Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-01-17
'VATCAN'S INTEREST
N TEMPORAL AFFAIRS
This Is Opinion Of Close OBJ
servers Of Trend Of Old
World Events
BY Alice Robe.

tUnited Press staff Correspondent
Rome, Jan. 6-(By mail. )-The Vati-
can IL to take more active interest in
] temporal diplomatic politics than II has
evinced for many years, in the opinion
OF Vatican affairs observers whose
Iopinions are respected.
| In the recent elevation of six new
cardinals to the royal purple of the
sacred college, Pope Benedict has Civ.
en- the first definite indication of
what will be the future character and
policy of his pontificate, say these men
who assert that they base their con-
clusion upon centuries Of Vatican pre-
cedent.
The sacred college, consisting usu-
ally of from 80 to 10 members, has
charge of the administration of the
Catholic affairs throughout the world.
The college is under the direction of
the Hope. The pontiff usually wants
this body composed of cardinals i'll
harmony with his, ideas.
The Vatican world awaits with in
terest the first consistory that a new
pontiff holds in order that it may
Judge, from the character of the first
cardinals created by the new pope,
what will be the general policy of his
pontiticate.
When cardinal is elected pope he
finds himself surrounded by a sacred
college chosen by his immediate predc-
cessors. These cardinals may be out
of harmony with what he wants to ac-
complish. 1t is seldom a prelate be-
comes a cardinal before he is fifty
and as deaths in the college member
ship are not in frequent, the new pom
tiff gradually may change TIE char
acter of the sacred college by the ele-
walton of new members. In the course
OF ten years new pope ordinarily
may have, if he wished surrounded
himself with n sacred college, the ma
iority Of which is in harmony with
his ideas. 1t is only then that pope
begins to give to his pOntificate that
character which is likely to be associ-
ated with his name in history.
In the recent creation by Pope Ben
edict of his first six cardinals the fact
that stood out most prominently was
that four of them were chosen from
the ranks of the Vatican diplomatic
service. These were: Cardinal Tonti,
papel nunzio TO Portugal; Cardinal
Cagliero, papal nunzio to the Central
American republics; Cardinal Fruyirta,
lpapaI nunzio to Munich, and Cardinal
Scapinelli, papal nunzio to Vienna.
Pope Benedict IS reign therefore, ac'
cording to Vatican students and tradi-
tion, is expected to mark a revival OF
the political side of the church. This
predicted outcome would be in har-
monv with Pope Benedict's S training.
Pope Benedict, when he was Monsig-
nor Della Chiesa, was trained in the
diplomatic and political school of Pope
Leo. When Cardinal Rompolla, as sec
retary of state to Pope Leo, labored in
harmony vita the latter to strengthen
the Vatican s diplocatic relations in all
the leading courts of the world, Mon
signor della Chiesa was under secretary
Of state to Cardinal Rampolla. He alsc
had held diplomatic posts at Paris and
elsewhere.
The revival Of this policy, Rome be
lieves again is presaged in the eleva
tion to the sacred college of four vet
eran diplomats. 1t is confidently ex
pected that this entire pontificate will
be marked by this policy.