconio, will be created a cardinal
and recalled to Rome 10 take up some
line Of work IN the Curia. II is believed
in Rome that his training in America
will make him unusually efficient as the
same training made Cardinals Satolli
and MartinilH. Others certain to be
elevated to the sacred college are Mgr.
Bisleti. long the major domo of the Vat-
can, a man who served Leo XIII and
Plus y long after he had a right to ex-
peCt promotion, Mgr. Lugari, assessor of
the holy office, a prelate who entered
the priesthood at the age of fifty. after
a brilliant career as a lawyer, and who
has come to be regarded as one of the
foremost men in the Catholic Church
in Rome; Mgr. Della Chiesa, Archbishop
of Bologna, who was under secretary of
state in the days of Cardinal Rampolla;
Mgr. Guistini, secretary of the Congre-
cation of the SaCraments; Mgr. Granite
di Belmonte, whose career as apostolic
delegate at Vienna was prematurely
closed a few months ago on account of
with the Austrian premier; /
Mgr. Annette Archbishop of Paris; Mgr. Il
Archbishop of Spoleto, Mgr. Il