HOME WEB NEWS IMAGES CLASSIFIEDS YELLOW PAGESPOLLS - SURVEYS WIKI COUNTRIES PHOTOS US UK INDIA
Cities Stocks Weather Movies Coupons Travel Blogs Health Horoscope Maps ASIA EUROPE Classifieds Yellow Pages
|
The College of Cardinals is the body of all Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. The College plays two roles in the church:
Historically, they were also the clergy of the city of Rome serving the Pope as the Bishop of Rome and were assigned duties in parishes of the city. The College has no ruling power except during the sede vacante period, where its powers are still extremely limited according to the Apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis.
The council has its origins in the events surrounding the crowning of Henry IV as King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor at the age of six, after the unexpected death of Henry III in 1056. Up until this point secular authorities had significant influence over who was to be appointed Pope, and the Holy Roman Emperor in particular had the special ability to appoint him. This was significant as the aims and views of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Roman Catholic Church did not always coincide. Members of what was to become known as the Gregorian Reform took advantage of the new King and his lack of power, and in 1059 declared that the election of the Pope was an affair only for the Church. This was part of a larger power struggle, named the Investiture Controversy, as the Church attempted to gain more control over their clergy, and in doing so gain more influence in the lands and governments they were appointed to. Theological implications aside, its creation represented a significant shift in the balance of power in the Early Medieval world.
The Dean of the College of Cardinals and the Sub-Dean are the president and vice-president of the college. Both are elected by the cardinals holding suburbicarian dioceses, but the election requires Papal confirmation. Except for presiding, the Dean has no power of governance over the cardinals, instead acting as primus inter pares.
The Secretary of State, the prefects of the Congregations of the Roman Curia, the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, the Vicar General of Rome, and the Patriarchs of Venice and Lisbon, are usually Cardinals, with few, generally temporary, exceptions.
Contents |
| 2005 | 17.09 |
|---|---|
| Oct. 1978 | 22.50 |
| Aug. 1978 | 22.80 |
| 1963 | 35.36 |
| 1958 | 35.80 |
| 1939 | 54.80 |
| 1922 | 51.60 |
| 1914 | 50.76 |
| 1903 | 56.25 |
Since January 1, 1971, cardinals over the age of 80 have not had a vote in papal elections, under the terms of Pope Paul VI\'s \'motu proprio\' Ingravescentem Aetatem.
The rules for the election of the Roman Pontiff are stated in Universi Dominici Gregis, published by Pope John Paul II on 22 February 1996. It states that cardinals over the age of 80 on the day the see becomes vacant do not have a vote in the Papal election.
Although the rules of the Conclave explicitly say the Pope need not be chosen from among the ranks of the Cardinals (in theory any unmarried Catholic male may be elected Pope), this has been the consistent practice since the election of Pope Urban VI in 1378.
The following is the list of all 181 Cardinals as of September 19, 2007. Cardinals are shown in order of precedence, based on seniority by date of appointment. Stephen Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan is considered the most senior member of the College by length of service, as he was listed first of those surviving from the 1969 consistory. However, Angelo Cardinal Sodano, as dean of the College of Cardinals, has the highest precedence as a Cardinal Bishop.
Cardinals aged over 80 are indicated with an asterisk (*). Friedrich Wetter, Archbishop Emeritus of München und Freising, Germany, will be the next to lose his right to participate in the conclave on 20 February 2008. The oldest living cardinal is currently Paul Augustin Mayer.
All but thirteen of the Cardinals alive at the death of Pope John Paul II were appointed by him. Three of those thirteen were under 80 years old as of the day of John Paul II\'s death. One of those three (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) has since been elected Pope as Benedict XVI, another one (Jaime Cardinal Sin) did not attend the resulting conclave for health reasons and died shortly afterwards, and the third, William Wakefield Baum, turned 80 on November 21, 2006. There are now a total of 199 cardinals of whom 120 are aged under 80.
There are three ranks of Cardinals: Cardinal Bishops, Cardinal Priests, and Cardinal Deacons. Almost all Cardinals are also bishops.
Titular Bishops of seven suburbicarian sees
Patriarchs of Oriental Rites
Consistory of 2 February 1983
Consistory of 26 November 1994
Consistory of 21 February 1998
Consistory of 21 February 2001
Consistory of 21 October 2003In 2003 Pope John Paul II announced he was also creating one cardinal secretly (in pectore), which would have taken effect if the appointment had been announced before the Pope\'s death. There was press speculation that it was his senior personal secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz or else resided in the mainland of the People\'s Republic of China. However, on April 6 2005 it was revealed by the Vatican spokesman that Pope John Paul II had not announced the name of this cardinal before witnesses prior to his death and that the appointment was therefore null.
Consistory of 24 November 2007
Cardinal Deacons have the right to become Cardinal Priests after ten years as Cardinal Deacons, with the rare exception of Cardinals who are not Bishops. All living former Cardinal Deacons created prior to 2001 have exercised this right.
Consistory of 21 February 2001
Consistory of 21 October 2003
Consistory of 24 November 2007
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia
