§ 1. The name of Cardinals is recent, but the institution most ancient. For they are the principal senate of the Supreme Pontiff; they are governors, counselors, and assessors. They are so called because the affairs of the Church turn upon them as upon hinges, and because they are prelates and leaders of religion. Thus Chalcondyles, book 6, where he treats of Bessarion and Isidore being elected Cardinals at the Council of Florence. He errs, however, when he relates that thirty were elected.
Sylvester, in the Roman Council, names a Cardinal presbyter and Cardinal deacon, Cause 2, question 7, chapter 5:
A prelate will not be condemned except with witnesses; nor will the Supreme Prelate be judged by anyone, because it is written, “The disciple is not above the master.” But a Cardinal presbyter will not be condemned except with forty-four witnesses; and a Cardinal deacon of the city of Rome will not be condemned except with twenty-seven witnesses.
From this we gather that other Churches also had Cardinals, and that the Cardinals of the city of Rome were far below Bishops; for they are condemned by twenty-seven witnesses, while Bishops are condemned only by seventy-two, which is also repeated in chapter 3. Volaterranus, in the Anthropology, thinks that under Benedict IX they began to be so named in the year 1031. But already in 950, under Louis IV and Otto the Great, this name was in common use. Afterward, as the multitude of affairs increased and the civil dominion of the Roman Church in Italy, Sicily, and other places was strengthened, their authority, dignity, and wealth increased. Chalcondyles therefore rightly says that the Pontiff gives them sufficient revenues by assigning regions from which some receive more and others less.
§ 2. By command of the Council of Basel, Cardinals are elected by scrutiny. These are the words of Session 23:
Let the election of Cardinals not be made by whispered votes alone; rather, only those may be assumed concerning whom, after a true scrutiny has been conducted and published, it is established that the greater part of the Cardinals have collegially consented by the subscription of their own hand. Apostolic letters shall also be drawn up thereupon with the subscription of the Cardinals, while the decree of this sacred Council solemnly published in the fourth session, which begins “Likewise, since the multiplication of Cardinals,” and so forth, is to remain inviolate in its force. When the Cardinals receive the insignia of their dignity, whose signification is that they should not fear to shed their own blood, if need be, for the good of the universal Church, they shall swear in public consistory—if they are in the Curia; but if absent, publicly in the hands of a Bishop to whom it has been committed by Apostolic letters in which the form of the oath is inserted—in this manner: “I, N., recently assumed as a Cardinal of the holy Roman Church—
—from this hour forward will be faithful to blessed Peter, to the universal and Roman Church, and to the Supreme Pontiff and his successors entering canonically. I will labor faithfully for the defense of the Catholic faith, the extirpation of heresies, errors, and schisms, the reformation of morals, and peace among the Christian people. I will not consent to alienations of the possessions and goods of the Roman Church or other churches, or of any benefices, except in cases permitted by law; and I will labor according to my ability to recover things alienated from the Roman Church. I will advise nothing to the Supreme Pontiff, nor subscribe my name, except according to God and my conscience. I will faithfully execute the things committed to me by the Apostolic See. I will preserve divine worship in the Church of my title and its goods. So help me God.”
Today too they are sometimes elected in this manner; but when they are nominated at the Pontiff’s discretion, the consent of the other Cardinals is added. Prudence and sincerity in appointing good Cardinals is one of the Pope’s chief virtues. For the purpose of so great a dignity is not that they shine in purple, but that they be prepared to shed their blood for the faith and religion. Thus the Church wished the insignia to be signs of honor in such a way that they also contain an admonition of duty. The purple robe and red hat are a royal color, but also the color of martyrs; for the Church uses that color on the solemnities of martyrs.
§ 3. There is no fixed number of Cardinals. If they are suitable, it is most desirable and best that there be very many. The statement by the glossator that there were 236 in the time of Pontian, in the year of the Lord 234, is not so foreign to truth as some think; for even if the name was lacking, the council of the Roman clergy was nevertheless great and numerous. The Council of Basel prescribes a moderate number, Session 23:
Since the Cardinals of the holy Roman Church assist the Supreme Pontiff collaterally in directing the Christian state, it is necessary that such men be appointed as may be, in fact as in name, hinges upon which the doors of the universal Church turn and are sustained. The holy Synod therefore decrees that henceforth their number be so moderated that it neither be burdensome to the Church—which now, because of the wickedness of the times, is afflicted by many grave disadvantages—nor become cheap through a superfluous multitude. They shall be assumed from all regions of Christendom, insofar as this can conveniently be done, so that knowledge of matters arising in the Church may be obtained more easily and deliberation concerning them may be more mature; yet in such a way that those now existing and those to be assumed do not exceed the number twenty-four. From one nation there shall not be more than a third part in relation to the Cardinals existing at the time, nor more than one native of a single city and diocese; and no one may be appointed from a nation which now has more than a third part until it is reduced to its third part. Let them be men excelling in learning, morals, and experience of affairs, not younger than thirty years, masters, doctors, or licentiates, after rigorous examination in divine or human law. Let at least a third or fourth part be masters or licentiates in sacred Scripture. Among these twenty-four there may be a very few sons, brothers, or nephews of Kings or great Princes, in whom competent learning, together with circumspection and maturity of morals, shall suffice.
Some judged that seventy-two should be appointed, because this was the number of the elders among the Jews and of the Lord’s disciples. Sixtus V decreed that there should not be more than seventy, and that among them at least four doctors of theology should be assumed from the mendicant orders. If you ask what I advise, I shall say it openly. If they are many, costly, and little industrious, they are a great burden, weigh down the Church, and offend the weak. If they are many and are moderate, laborious, and prudent, there can be no multitude so great that a greater would not be better. For the safety of the state is a multitude of wise men; the safety of the Church too is dignity joined with virtue. For where those two are joined, authority is greatest and its use best.
§ 4. It must be no less a concern that the Cardinals be of diverse nations than that they be many and approved. Thus Bessarion and Isidore were prudently admitted at the Council of Florence to preserve the union of the Greeks. For not only are there many advantages in this, but it appears almost a necessity.
First, lest national partialities be perceived in the consistory and judgment of the Church, which is the holiest of all; lest any nation think itself despised; and lest it complain that it lacks a patron before the Apostolic See. Second, because dealings must be conducted with the princes, states, and kings of all peoples, it is advantageous in this matter to have in the council the leading men of all peoples, through whom affairs may be transacted. Third, this is also necessary for knowing the causes and condition of all peoples. No greater errors are committed in government than through ignorance of the state, but it does not ordinarily happen easily that foreigners have thoroughly perceived everything which pertains to instructing, conciliating, and governing other peoples.
How many Italians judge the Bishops of Germany equal to themselves in external government and compare fir trees with tamarisks? How many imagine that Germany is a great city? A certain German of no mean standing used to ask whether Caesar too possessed many villages.
It is probable that so foul an ignorance of history and peoples cannot exist in so great a dignity; yet other things of no less importance are unknown, such as particular laws, rivalries of princes, disposition, manner of acting, and customs. In these matters not only do leading men of diverse peoples go astray, but Apostolic Legates too, when they are of another nation, sometimes stumble and, as if ignorant of the matters for which they are sent, lose their authority. Cardinals, therefore, ought to be diverse according to the diversity of nations, and the most select men from every people, many also distinguished in nobility and station, not only in holiness and learning. For through them affairs of the greatest moment are frequently accomplished: treaties of kings, peace, and the tranquility of the state are obtained.
§ 5. The Council of Basel taught what sort of men Cardinals ought to be, Session 23, decree 2:
Let them be men excelling in learning, morals, and experience of affairs, not younger than thirty years, masters, doctors, or licentiates, after rigorous examination in divine or human law. Let at least a third or fourth part be masters or licentiates in sacred Scripture. Among these twenty-four there may be a very few sons, brothers, or nephews of Kings or great Princes, in whom competent learning, together with circumspection and maturity of morals, shall suffice. Let no nephews through the brother or sister of the Roman Pontiff or of any living Cardinal be made Cardinals; nor men born illegitimately, blemished in body, or stained with the mark of any crime or infamy. To the aforesaid number twenty-four there may be added, for a great necessity or utility of the Church, two others in whom holiness of life or extraordinary virtues shine, although they do not possess the aforesaid degrees; and when the Greeks have been united with the Roman Church, certain distinguished men from among the Greeks may be added. Let the election of Cardinals—
—not be made by whispered votes alone; rather, only those may be assumed concerning whom, after a true scrutiny has been conducted and published, it is established that the greater part of the Cardinals have collegially consented by the subscription of their own hand. Apostolic letters concerning the Cardinals shall also be drawn up thereupon with their collegial subscription, while the decree of this sacred Council solemnly published in the fourth session, which begins “Likewise, since the multiplication of Cardinals,” is to remain inviolate in its force.
Without doubt the Pontiff may arrange these things otherwise, after taking account of time, place, and necessity; but whether it is expedient to do so must be weighed diligently. This surely must be maintained: no one is ever to be chosen as Cardinal so that the man elected may himself be raised to honors, wealth, and power, but for the sake of the public good, so that the utility and necessity of the Church may be provided for.
But the Lateran Council, Session 9—Book 7 of the Decretals, book 1, title 4—fixed excellent laws for the Cardinals:
Since the Cardinals of the holy Roman Church precede all others in that Church after the Supreme Pontiff in honor and dignity, it is fitting and due that they excel everyone in purity of life and splendor of virtues. Therefore we not only exhort and admonish them, but also decree and ordain that henceforth every Cardinal existing at the time, according to the teaching of the Apostle, should live soberly, chastely, and piously, so that, abstaining not only from evil but also from every appearance of evil, he may shine before men and honor God chiefly by his works. Let them all be vigilant and intent upon divine offices and the celebration of Masses, and let them have their chapels in an honorable place, as they have been accustomed to do.
Let their house, household, table, and furnishings be neither ostentatious nor pompous, nor filled with superfluous things, nor reprehensible in any manner, lest license for sinning and exceeding proper limits arise from them; rather, as is right, let them deserve to be called a mirror of moderation and frugality. Therefore let them be content with those things which display priestly moderation. Let them treat prelates and all other distinguished men coming to the Roman Curia kindly and honorably, both publicly and privately; and before us and our successors let them graciously and liberally undertake the affairs entrusted to them.
Moreover, let them not have Bishops and Prelates in dishonorable service in their households, lest those who have been appointed to preside over others and distinguished by a sacred character descend into base services and everywhere introduce contempt for the pastoral office. Therefore let them treat honorably, as brothers and in accordance with the fittingness of their station, those whom they now have or will have in the future.
Since they assist the Roman Pontiff, the common father of all Christ’s faithful, it is exceedingly unfitting that they should become respecters of persons or their advocates. We therefore decree that they should assume no partiality and should not become promoters or defenders of princes, communities, or any others against anyone, except insofar as justice and equity demand and their dignity and condition require. Rather, separated from every private passion, let them devote and apply themselves with all diligence to calming and composing disputes among any persons whatsoever. Let them promote with pious affection the just affairs of princes and all others, and especially of the poor and religious, and assist the oppressed and those unjustly burdened according to their strength and the duty of their office.
If they are present in the Curia, let them visit personally the places of their title at least once every year; but if absent, through a suitable Vicar. Let them diligently inquire into the clergy and peoples of the churches subject to their title, and be watchful concerning divine worship and the goods of those Churches; above all, let them carefully examine the morals and life of the clergy and parishioners, and admonish them all and each with paternal affection to live rightly and honorably.
For the increase of divine worship and the salvation of his soul, let every Cardinal either give during his life or leave at the point of death to his title enough to support one presbyter there suitably; or, if the Church needs repair or other assistance, let him leave or give to it as much as shall seem right to his conscience.
And although it is by no means fitting to neglect relatives and kindred, especially those who have deserved well and need assistance, but is just and praiseworthy to provide for them, nevertheless we do not therefore judge it fitting to fill them with such a multitude of benefices or ecclesiastical revenues that others suffer loss from the immoderation of such liberality and scandal arises from it. We therefore decree that they should not rashly pour out the goods of the Churches, but expend them upon those pious and holy works for whose sake great and excellent revenues were established and ordained by the holy Fathers.
We also will that they should procure and provide by every exertion that the same Churches entrusted to the Cardinals be duly served, even if they are Cathedrals or Abbatial Churches, Priories, or any other ecclesiastical benefices whatsoever, without any excuse at all. Let them appoint to Cathedrals worthy and suitable Vicars or suffragans, according to custom, with worthy and competent compensation; and provide the other Churches or monasteries entrusted to them with the appointed service of clerics, chaplains, religious, or monks serving God sufficiently and laudably. Let them also preserve the buildings, possessions, and all rights in a suitable condition and restore those which have fallen into ruin, as pertains to the office of good prelates and commendatory holders.
§ 6. Just as Canons elect a Bishop from their own body, so Cardinals elect the Pontiff; and this is their first and most excellent office. For they elect and are elected, and this frequently, because only Cardinals of advanced age are chosen as pastors of the Church and therefore cannot preside for long; for the Church has seen few young men in that See.
Concerning the manner of election, conclaves, and other circumstances, the Council of Lyons under Gregory X gave laws, in the constitution In Nomine; likewise throughout Distinction 70 and Distinction 79, chapter 1.
The oath to be administered to them is proposed in this form by the Council of Basel, Session 23:
On the following day, all the Cardinals, in the presence of those who are in the conclave, after hearing the Mass of the Holy Spirit, shall receive the sacred Eucharist. Before they begin the scrutiny, with the holy Gospels placed before them, they shall swear according to this form: “I, N., such-and-such a Cardinal, swear and promise to Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, to elect as Pontiff the man whom I believe useful to the universal Church in spiritual and temporal matters and suitable for so great a dignity; and not to give my vote to one whom I shall probably know to have procured election for himself, directly or indirectly, by a promise or gift of any temporal thing, or by a petition interposed through himself or another, or in any other manner whatsoever. Nor shall I render obedience to the man elected Pontiff before he swears according to the form of the decree of the sacred Council of Basel. So help me God, to whom on the day of the dread judgment I am to render an account of this and all my works.”
After these things each of them shall deliver a ballot on which he names no more than three; among them, if he names more than one, let one be outside the College of Cardinals. Only one scrutiny shall be held in a single day, and immediately after Mass. After the ballots have been read, unless the votes of two parts concur upon one man, they shall immediately be burned. Before six complete scrutinies, however, an accession may not be made to anyone.
At that time let the Cardinals reflect and consider with attentive mind how much merit or demerit they will acquire for themselves, and how much fruit or harm, good or evil, they will bring upon the Christian people by electing the Pontiff. Certainly in no other matter can they obtain more of the grace or wrath of our Lord Jesus Christ than when the matter concerns placing his Vicar over his sheep, whom he so loved that he deigned both to die for them and to suffer the torment of the cross.
§ 7. When the Pontiff has died there is an interregnum, and the Cardinals administer all things. We readily gather from a letter of Saint Cyprian that this power belonged to the Roman clergy. For in letter 29: “Both common affection and reason demand, dearest brothers, that I withhold nothing from your knowledge concerning the things which are done among us.” And: “But if their rashness, not restrained by either my letters or yours, does not obey wholesome counsels, we shall act,” and so forth. Yet their power is less than that of the Pontiff; for although they are the primary clergy of the Christian Church, they are not themselves the head of the Church, but can elect the head of the Church.
Once the Pontiff has been appointed, they are his counselors and Legates. Some are called Legates by birth because the right of legation is annexed to their dignity. Thus formerly the Bishop of Oxford in England, and now the Archbishop of Salzburg, is called a Legate by birth. Others are called Legates de latere, who are generally Cardinals sent to govern provinces. Those sent to kings and princes are either called Legates de latere, or Legates with the power of a Legate de latere, or simply Legates. In all of them the greatest prudence, moderation, and becoming frugality of household are required.
The distinction of Cardinals according to which some are called deacons, others presbyters, and some Bishops was instituted by reason of their titles; for even a Bishop, if he has a title which belongs to a Cardinal deacon, is called a Cardinal deacon.
§ 8. The things decreed concerning Cardinals in Book Seven of the Decretals, book 1, title 4, sufficiently explain their condition. Leo X provided there for their immunity, chapter 2. For he entirely abolished the custom by which the people plundered the house of a Cardinal whom they had heard would become Pontiff.
Pius V, from the decree of Boniface IX, pronounces guilty of treason the man who by himself or through another has injured a Cardinal. Thus chapter 3:
Pitying the perils of an unhappy age, we cannot restrain our grief that wicked men, thirsting for the blood of the just, assail with more hostile intent the destruction even of those whom the Holy Spirit has appointed as principal members of the Church of God, which he acquired for himself by his blood. With great reason, therefore, among others, Pope Boniface VIII of happy memory, by the counsel of his brethren, sanctioned by a perpetual constitution that if anyone should pursue with hostility, strike, or capture a Cardinal of the holy Roman Church; command it to be done; be an associate of the perpetrator; ratify the deed; or give counsel or favor; or knowingly receive or defend that man, he should, as guilty of injured Majesty, be perpetually infamous, and moreover outlawed, banished, and incapable of giving testimony. All his buildings shall be subject to perpetual ruin; no one shall be bound to pay debts to him or answer him in court, all his goods being assigned to the treasury or the state. He shall likewise by the law itself be deprived of fiefs, benefices, and spiritual and temporal offices; and the pursuer himself shall incur the sentence of excommunication, which the Roman Pontiff alone, except at the point of death, may relax.
Yet not even this constitution is found altogether sufficient to prevent such sacrileges any further, because of the hidden designs of the confederates in crime. For those who propose to inflict violence upon someone contrive it secretly and in concealment, as much as possible, as is indicated by that impious crime recently attempted against the person of our beloved son Charles Borromeo, Cardinal presbyter of the title of Saint Praxedes, who zealously forms the Church of Milan by most holy institutions. This event gravely moves and vehemently rouses us to seek every means by which the most noble parts of our body may be protected on every side. For whom shall we defend, to whom shall we bring aid, whom finally shall we protect, if we leave unavenged the foundations of the temple of God, the brightest lights of the Church, and the special sons who keep watch for the souls of the peoples, for the faith, for justice, and for unity?
Therefore, adding to the aforesaid sanction by the like counsel of our brethren, we decree that whoever—even if altogether removed from mere counsel, simple favor, or all the other things aforesaid—has learned of any author, agent, or accomplice in a conspiracy, or in a crime committed or to be committed against the person of a Cardinal, or of their supporters, receivers, or concealers, whether through a report made to him directly, through an intermediary, or by letters, or whether from writings, an assembly, an attempt, a gathering, ambushes, or other signs and indications he has obtained any knowledge whatever, or even formed a conjecture, or has understood any of these things, however otherwise hidden the matter may be, shall hasten to reveal it as soon as possible to the Roman Pontiff if he is in the Curia; otherwise to the Ordinary of the place, or, if the Cardinal himself is the Ordinary, to the nearest Bishop; and if the crime has not yet been committed, also to the Cardinal himself.
Whoever fails to do so, even if he is not a subject and is altogether a stranger, of whatever dignity he may be, shall be bound by the aforesaid chain of excommunication and shall likewise, as guilty of Majesty, incur infamy and all the aforesaid penalties by that very fact. Nevertheless, the same constitution shall endure in its force as regards its remaining parts, together with all other canonical and civil sanctions issued for the coercion of such men. Moreover, if anyone returns to soundness and discloses the matter while it is still unknown, he shall be entirely freed from every penalty.
The local Ordinaries, however, shall secretly report the case brought to them to the aforesaid Pontiff at the first opportunity, and meanwhile investigate the entire matter through these persons; and, if necessity then requires it, they shall also employ the secular arm. Given at Rome, on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of January, 1569.
It is not without reason that the charge of injured Majesty is imposed, since Cardinals are princes of the Church, judges, counselors, and governors in the parts entrusted to them, and must offend many if they wish to perform their office. But because they possess small armed forces with which to defend themselves, their security must be provided for in every manner. Meanwhile they too must live in such a way that they do not voluntarily summon occasions for their own dangers. They will attain this especially by moderation and frugality. For those who proceed with expense and magnificence procure many envious men and many enemies for themselves, while God vindicates the rash prodigality of sacred wealth, so that while they seek princely splendor they are harried by hatreds and dangers. A Cardinal has rarely benefited the Church unless he was moderate and frugal; excessive wealth has more often harmed it. Therefore honorable and moderate expenses are more rightly distributed among many than immoderate expenses upon one.
If you desire more concerning Cardinals, see Barbatius in the treatise On the Excellence of Cardinals; Jerome Manfredi in the treatise On the Cardinalate, chapter 1; Álvaro Pelayo, book 2 of The Lament of the Church, article 26; Waldensis, book 2 of The Doctrinal of Faith, article 3, chapter 54; John of Torquemada, book 1 On the Church, chapters 81–84; Domingo de Soto, book 4 of the Sentences, distinction 24, question 2, article 4; Martin of Laon On Cardinals; Domenico Giacobazzi, book 1 On Councils, article 12; Jerome the Abbot, book On Cardinals; Onuphrius, Volaterranus, and others.
By their morals, vigilance, and moderation the Church can be stabilized and the orders of the clergy reformed, if they lead by word and example.