The Vatican as a World Power/Chapter 14

by Joseph Bernhart

CURIA

As a rule the word "hierarchy" is taken to mean: power in sacred or religious matters. In this sense one implies the existence of a religious power, regarded as objectively sacred, which is given to the priests of every religion- and which distinguishes them from other men. The inner form of the Catholic Church has from the beginning been the religion of Jesus Christ, whose activity as a Priest, a Teacher and a Shepherd (or Ruler) she is to continue for the helping of all peoples in all times. In accordance with this formative principle, the Church is both a mystical communion as well as a society and an institution. Her origin, her nature and her mission make her a reality both invisible and visible, which is summoned to give the norms and the energies of a world of being that transcends history their places in the realm of the historical. In carrying out these three offices, in administering the Sacraments, in preserving and preaching doctrinal truth, in govern- ing and guiding the Kingdom founded by the Messiah King and destined to take on form inside concrete history, it is necessarily in ac- cordance with this three-fold activity impelled to adopt a constitution and to create an organization comparable to that of a state administra- tion, officials, discipline, etc. The religious, mystical inner reality of the Church is the basis on which its social and institutional side is established, and also the meaning and justification for all that happens as a result.

As a consequence one must distinguish between what is hierarchical according to divine law and what is hierarchical according to the law of the Church. There is an ordained power (hierarchia ordinis) which has passed from Christ to His Apostles, and from them to their successors. The priesthood is the bearer of this power, being or- ganized in the three grades of ordination that constitute the clergy (in contrast with the laity) , namely the episcopacy, the presbytery, (the bearers of which are ordained priests) and the deaconate (on which preparatory Orders have been conferred) . On the other hand there is a hierarchy of governing power (hierarchia jurisdictionis^) , the task of which is to direct the Church as a social institution. This also is arranged in grades, the two highest of which i. e., the primacy

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(the Papacy) and the episcopacy (the office of bishop) are divinely established and therewith also of divine right. Other steps in the governing hierarchy have been added during the course of historical development, at the bidding of the hierarchical power of the Church. Their incumbents do not have to be bearers of the power of ordination also, for the reason that a hierarchy of ordination and a hierarchy of government are two really distinct functions. Even of the Papacy it may be said that every orthodox Catholic Christian who has attained the use of reason, who is not unable to receive ordination to the priest- hood, and who is not guilty of simony, can be elected Pope.

The original hierarchical structure has grown with the Church it- self. It is a moot question when and where the hieratic principle of the superiority of the bishop to the presbyteri, the elders of the congregation, was first put into effect. Though this change from an oligarchical to a monarchical administration of the community was radical, there is absolutely no reason for believing that it was brought about suddenly or even through the use of force. The charisma of the layman in the state of grace was regarded as still too nearly on a par with ordination to the priesthood to make it possible to assume that the later sharp distinction between clergy and laity had already then been possible. Certainly the first Christian century did not know any such separation. But already in the third century the raised throne of the bishop, the cathedra, symbolized his increased power; and this power was no longer associated with the revered personality of the leader, but with his office. The bishop was the appointed guardian of his flock, and he termed his messages "pastoral letters." The area over which a bishop's authority extended was still not much larger than that of a big parish, and many bishops were needed. Meetings between these bishops (synods) and the establishment of higher ranks (metropolitan bishops, and in Europe after the sixth century, archbishops) were fruits of necessity. All further additions to die structure were in- evitable: entrusting of supreme authority to the Papacy and the Patriarchates of the East, and the passing on of the pastoral authority to the lower ranks from the bishop to a first group of assistants and then to a second, to pastors (whom the historian meets for the first rime in Gaul of the Carolingian period) and their assistants, who are termed vicars, chaplains, co-operators, assistants, in accordance with

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their duties and the practice of varying countries. This well-arranged ordering of the dignities and powers of the priesthood, which goes back in a straight line of mystical heritage to the powers conferred upon the Apostles by the Founder of the Church, was not subsequently altered in any essential respect. It is too closely associated with the heart of the Church to make possible any marked innovations.

Matters are different, however, with die hierarchy based on Church Law. The bureaucracy of the Roman Curia is a carefully organized administrative body to which is entrusted the external progress of the Church in the world. Its tasks are never finished, since it must reckon with the flux and change of men, objectives and circumstances, so like what every other state officialdom must confront. Not so long ago (1908) Pius X remodelled the Curial structure with a firm hand. Benedict XV also made important changes; and still further clarifica- tions of competencies would seem to be necessary. But Rome is never in a hurry. It may be that the Curia of the relatively distant future will differ from that of today in no important respect.

Curia Romana signifies the totality of those officials resident in Rome whom the Pope uses in exercising his spiritual and temporal rights to sovereignty. The term therefore includes positions of purely local significance, such as, for example, the vicariates which the Pope, as Bishop of Rome, must represent, or the papal post-office and police authorities. But in speaking of the Curia as the instrument of Papal world authority one refers only to those offices which affect the govern- ment of the Church as a whole: the College of Cardinals, the Congre- gations, the Papal Tribunals, and the Papal Offices. Members of these may be cardinals, prelates or officials without prelatical rank. The large number of lawyers, procurators, agents and notaries who are admitted as representatives of those who have business to transact, and the numerous lower officials are summarized under the name of the Cttriales. This group is comprised of lower clergy and laymen. The fact that laymen are admitted to subordinate positions is less surpris- ing than is the fact that not even important offices (e. g. the highest rank of the cardinalcy) are reserved exclusively to the priesthood. The simple deaconate would theoretically suffice in many instances. Car- dinals Consalvi and Antonelli are examples. The members of the Curia ate not primarily pastors, as the bishop and his assistants are,

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but rather administrators o law and order. They are not essentially priests; they are theologians, jurists and diplomats.

The cardinals figure in very early Church history as counsellors of the Popes. Thus a Roman Council convened by Pope Stephen III in 769 spoke of cardinal-bishops. These were the heads of the neigh- bouring dioceses of Rome, the "suburban" bishoprics. Their duty consisted in alternately spending a week with the Pope in the Lateran as aids not in his work as Bishop of Rome, but in those tasks he con- fronted as the highest sovereign of the Church. At bottom theirs was the obligation to function as a college of counsellors, which the cardinalcy has juridically remained even in times when its powers became more extensive. Today there are ten times as many men, of different nations, in the College of Cardinals as there were in the eighth century; and yet those helpful neighbours of yore still retain the first places. They are the Cardinal-Bishops of Ostia and Velletri, Porto and San Rufino, Sabina, Albano, Palestrina and Frascati. The titular Cardinal of Ostia has had since St. Augustine's time the right to consecrate the Pope a bishop in case he should not be one when elected. Today these cardinal-bishops no longer reside in their own dioceses but live in Rome and like all Roman cardinals are not allowed to leave the city without Papal permission.

The second rank of cardinals originated in a similar way, Rome was of old divided into districts, one might almost say parishes, which were called rides (titulf) . Every supreme head of one of these Roman titular churches was a cardinal-priest, and that is still true today. The relationship has, however, been reversed. Formerly the priest who was appointed to such a Church received at the same time the dignity of cardinal-priest. Today a newly named cardinal is given his titular Church, with which only a very few rights and duties associate him. The third rank of cardinals is derived from the deacons who in the days of early Christianity were entrusted with charitable institutions. These cardinal-deacons are now as little associated with the chapels to which their rank goes back as are the cardinal-priests with theirs. Even today the law does not stipulate that they be ordained priests; and they may, when they are not, nevertheless be admitted to the high- est offices of the Church and to candidacy to the Papal throne* just as other members of the Sacred College arc. Of course in our rimes it

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is not conceivable that the purple would actually be conferred upon someone not a priest. The office which the simonists once found a most lucrative source of income has long since once more become a serious office imposing the gravest responsibilities; and to it only worthy, proved servants of the Church who have shown their mettle in other difficult missions can attain. The Council of Trent ordered that only the most carefully selected men could be chosen, and this selection is now based also on conduct about reproach. Tales of loose conduct which writers in these very rimes would have one believe, arc slanders. Today the Roman wheat is carefully fanned. Every susceptibility to attack is scrupulously reckoned with in advance. Even the possibility of family control is eliminated by the Tridentine requirement that no near relative of a living cardinal can receive the purple. There is no definite age limitation, but it is obvious that the degree of achievement and experience demanded cannot be attained in youth*

The number of cardinals has varied considerably. Shortly after 1 100 there were more than fifty, and then the number declined until at times it was seven and eight. In Avignon there were twenty car- dinals on the average; and the Councils of Constance and Basel de- creed that there should be "not more than twenty-four." But in 1517, Leo X appointed thirty-one at one time. For some years previous mercenary members of the College had stubbornly fought against in- creasing the number, since income and power would then be distrib- uted among too many hands and heads. But the Pope needed crea- tures of his own to offset the older cardinals a circumstance which lent a certain justification to the nepotism he practiced. As the number rose, the power of each cardinal decreased, and it is possible that the crafty Sixtus V ordained that there should be as many as seventy cardinalcies for other reasons than his expressed wish to imi- tate the mosaic Council of Elders, which comprised seventy old men. This is still the number today: there are six cardinal-bishops, fifty cardinal-priests, and fourteen cardinal-deacons. Nevertheless not all of these are actually appointed, since some positions in the second and third rank are kept open so that worthy and desirable men need not wait until death decides to place seats at their disposal* Rising from one rank to another proceeds on the basis of election.

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The College of Cardinals, which developed out of the local Roman clergy and has always unwillingly made concessions to foreign coun- tries (the decisive step from a national Roman to a universalistic mem- bership was taken in the eleventh century by the German Pope, Leo IX), still chooses half its membership from Italy. Nevertheless the number of foreign cardinals is growing and the "Senate of the Roman Pontifex" is gradually approximating what it ought to be a group representative of the world-wide Church. Little would be gained if the cardinal's hat were conferred on bishops of other countries who on account of their duties at home could not participate in the central administration of the Church; for though they would be duly appointed members of the Curia, they would not know what was going on. The obligation to keep silence which rests upon the cardi- nals of the Curia is so strict that in part it also expressly applies to conversations with members of the same Congregation resident out- side Rome. If, then, the prominent bishoprics of many countries arc customarily honoured by the bestowal of the cardinal's dignity on their archbishops as is the case in the United States this is a gesture of regard for the country, and entails no obligations. It does not clear the road to direct influence in Roman Church government. Today there is a single German cardinal in the Curia. More than three- fourths of the cardinals in that organization are Italians.

Formerly the full assembly of cardinals, the Consistory over which the Pope himself presides, was the real advisory body. Since the work has been divided among the Congregations and Offices, the Con- sistory has become only a ceremonious assembly serving such solemn purposes as the appointment of cardinals and bishops or the canoniza- tion of a saint. It seldom meets more than twice a year.

On the day previous, the senior Cursor Apostolicus, messenger of the Vatican, calls on the Pope, kneels, and says "Good health and a long life, Holy Father! Will there be a Consistory tomorrow?" The Pope replies, "There will be a Consistory," and names the hour. Then the cursores bring the news to the cardinals. Those invited appear in the hall of the Secret Consistory dressed in the scarlet-red robes of their rank. The Pope is seated under a red canopy, on a red damask chair placed on a dais. When he comes in with his reti- nue, the master of ceremonies calls out, "Extra omnes!" (Everybody

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out!) The Pope and the cardinals alone remain, for only crowned heads and princes of royal blood (who alone have the same rank) are permitted to attend the Secret Consistory. The Pope prefaces his remarks by reminding all of their pledge to secrecy. But this "allo- cution" is nevertheless usually intended for the press and may discuss a question of timely interest in a significant and thorough manner or may even contain solemn declarations by the Pope on important mat- ters of Church policy. Thereupon the Pope proclaims the names of those whom he has decided to raise to the honour of the Purple. The question is then asked: "Quid vobis videtur?" (What is your opin- ion?) The Cardinals rise silently, take off their little red caps, and bow in token of their assent. "By the will of God, the Almighty, of the Apostles Peter and Paul and ourselves we name these cardinals . . ." Sometimes there is an addition: "Another (or two, three etc.,) we keep in our breast (in pectore) and will make manifest as soon as we see fit." These cardinals "in petto" are not yet named there- with, the Pope merely creating for himself not for his successors the obligation to change a reservation in pectore into an appointment. Nevertheless one thus signalled out is immediately paid the annual income of a cardinal (20,000 lira) which if he remains in petto for one or two years affords him the means wherewith to defray the costs of the unusually high expenses attendant upon elevation to the cardi- nalcy. Political circumstances, too, may require such a reservation; for though the choice of the cardinals is the wholly personal privilege of the Pope (in a jest the question is asked, "What is a Cardinal?" and the answer is given, "The Pope's whim") , no Pope would today really act on an impulse. For every Papal government, the answer to the question whether the Church is to prosper and have peace, and whether political prudence has been served, is contingent upon the choice of the right men. Since the older Catholic countries also have the right to suggest their candidates, a choice must sometimes be the fruit of very tedious and laborious negotiations, though to be sure no real force can be brought to bear upon the Pope's decision.

The appointed cardinal receives word of his election some weeks in advance through a letter from the Cardinal Secretary, and awaits the legates of the Curia either in Rome or in his own city. These are two in number: a member of the Guard of Nobles, who conveys the

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news of the elevation and brings a little red cap, and a Papal delegate who brings the red beret which in Catholic countries is presented to the King and is then placed by him on the head of the new prince of the Church in solemn audience. Such a privilege was, for example, conferred on the King of Bavaria shortly before the World War. The monarch bestows Orders on the legates and it is the duty of the new cardinal to give them large sums of money. The member of the Guard of Nobles expects 10,000 lira, the delegate 6000 and his secre- tary 3000 the same sums which they have already received from the Curia for these greatly coveted missions. A cardinal's ring of heavy gold, but without a particularly precious stone, can be purchased from the Curial Commission for 3000 lira. The cardinal's robes are splen- did and beautiful. The red soutane with a long train consists of silk moire in summer and of cloth in the winter. In addition he wears a broad sash of red silk with gold tufts, a white linen and lace surplus, a rochet above which there is a red mozzetu a cape also made of moire or cloth which covers his shoulders and comes down almost to his elbows a collar, stockings and buckle shoes all of red, and a handkerchief of red moire trimmed with gold lace. In Rome a Car- dinal covers his rochet, the sign of his jurisdiction, with a mantelletta, which is a round, sleeveless mantle with two armholes. It reaches to the knees and is also made of red moire or cloth. The little cap and the beret are red and of the same materials; a fur hat to be worn out- side the Church has braid and tufts of red gold. At particularly important ceremonies the mozzetta and the mantelletta are replaced by the cAffd magna, a huge red cloak with a train three metres long, a hood, and a little shoulder piece. In summer this garment is made of moire; in winter it is of cloth, and the shoulder piece is of ermine. A red robe worn on formal journeys is braided with gold and has a neck piece of red velvet. The whole of this raiment must be supplied in duplicate, since the colour required for periods of ecclesiastical mourning, i. e., Advent, Lent, and the period intervening between the death of one Pope and the election of another, is violet with an undertone of red. Here also the material is moire in summer, and cloth in winter. On two Sundays during the year, Guadete and L&tafc Sundays, a rose-coloured ceremonial garb is required. The vestments used at pontifical ceremonies must likewise meet certain

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requirements and are o princely splendour. On the other hand, the cardinal's street attire is simple, consisting of a black soutane with red buttons and cuffs, a little shoulder cape, a sash o red moire, red stock- ings with black or dull red buckle shoes, a black fur hat with a reddish gold cord. With this there goes a broad cape made of red or violet moire. Cardinals who are members of religious Orders wear the same street attire, but their ceremonial robes are much simpler because they always wear cloth and never silk. In addition their vesture conforms to the colour of their religious habit, with the exception of a cardinal red head-cover.

The red hat unusually flat in shape displayed in old pictures is not worn today. This the Pope gives every new cardinal at the Public Consistory which meets three days after the Secret Consistory. A recipient resident outside Rome must appear in the city before a year has gone by to receive this hat. Then this most ancient insignia of rank does not appear again until the cardinal dies. It reposes on his coffin and hangs over his grave. Before the newly created princes of the Church receive this hat, they swear an oath of loyalty in the Six- tine Chapel in the presence of the three deacons of the cardinalate and the Cardinal-Chamberlain. They avow that they will preserve and protect the Roman See and the possessions of St. Peter against all enemies, that they will win back what has been lost, and that they will neither permit nor desire that the cities and territories of the Papal States be secularized or taken away. This oath was taken even when there were no longer any Papal States, for the Church never abandoned its claim to worldly power and possessions.

In the Sala Regia the dignitaries of the Church and a selected group of laymen, including Roman nobility and the diplomatic corps, as- semble about the Pope, who is seated on his throne. The new wearers of the purple appear, fall upon their knees, kiss the Pope's foot and hand, and receive from him and all cardinals the customary two-fold priestly embrace. The Pope places on the head of each a red hat, "in honour of Almighty God and for the embellishment of the Apostolic See" as a sign that they "are to be fearless warriors for the Holy Faith, for the peace and tranquillity of the Christian people, for the growth and preservation of the Roman Church, usque ad san- guinis effusionem inclusive (even to the shedding of blood) ." The

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prevailing red of the cardinals' raiment thus symbolizes his readiness to endure martyrdom,

The Public Consistory then closes. In an adjoining room, the final ceremonies then take place in secret session. They consist of the closing and opening of the mouth, which symbolically obliges the elected prelates to maintain silence in public and to speak in office, the presentation of the ring, and the conferring of the "tide or the dea- conate," which must henceforth accompany the name of the bearer.

A new prince of the Church has been born. Perhaps he had grown up in a poor hovel as a barefoot boy, or perhaps he had been an humble monk in a cloistered cell. Now he is really a prince of the Church; and in so far as outward honours are concerned he takes precedence over all the world's dignitaries. His place is immediately behind the scions of royal blood, and in front of the higher nobility and the min- isters of the state. Formerly the Church demanded of its cardinals the pomp of a princely court, but a general decline in wealth brought with it a similar dwindling of such outward splendour; and since the eco- nomic upheaval that followed the World War, concessions to simplic- ity have been made in succession. The cardinals need no longer be accompanied by train bearers and a nobleman in Spanish costume. Already before the War, Roman cardinals avoided driving in public; and whenever they journeyed outside the gates they drove in thickly curtained, rented vehicles. Only a few still owned their own car- riages and horses. Generally they were accompanied only by a sec- retary and followed by a servant. Now they may go along the street on foot, garbed outwardly in a hat without insignia of their rank and in a black overcoat that covers the meagre red of their street attire*

A cardinal's residence that conforms to etiquette is a somewhat un- usual remnant of former customs. In the servants' antechamber there is a table fashioned like an altar and covered with red. On this there are placed the hats of the servants; and above it the arms of the cardi- nal are suspended under a red canopy. On either side there hangs a red pillow and a red parasol such as were formerly carried in the wake of a cardinal. Then there are a secretariat room and a "biretta" room in which the red biretta lies on a little table in front of a crucifix. Then finally there is a throne room, draped in red damask. Here the chairs are gilded and upholstered in red silk. On the principal wall

ECCLESIASTICAL POSITION OF A CARDINAL 397

there is a red baldachino fringed with gold and under that stands a podium covered with red on which there is an armchair turned (so that no one else can use it) toward a wall on which hangs a picture of the reigning Pope. Here the Pontiff would sit if he were to visit his cardinal. Perhaps we should also mention the reception room (there may be more than one), the library, the study, the dining- room and the bedrooms, the house chapel and the servants' quarters. All in all the household is ample enough for these modest times. A number of the offices of the Cardinals of the Curia are situated in the beautiful old palaces Delia Concellaria, Delia Dataria, and others, in which the offices of the Congregation are likewise housed.

All these prescribed expenditures cannot be def rayed rO.ut of the modest official income, the piatto Cardinalizio (cardinal^ keys) alone. The offices in the Congregations, several of which each cardinal oc- cupies, bring in incomes of varying size, and so some of the "Por- porati" have respectable sums of money at their disposal. But too great affluence in worldly goods is prevented by certain laws govern- ing the distribution of income, and in necessary cases by impressive salary cuts. Every cardinal can make a will as he sees fit.

The ecclesiastical position of the cardinal is naturally a very lofty one. His privileges and his priority are valid everywhere no matter what diocese he may enter, and rank him above all other ecclesiastical dignitaries. Cardinals who travel do not always find it easy to com- bine observance of their rank to which they are in duty bound with friendly regard for the episcopal master of the diocese they visit. The jurisdiction of every bishop who is not a cardinal, as well as his right to his own throne and baldachino, are abrogated in the presence of a cardinal; for every cardinal is a crown prince of the Church, and may be elected the next Pope. The cardinals, creatures of the Pope who has been, are the creators of the Pope who is to be. The Sacred College is permanent: in it there is comprised the continuity of Church history. The whole fullness of the power and significance of the Sacred College is revealed when after the death of a Pope the vacancy is followed by a Conclave.

A Pope dies amidst the prayers of those who surround him. The humble appeal to God's everlasting mercy, and the last moving wish of the Church which begins: "Go forth, Christian soul," accompany

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him across the earthly threshold as they do every sinful mortal who breathes his last within the shelter o the Church. His face is cov- ered with a white veil, and the death room is filled with the sound of the Penitential Psalms and the Office for the Dead. The Chamber- lain remains kneeling for a while on a violet pillow. He recites a silent prayer, during which the servants bare the Pope's face. Then he arises, approaches the bed and strikes the forehead of the dead Pontiff three times with a silver hammer, accompanying each stroke with the baptismal name of the deceased. Then he says to thpse who are present, 'The Pope is in truth dead." While all fall upon their knees, he recites the De Profundis and the Prayer of Absolu- tion, and sprinkles holy water on the corpse. He is given the ring, which is taken from the Pope's finger; later on this is broken, to- gether with the great seal of the Chancellery, during the first general meeting of the cardinals. The Papal authority remains in suspense until the day when the newly elected Pope is crowned. Only the Great Penitentiary, the Great Almoner and the representative of the diocese of Rome continue to administer their offices, since neither corv- science nor the poor must suffer by reason of the Pope's death.

The nine days which intervene between death and burial are de- voted to preparations for the funeral Mass and for the election of the new Pope, which begins on the tenth day. The Cardinal-Chamber- lain remains in the Vatican, of which he takes possession; and during the days of the vacancy he rules with the help of the three senior cardinals. He is accompanied everywhere by the Swiss Guard, and is the centre of Vatican life though of course he keeps in touch with the General Congregation of Cardinals, to which important questions are submitted. This determines the day, the hour, and the ceremo- nial of the removal of the body to St. Peter's. It decides upon a funeral orator, takes charge of acknowledging letters of condolence received from princes and states, and if necessary also sets the day on which the diplomatic corps is to be received in a body. In addition the Secretary of the College of Cardinals is entrusted with diplomatic matters. There is an old custom that as a reward for thus represent- ing the retired Secretary of State he may lay claim to the cardinal's hat in the first Consistory to be called by the new Pope.

The body of the Pope is embalmed, clad in clean vestments and

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then placed to lie in state in the great throne room. The watch is kept by prelates and members of the Noble Guard. Then the Guard and the Papal court escort the body in procession to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Peter's. There, behind the grille, the dead Pontiff rests on a low catafalque; but the body is placed so close to the iron bars that the feet can be reached by the pious who wish to kiss them. Day and night the canons of St. Peter's pray at his side. A solemn high Mass is celebrated every morning. Then one morn- ing the chapel is empty: during the night the dead Pontiff has been removed to his tomb in the locked cathedral. In the glare of torches and candles the canonists have borne him under the dark dome, past the throne and altar, to the last stage of his journey and the wait- ing three coffins. Chaplains and members of the Noble Guard place the body in a coffin made of cypress wood, cover the face with a white veil, lay a purple cloth on the breast and spread a covering of brocade over the body. The coffin is then closed and sealed and is placed in a second coffin of lead. This the Cardinal Chamberlain and Major- domo, arch-priests, and members of the Chapter seal with their coats of arms. It is then in turn placed in a coffin of elmwood. A niche in the wall high above the floor then receives this covered three-fold coffin, and is walled shut. More than a year must pass until the final resting place, which may be in one of the churches of Rome or in the crypt of St. Peter's, receives the dead Pontiff. The "great funeral celebration" of the final three days, a tumultuous parting coda, takes place round about an empty catafalque which rises monumentally in the central nave of the Cathedral.

Then all thoughts turn to the new election. Every cardinal in the Congregations takes an oath to respect the rules laid down by Leo XIII and Pius X concerning the Papal elections, and is in addition informed of any especial wish uttered by the late Pope. The two constitutions of 1904 (Pius X) are of especial significance. One, which resulted from the memorable appearance after the death of Leo XIII of Cardinal Puzyna of Cracow with a veto of Cardinal Ram- polla in the name of the Emperor of Austria, protects the freedom of Papal elections and the dignity of the Sacred College by forbidding every form of interference by a secular power, and threatens to ex- communicate any Cardinal or participator in the Conclave who ac-

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cepts a request to voice such interference and makes known the fact to the College or to individual members of it. The second, which re- affirms regulations concerning the interregnum and the Papal election in force since Pius IVs time, also changes the previously customary form of election by discontinuing the "access" i. e. the practice by which the vote which directly followed an unsuccessful ballot was added to the one preceding, with the result that the candidates were given the sum-total of the two ballots. Today every ballot is inde- pendent of the preceding one, and there are four daily instead of the formerly customary two. In the same manner every cardinal partic- ipating in the election binds himself on oath to keep the strictest silence all his life long concerning what went on in the Conclave. Doubtless Cardinal Mathieu's essays in the Revue des deux Mondes during 1003-04 were the occasion for this ruling* Furthermore each cardi- nal pledges himself to protect unceasingly the temporal rights and the secular power of the Pope as well as the freedom of the Holy See, and promises to renew this vow in case he is chosen Pope.

The word Conclave (closed room) with which Papal elections are today defined is of course primarily a term applicable to the place of meeting. Adjoining rooms of the Vatican Palace are walled up and partitioned so that they form a suite shut off from outside excepting for a few carefully watched exits and revolving doors on both sides of which sentries are posted to permit only such intercourse as is abso- lutely necessary. The windows are covered with blinds and are sealed from within with lead. This isolation and the restriction of the Cardinals 1 personal comfort which formerly was rigorous, but is now less so serves the well-understood purpose of hastening the business of the election and of making impossible every contact be- tween the electors and the outer world. In-coming and out-going letters are censored, and the censors also handle telephone conversa- tions, which the cardinals must carry on in writing. Each cardinal may be accompanied by a priest-secretary and a servant, but Pope Pius XI has recently decreed that the secretary must be a layman, Formerly every person in the Conclave had to bring along his own food, consisting of bread, wine and water; but today there are kitchens inside the Conclave which provide, according to rules that are still in force, nourishment for the three hundred odd people locked up in the

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Conclave, Today every cardinal receives a cell, which is formed only by curtains, and in this there are a bed, a table, and a few chairs. The construction of the Conclave as a whole must conform with regu- lations in every single detail, since otherwise the elections would be canonically null and void.

On the tenth day the election was solemnly inaugurated; but in the future, out of respect for the cardinals in foreign countries, the opening date is to be postponed until the fifteenth or even the eight- eenth day. Members of the College of Cardinals who are present - there must be at least one more than half - attend High Mass (Dc Spiritu Sancto) in the Pauline Chapel in the morning, listen to an address in Latin concerning the duties of the electors, and receive Com- munion. The solemn entry into the Conclave, with which there is associated a repetition of the election oath in the Sixrine Chapel, must take place on the selfsame day. Each cardinal enters the cell which is his by lot. About seven o'clock in the evening, a gong sounds three rimes; then the masters of ceremonies cry out "Extra omnes!" and clear the Conclave of all persons who have no further business there. The scaling of the doors within and without is scrupulously confirmed, and the Papal Chamberlain, accompanied by three cardinals, makes a final tour to convince himself that the clausura has been effected ac- cording to the law. During the evening meal Italian infantry on the square before St. Peter's enkindle watch fires.

The real electoral business begins in the Sixtine Chapel on the next morning. The cardinals, clad in violet robes of mourning and white surplices, attend Mass without themselves celebrating and recite the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus. The first vote follows. Three forms are legitimate, but for a long time only secret voting with written slips has been practiced. The paper is divided into three parts by printed rubrics. In the middle the name of the candidate is written in a script which the voter tries to make unlike his real hand- writing; and above this name there is written the name of the elector, with his number and motto beneath. Thereupon the upper and the lower thirds are twice folded and sealed so that the name and the motto are hidden, and only the name of the selected candidate remains open to view. Then the ballot is simply folded in the middle. This complicated method of procedure is intended to make public if neces-

4 02 THE CURIA

sary the fact that a candidate has voted for himself. In sequence each cardinal rises from his seat, walks with the ballot in his raised right hand to a wooden altar erected directly in front of the permanent marble altar and illuminated with six candles, kneels down and swears aloud that he will vote as his conscience dictates with Christ as his witness, prays, then puts his ballot on a paten which is placed upon a chalice that is to contain all the ballots. Then he lifts up the paten, lets the ballot slide into the chalice, and returns to his place after hav- ing made a bow to the crucifix. If all the votes have been cast (when necessary those of the sick electors are collected) the covered chalice is shaken. Then ballot after ballot is taken out and placed in a second chalice that stands on a table in the centre of the Chapel. Next the total is counted, to see whether each elector has done his duty. Three examiners take their places at this table and pass the ballots to one another one by one, without injuring the seals; and then the last examiner reads out the names in a loud voice while the cardinals check against these names on their lists the number of votes cast for each candidate. The electoral commission is entrusted with the task of making known the resulting totals, which are once more scrutinized by revisors. If none of the candidates has received a two-thirds majority, the ballots are sewed together with a needle and thread and are burned with wet hay and straw in an especially constructed stove. The dusky smoke signal (the sfumata") which rises from the tower and chimney on the roof of the Sixtine shows the tense crowd that this ballot (which since Pius X's time may be one of an infinite number) has been unsuccessful. But if a thin, blue cloud of smoke arises, it means that the ballots have been burned without any hay and straw, and that therefore the election is over.

When the electoral commission proclaims a candidate successful, all the rest of the cardinals pull strings which cause their baldachinos to topple over. The symbol of sovereignty now rises only above the head of the one chosen. In memory of the fact that Peter's name was changed when he was called by his Master, the new Pontiff chooses a new name, makes this known to the inquiring cardinal- deacon, and adds a brief explanation. Then he robes himself in the Papal vestments (these are available at every election in three sizes) and receives the first homage of the cardinals. Meanwhile a cardinal-

THE CORONATION 403

deacon steps out onto the middle loggia of St. Peter's, announces to the crowd that a Pope has been elected (habemus papam), and re- veals the name of the one chosen. Soon the Pontiff himself appears and extends to Catholic Christendom his first solemn blessing. Aftei the breach with the Quirinal, no Pope came out into the open until Pius XI broke with this custom.

Since Urban VI, only cardinals have been elected Popes; but there is no law which prevents any Catholic who is not a heretic, a schisma- tic, or a violator of the rules against simony, from becoming Pope even though he has not as yet received Orders. The coronation follows the election. The words which accompany the ceremony are: "Re- ceive the three-fold crown of the tiara, and know that thou art the father of princes and kings, the ruler of the round earth, and here below the viceroy of Jesus Christ, to whom be honour and gloiy for- ever. Amen." The day of coronation is the date from which the years of the Pope's reign are numbered; and in memory of this there is a religious celebration every year. The ceremony adds nothing, however, to the power and rights of the chosen Pontiff .

The Pope mounts a golden sedan, the sedia gesUtoria, which is borne by twelve servants clad in scarlet silk. A procession of the ut- most splendour conducts him from the Sixtine to St. Peter's for his Coronation Mass. There a master of ceremonier comes to meet him and says: "SanctePatei, sic transit gloria mundi" (Holy Father, so does the world's glory pass away) . Three times in succession a little flake of oakum is placed on the tip of a staff, lighted on a candle, and al- lowed to flicker away.

During the Mass the Pope receives the pallium, which symbolizes the fullness of pontifical authority, from the hands of the same senior cardinal-deacon who has crowned him. This insignia of apostolic simplicity is a strip of white wool cloth, no wider than a hand, on which six black crosses are embroidered. This is placed over the Pope's shoulders. Cloistered nuns have woven this from the wool of virginal lambs which are annually consecrated in the Church of St. Agnes Outside the Walls, on her feast day, and are then entrusted to the care of the nuns. These pallia are blessed, spread over the grave of St. Peter, and then placed in an urn beneath the Pope's altar. He may use them as need arises and may also give them to the most

404 THE CURIA

distinguished bishops as signal favours. The Pope alone can wear the Fisherman's Ring, which is a simple steel ring bearing the name of the Pope and an engraved picture showing St. Peter sitting in a barque and casting out his net. The Papal staff is not crooked the episco- pal staff is the sign of the limited jurisdiction of the bishop but bears on the end of its gilded staff of silver a Greek cross which has only one cross bar, equal in length to the bar itself. A Cross having two cross bars is not liturgical and is used only in the coat of arms of patriarchs and archbishops. The sedia of the Pope is always ac- companied by functionaries carrying huge fans of ostrich feathers such as the jovial Pope Guilio employed on his jaunts of pleasure to cool the air. They are designed only to create an atmosphere of picturesque pomp but do manage to convey a faint impression of distant, Oriental majesty.

The Vatican displays its entire splendour only on rare occasions. Today St. Peter's is adorned as of old on the day of the Coronation Mass, before canonizations, and on a very few other occasions. Then however, it affords a pageant of such a perfection, gorgeousness and dignity, arranged in the best of taste, as mankind has probably not been able to duplicate since the collapse of the world dominion of Spain. It was not in vain that Romans of princely blood and artists influenced by the Orient joined to create this lordliness. It is a ju- bilant outpouring of all the sensible beauty of colour, form and sound; and yet it is given inner meaning by the solemnity of a rich and per- tinent liturgy. The "Father of Princes and Kings, the Governor of the round earth," tendering mystical service before the invisible Mas- ter of heaven and earth, the highest power of the world kneeling in prayer before the All Highest no idea could find its visible expres- sion in a more majestic way.

The Pope is always carried when he appears in his pontifical robes. Seated on the golden chair which is borne on the shoulders of the bearers, he blesses the multitude as he slowly moves along above it. In the procession of the Blessed Sacrament, a frie-dieu is placed in front of the sedia and on this the Pope kneels with the monstrance in his hands. The weight of the robes is so great that he could not move unless he had train and mantle bearers. Over the white soutane the white silk of the falda falls in folds to the ground. Over it is

THE POPE'S ATTIRE 405

placed the alb, the priestly Mass garment of linen and lace which is girdled with a golden cord, one pleated side-piece of which hangs down. Over the white linen amice of the priesthood the Pope wears a second double cloth known as the fanon, which is of white silk, embroidered with gold and red designs. The upper part of this gar- ment is thrown over the head until the stole and the three Mass gar- ments the tunic of the sub-deacon, the dalmatic of the deacon, and the alb of the priest have all been put on in such a manner that a part of each can still be seen protruding below the others. Thus the raiment appropriate to every degree of priestly dignity is placed on the one highest bearer of dignity. Then the upper part of the fanon is let down over the alb like a shawl, the pallium is placed on the Pope's shoulders, the great and precious pontifical cross is hung round his neck on a golden chain and the pontifical ring is slipped on over his glove. The Mass garments, the stole, the maniple on the left arm, sash cloth, gloves, and shoes are of white silk and are covered with lavish gold embroidery. In addition one must mention a curious article of raiment which the Pope alone wears. These are pontifical stockings made of stiff material and so laden with gold embroidery that they resemble boots and must be tied above his knees. The whole attire is so heavy that an old man can hardly carry it. But in addition to all this there i$ usually added the heaviest garment of all the fulsome, long-flowing mantle, the basic colour of which is red or white, a masterpiece of the most elaborate embroidery, the hem of which is borne by princely assistants to the throne, who are the heads of the now very amicable families of Colonna and Orsini. The Pope never wears the tiara during liturgical services or when he is appearing as spiritual Pontifex. In accordance with Innocent Ill's ruling, this crown is looked upon as a sign of world dominion. At all spiritual functions the Pope wears an episcopal mitre, though in his case this is made of gold or silver material, proper to him alone. Dur- ing a pontifical Mass, the tiara is placed on the high altar.

Outside the hours of solemn official activity, the dress and the life of the Pope must conform to a strict etiquette. His well-known sim- ple house and audience dress is a plain soutane made of white woollen material. It has a short cape, a little cap of white silk, and buckled slippers without heels made of leather or of silk and embroidered with

406 THE CURIA

a gold cross. When he is outside his chambers, the Pope adds to this attire the golden episcopal pectoral cross with a gold chain, and a sash of white moire silk the ends of which are fringed with gold. In sum- mer he wears a red hat made of straw covered with silk, and in winter a fur hat with a gold cord. During a solemn audience and during attendance at divine service he wears a white soutane with a train buttoned high, adds a rochet and the red mozzetta, which in winter is made of velvet and trimmed with ermine. In addition he may wear a red stole upon which the Papal arms are embroidered in gold. On old pictures of the Popes one often notices the camauro, which is a red velvet cap lined with ermine. This had long been forgotten when Pope Benedict XV had his portrait painted wearing this most beauti- ful of all Papal head coverings. In the week between Holy Satur- day and the Sunday after Easter the Pope follows the primitive Chris- tian custom and wears pure white attire. Nevertheless red rather than white is the real Papal colour, and this is employed in all articles he uses and in his surroundings. In former times the Papal court moved about a great deal, residing in the Vatican during the winter and travelling on in summer to the Quirinal or to one of the numerous Papal palaces on the seashore, in the hills, or in the little towns of the Papal States. The picturesque Castel Gandolpho on Lake Albano was a favourite summer residence. The laws of guaranty of 1870 placed this at the Pope's disposal, but it remained vacant and desolate. After Pius IX resolved to become a prisoner in the Vatican, no Pope crossed the boundaries of the Vatican proper until, after two genera- tions, Pius XI for the first time traversed St. Peter's square in solemn procession. Through the Lateran treaties Castel Gandolpho, which consists of a palace, a villa, and a large tract of land, has become the extra-territorial possession of the Holy See and is once again used as a summer residence.

The Vatican has a thousand rooms, and the residence of the Pope consists as a matter of fact of twelve large chambers in the second story of the main wing. During nearly the whole day he himself resides in the library and study. If he crosses the threshold, it means that he has placed himself at the service of the Court and its business. High prelates accompany him wherever he goes and Swiss Guards keep watch. The Pope eats his meals alone, sitting under a red baldachino

THE VATICAN 407

at a table covered with red silk. It is no wonder that Pius X, so in- formal and natural in disposition, could not endure this routine. He had built into the airy third story an inside staircase leading from his official apartments. There he constructed for himself a comfortable private dwelling in which he spent all his free time, with his secret chaplains as his sole companions, and disregarded utterly all cumber- some etiquette. It is true that during the day no Pope has much free time. Usually he says Mass at seven o'clock and afterwards attends a Mass said by one of his secret chaplains. The audiences begin im- mediately after breakfast. The Cardinal-Secretary of State comes in to discuss political matters. The ordinary and extraordinary affairs of the Church are laid before the Pope for his information and deci- sions. Each of the Congregations renders a report on a day ap- pointed. The diplomatic corps must be received, bishops from out- side the city and directors of missions who come to Rome are admitted in audience when they arrive and depart. Secular dignitaries have to be received; missionaries and missionary sisters are blessed by the Pope before they start their journeys. Societies and delegations must be accorded the honour of a Papal address; hundreds of pious faithful and non-Catholics throng together in public audiences. During the afternoon these exhausting activities are interrupted by a walk, or if the weather is bad by a drive in the Vatican Gardens. Then the Pope goes back to work again until the time of the evening meal. Only of evenings and on Sundays, when no audiences are accorded, does the Holy Father have time to devote to his own spiritual im- provement and recreation; and generally he must even then work at his study table, often until midnight. A Pope who did not get up early and work energetically would collapse under the burden of this multitude of multiform duties which become tiresomely monotonous through repetition. Every sentence he says is under scrutiny, every decision is important, every address is written down and most are printed, and every one of the innumerable visitors yearns for a glance and a word. "Servant of the servants of God," said Gregory I.

The Papal Court is under the control of two exalted prelates the Majordomo or Papal domestic minister, who is also chief of the court personnel, and the Maestro di Camera, who has charge of every- thing that pertains to the audiences. Both o them reside in the Vat-

4 o8 THE CURIA

ican and arc always at the Pope's disposal. They stand to the right and the left of his throne, and the Maestro di Camera always accom- panies him. When a number of people are received in audience, he precedes the Pope by a few steps in order to ask each person's name and to make the introduction. Whoever wishes to be received in audience must address a written request to the Maestro di Camera. The dress prescribed for such audiences is strictly conventional. For- merly the laity figured in something like a masquerade: men had to appear in the black costume of the Spanish Court, but today the customary full dress suit suffices, top hat and gloves being left in the ante-room; the ladies must still conform to the old requirements, wearing a black dress extending to every extremity, and a black lace veil in lieu of a hat. Only royal princesses have the right to wear gloves. A private audience is governed by a solemn ceremonial con- cerning which the visitor is given precise instructions. He is received into the beautiful Sala Clementina, where Swiss Guards keep watch, is relieved of his hat and coat by train bearers dressed in red, and is then led on into the chamber of the Papal gendarmerie. Thence he goes on to the next room, where the Palatine Guard keeps watch, and from it to the chamber of the bussolanti, or door-keepers. He must remain here, if he is not accorded the privilege of entering the adjoin- ing ante-room to the throne room, in which the Noble Guard keeps watch. Then two honorary chamberlains conduct the visitor to the throne room which gleams with red damask and gold, and thence to the adjoining secret ante-room, which is at the same time the foyer of the Papal house chapel and is guarded by other members of the Noble Guard, They then conduct him farther to two secret chamberlains who, in case he does not have to wait longer, lead him through three reception rooms and the Sala del tronetto into the Pope's study, where the reception is accorded. The Pope is seated on a chair of red and gold behind a huge writing desk covered with red morocco leather. The visitor moves toward him and in the three intervals genuflects three times. Today kissing the foot i. e. the cross on the ponti- fical shoes still takes place in the liturgy of the Pope's Mass and at solemn receptions, being a custom associated with antique cere- monies of greeting, particularly in the Orient, but is omitted in pri- vate audiences. Then the Pope requests his visitor to rise and take

AUDIENCE WITH THE POPE 409

his place. If the audience is short, priests remain standing. The form of address is "Your Holiness" and "Holy Father." Conversa- tion is never direct but always in the third person. Upon leaving the visitor makes the same three genuflections, walking backward so as not to turn his back on the Pope. Often, especially if the visitors are non-Catholics of importance, the Pope may dispense with the genuflections, rising from his chair and giving his ring to kiss. The Throne Rooms, or it may be one of the ceremonial rooms outside the Papal residence serve for the reception of princes, or for solemn diplo- matic visits. Public audiences take place in an ante-chamber to the Sala Clementina, in the Consistory room, in Bernini's magnificent Sala Ducale, or in the famous loggia. The Pope walks past the rows of those assembled and gives each person his ring to kiss. Very large groups of pilgrims are received in the courtyard, which is enclosed by the wings of the Papal palace, or it may be in the beautiful old court- yard of the Belvedere. The Papal blessing is always received kneeling.

During the years when the Vatican and the Quirinal were at odds, it was very difficult for an alien sovereign to visit the Pope. This visit could not be made from the Quirinal. The ruler went to the embassy of his country and from there drove to the Vatican. He might, as William II did, go in his own ornate carriage, brought especially from Berlin, accompanied by his bodyguard; or as Edward VII did, he might try to avoid offending Italian patriotic sentiment by riding mod- estly and diplomatically in a simple closed cab. During whole dec- ades Catholic rulers could not go to Rome at all, because they would not have been received in the Vatican if they had previously visited the Quirinal or been a guest there. Nevertheless this point of view had already to some extent been modified before the Lateran treaties were signed. The Spanish and the Belgian royal couples, for ex- ample, were received by the present Pope. During the "imprison- ment" the Pope was always recognized by all foreign powers, no matter of what confession, as a temporal sovereign. Ambassadors and state representatives from all parts of the world were accredited to the Vatican, whose nuncios were sent to the courts and governments of various countries.

As a temporal sovereign the Pope has the right to maintain his own militia and his own police force. He can create nobles and con-

4 io THE CURIA

fer worldly rides and orders. The laws of guaranty conceded to him his own postal and telegraph offices, but these were not actually es- tablished until the peace treaties were signed.

The real personal guard of the Papacy is the Noble Guard, so called because only these may become members. It is a corps of about ninety officers, the commander of which belongs to one of the most select of Roman noble families. It provides the guards of honour, and escorts the Pope wherever he goes. Its uniform is the beautiful traditional costume in use since the Guard was created in 1801. The officers are noblemen in both stature and bearing, and the organiza- tion does honour to its name. After this, from the point of view of service and rank, comes the Swiss Guard, members of which are all simon-pure Swiss. They must be at least six feet tall, wear a uniform of luminous yellow, red and black (to which they add on festive occasions armour and helmet) and they keep faithful watch with the halberd at all doors and gates. Today the Swiss Guard numbers hardly more than a hundred men the Vatican must econ- omize is housed in a garrison behind St. Peter's in Vatican City, trains like every other military troop, and lives according to a severe disciplinary code. The Swiss Guard has a proud history. Two dec- ades after its creation it covered the Pope's flight during the sack of Rome in 1527, and lost all but a few men; and to it there was recently erected a monument in the courtyard of its cantonment. The event described above took place on May 6th, and there is an annual com- memoration with which the solemn swearing in of new recruits is associated. The Palatine Guard of honour, an honorary militia of about four hundred men, is comprised of Roman petty bourgeois and artisans. It is used primarily on solemn occasions to form cordons and render similar service outside the Vatican buildings. Finally there are the Papal gendarmes, who are constantly on service as police in Vatican City. On gala occasions they wear caps of bear skin and look very handsome.;

The two highest orders are the Order of Christ, and the Order o the Golden Spur, both of which have a single class and are of equal rank. The Gregory and Sylvester Orders have several classes, as does the Order of the Holy Sepulchre which can also be conferred on women. The Papal honour known as fro ecclesia et pontifice is also

PAPAL DIGNITIES 411

given to both sexes. The titles "Cavalliere" and "Commendatore" which accompany Papal Orders are popular in Italy, but in other countries the ribbons and insignia of the Orders are treasured highly. In Germany the great attraction is probably the uniform which always permits the possessor of even the lowest rank to carry a sword and to wear a two-cornered hat. All these Orders can be obtained fot services rendered, and also for money. There are fixed prices and the transactions are a part of regular Roman business. Good excuses can be quite dexterously invented. The same may be said of the tides of Baron, Count and Marquis as conferred by the Pope. What merit might not achieve money can supply.

The Court dignity of chamberlain is conferred upon priests and lay- men. The lay Camerieri di Spada e Cappi are either secret chamber- lains or honorary chamberlains, according to whether they hail from the nobility or the citizenry. Only four chamberlains of each kind are employed and paid. The several hundred "superfluous ones" have a right to render occasional ante-room service (practically all of them live outside Rome) and to wear the much coveted uniform, the dress version of which is antique Spanish, with a feathered hat and a neck ruff. The priestly chamberlains wear a much coveted prelati- cal violet. The numerical relationship between those on active service and those who are "superfluous" is about the same in both groups.

Many a pious or frivolous soul may take offense at such matters. But is there not behind all this a smile that comes from the depths of knowledge of human nature? Precisely because tides and insignia are of no value, Rome uses them as the steward in the Gospel used the mammon of iniquity with which he made friends. All these wearers of honours do no injury to the Papal court; and hundreds of people in all the world, who covet or possess a place in the spodight, are indebted more deeply to Rome by such distinctions than they would otherwise be. Everything serves the great business of the Church even human vanity. It is impossible not to let one's doubts concerning these transactions vanish in a broad grin.

In so far as the important offices and dignities are concerned, Rome is serious enough. This is proved by the manner in which the loftiest prelates are chosen. Here the hierarchy according to divine law and the hierarchy according to Church law intercept each other. As a

412 THE CURIA

spiritual sovereign possessing the fullness of powers, the Pope has as commissioners and subordinate participators in his authority a group of prelates the "Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops and Bishops'* to whom his encyclicals are directed. In all cases the episcopal office is the source of the power of jurisdiction and consecration which is ex- ercised. Bishops are named in a Consistory after long and careful examination; and the solemn appointment which follows renders the bishop a supreme teacher, law-giver, judge and administrator of the territory assigned to him, and ministrant of all the Sacraments. Con- secrated a bishop through the imposition of hands by another bishop, he in turn can consecrate others. He is permitted to do so only when the Pope orders, but his act of consecration is always valid because the episcopal office is not handed down from the Pope but in direct suc- cession from the Apostles. Therefore schismatics like the Dutch Jansenists also have bishops who are validly, though illegally, conse- crated. In the hierarchy of divine law, the office and the dignity of the bishop rank immediately after the primacy of the Pope; and in so far as certain rights are concerned, a bishop takes precedence over a cardinal who is not a bishop. The archbishop or metropolitan is the foremost among the bishops of a Church province, but he has no more power than they. In processions he walks before his "suffragan bishops." He presides over common conferences, he acts in a very few cases as intermediary between a bishop and Rome, but he does not exercise a really higher authority. The primates, as the foremost bishop in a number of Church provinces (generally in one country) and the patriarchs once possessed a real part in the exercise of Papal authority in so far as their territories were concerned. They installed bishops and established dioceses. Today they are merely bearers of especial tides bishops to whom greater honours are paid, and who take precedence in public appearances. Only the patriarchs of the Uniat Churches of the East still enjoy a part of their ancient rights. In Europe a struggle many centuries old is over. Every form of State- Church establishment has given way to the absolutism of the Papacy and its Roman organization. Every bishop is direcdy subordinate to Rome and must pay a personal visit to the Pontiff at least every five years. The Curia does not even favour a closer national union of the bishops, such as has sometimes been attempted. * The English Re-

A BISHOP'S RANK 413

ormation and the quarrel incident to Gallicanism have led it to look with disfavour upon any movement that might pave the way for a national Church organization.

The garb of bishops and all high prelates is similar to that of the cardinals excepting that violet is the sole and basic colour. On solemn religious occasions the mitre and the staff symbolize the power of the presiding shepherd. The pectoral cross and the ring are always worn. If a bishop requires an assistant because his diocese is large or because he is aged or infirm, this titular or coadjutor bishop has all the rights of his rank except the jurisdiction. This is exercised by the diocesan bishop or by his vicar-general, whom the cathedral chapter serves as a senate and administrative agency. The smallest jurisdicrional terri- tory is the parish. There the pyramidal structure of the hierarchy is sunk into the supporting soil of the faithful.

Most of the higher prelates of the Curia are titular bishops. All these non-resident bishops wear the title of a diocese which is fictitious in character. In the language of the Curia, these sees are in partibus infidelium (in the realm of the unbelievers). The titles of a few primitive Christian bishoprics still exist today, though nothing may remain of the old Christian cities excepting a few Mohammedan huts or half-concealed ruins.

As a result of historical development some monastic districts have acquired the character of dioceses. The "abbots nullius" (nullius dioceseos belonging to no diocese) have the same rank as a bishop and administer their office in the same way. Episcopal authority, though without a territorial foundation, is likewise exercised by the provincial and general superiors of the exempt Orders: that is, the Orders directly under Rome, the best known of which are the Francis- can, Dominican and Jesuit. In the case of the very old Orders such as the Benedictines, Cistercians, etc., the highest superiors are called abbot-primates, or arch-abbots. They are invested in the same way as bishops, that is with mitre and staff, and share in all essential epis- copal rights.

The great majority of Papal court officials and the administrators of Papal offices are so-called lower prelates who may be divided ac- cording to their most important article of clothing into mantelletta and

414 THE CURIA

mantellone prelates. The mantelletta category, the garb of whom resembles that of the bishops, belong to the "Papal family" and the "Papal domestic prelacy." At the head of these there stand four "tasselled prelates" called thus not by reason of the tassels which figure in every spiritual coat of arms in varying colours and numbers, but by reason of the fact that their horses, if they had any horses, could wear violet silk tassels as bridle ornaments. Even greater curios of the same kind are not lacking at the Papal court, or at any other court for that matter. Among these "tasselled prelates" the Majordomo is the only one who now exercises an important function. Even the prelates next highest in rank, the apostolic protonotaries, who are also divided into "real" and "superfluous" groups, are today hardly more than bearers of a title. Most of them are canons of great cathedrals; and the tide is much coveted because those on whom it is conferred are almost on a par with bishops in rank, honours and raiment. In- deed the few "real" protonotaries precede a mere bishop on state oc- casions. They may also become Roman Doctors of theology or law without a dissertation and at a moderate expense. In days when the German doctorate still meant real work, all this was described by a phrase which read, "Doctor Romanes, asinus Germanus."

The domestic-prelates properly so-called are those higher officials of the Curia who are subordinate to the cardinals in charge. The first class of these prelates comprises among others the judges of the Papal tribunal of the Rota. On solemn occasions they may wear in addi- tion to their regular attire a violet cappa and a trailing mantle. Most of the cardinals of the Curia are selected from among the mantelletta prelates, who in part hold important and influential positions. The Papal-Secretary of State confers all classes of the mantelletta prelacy.

The honorary domestic-prelates, who are addressed as monsignori and are entitled to wear a garb somewhat similar to that of a bishop, number 2000, and are to be found in all countries. The honour is conferred upon men who have rendered real service . . . and is also sought after with burning zeal by the ambitious. Appointment follows recommendation by the bishop in question or at least upon inquiry as to whether he has any objection.

The secret chamberlains proper, who are on duty in the "secret ante-chamber," are members of the mantellone group. They wear a

THE PAPAL PRELATES 415

sleeveless mantle that reaches to the feet. Among them are the Papal master of ceremonies, the Honorary Chamberlain, and the secret chap- lains. All of them are called monsignori and they look very hand- some and picturesque in their violet robes, which are of silk in the summer time. Ribbons flutter from their shoulders; and on solemn occasions they wear a scarlet cappa. The dignity of a mantellone prelate is conferred by the Majordomo.

Though they wear raiment of many colours, the cut is always the same a familiar detail of the Roman street scene, or of the Papal college interior. Possibly the brightest shade is the flaming red of the Germanicum, wearers of which are vulgarly referred to as gambari cotti, which means boiled crawfish.

The largest palace in the world is occupied by 'the most dignified court of the world. It consists only of men. A visitor finds it hardly credible that these quiet, empty, solemn rooms really house the great- est government office in the world. The threads of a kingdom which has a dominion over 350,000,000 souls are gathered together in one hand, which wears the simple Fisherman's ring. There is no com- parable concentration of power,

'Until the sixteenth century, the Pope was surrounded by the Con- sistory of Cardinals just as a king is surrounded by his councillors. It is true that the Pope always had the upper hand in the frequent, almost daily sessions, by reason of the fact that his decisions were final; but it depended entirely upon personalities how much weight the Conr sistoty really could bring to bear on the Pope's will. As long as the College of Cardinals ruled as a body together with the Pope, the Papal crown was in danger of losing authority to a veritable parliament. When at the Council of Trent the Papacy was strengthened and given new self-assurance, it also was able to free itself to a certain extent from the too immediate influence of its assistants. The process of sunder- ing certain important domains of activity from the discussion of busi- ness as a whole now began. In 1587 a Bull of Sixtus V divided the Sacred College into fifteen "Congregations," six of which were to take part in the government of the Papal States and nine of which were to share in the government of the Church. Thus the unified crown council was broken up into a group of ministries. The influence of

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the cardinals inside the domains assigned to them remained large and decisive (and is still so) , but the Pope alone now surveyed everything and exercised the leadership of the whole Church. Divide et impera.

As years went on, some of the Congregations were assigned dif- ferent tasks and the scope of the activities of others was altered. Some were divided, or consolidated, according as circumstances demanded. The administrative officials finally came to exercise almost completely the rights of the judicial officials. Branches of the service were merged, and there were no end of difficulties in defining where the authority of one began and that of another ceased. The necessary business suffered, order was impaired, and abuses of all kinds set in, Already during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries some Popes had to bear down with a heavy hand on many occasions, but it was Pope Pius X, a man of courageous honesty, who undertook the difficult work of thorough-going reform. His Constitutio Sapienti Consitio, of 1908, gave the Curia a new constitution. Though according to canonists all was still not well and further improvements were needed as early as 1917 (Pope Benedict XV), Roman rumour has it that the reforming Pope was not to blame. There were too many fingers in the pie ... absolutism, too, is a relative thing.

The oldest and foremost of the Congregations is the Holy Office, which has supreme jurisdiction over the faith of the Church. In the Acts of the Apostolic See it is called Suprema Sacra Congregatio 5. Officti, and was founded in 1542. The protection of teaching con- cerning faith and morals is the "sacred duty" from which it derives its name. The far-flung terrain it governs can be most effectively de- scribed with two words dogma and morals. This Congregation is the teaching authority which decides authoritatively all questions concerning opinions and disputes that arise in theological teaching. It resolves doubts in matters of faith and custom, and it sits as a court ot judgment it was once the tribunal of the Inquisition 1 over all heretical acts and all misdemeanours that are suspect of heresy* To it must be referred everything that concerns dogmatic teaching anent the Sacraments. Subject to it also are questions of matrimonial law in so far as they grow out of mixed marriages. Indulgences are under the supervision of the Holy Office, not merely because they have a bearing on dogma but also because sharp watch must be kept to sec

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that nothing in this realm transcends the boundary beyond which are superstition and abuse. For the same reason the Congregation ex- amines new devotions and forms of prayer, and passes judgment on images used in the cult. In all these matters it may be both ad- ministrator and judge. When its decrees establish principles that are universally valid, they have the power of law. Nevertheless they are not infallible. Should the Pope wish to give them the dignity of a proclamation ex cathedra, he employs a formula expressly drawn up for that purpose. Precisely because it has this character of all-embrac- ing theological authority, it is of such great significance and is, next to the Pope, the seat of ecclesiastical world dominion. Here "next to the Pope" is the correct phrase, because such a fullness of power could come to the Holy Office from none other than the Pope in per- son. The summons to become a member is looked upon as a great honour. Eleven cardinals belong, and the senior in office is the Secre- tary and the Vice-Prefect (the Congregations use the word "prefect" to designate the equivalent of chairman) . Then there are three prel- ates, more than twenty consultors or experts (among them there is always the General of the Dominican Order) , a number of specialists in dogmatic theology, and a group of subsidiary officials. A grave oath, the form of which no one outside the Holy Office knows, binds the tongues of all, even the lower officials. Failure to respect the official secrecy would mean excommunication as well as spiritual penal- ties from which the Pope alone could give absolution. Secrecy also surrounds the methods of procedure. Only the cardinals and prelates attend the sessions. Even the consultors, though they are highly respected dignitaries, are excluded and are merely summoned to render an opinion as occasion demands. The ancient palace of the Holy Office, which stands alone to the side of the colonnade of St. Peter's, still evokes the sombre mood which has always been created by the name and the work of the Inquisition.

But now the sword which the Congregation wields no longer strikes at the body and its life. It is a place of spiritual judgment. How many fall a victim to its spiritual inquiry no one can so much as guess, because even the Catholic who is summoned before it for some such purpose as to renounce an error is bound to maintain silence through- out life. Not only does the theologian engaged in teaching or writing

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stand under the supervision of the Holy Office and owe it an explana- tion for every departure from the prescribed teaching, but even the specialist in a profane science is under its jurisdiction. It may in- vestigate the conclusions arrived at by an historian, or the system of a philosopher, a sociologist, or a political scientist, in so far as these touch upon questions of Church law and social ethics. It opposes the biologist and geologist when they reach conclusions at variance with orthodoxy; it disciplined Galileo and threatened Columbus. The spirit of resistance to innovations that seem dangerous abides today, though the means employed are different. Since the Holy Office can no longer appeal to the secular arm, it has power only over the conscience. Yet this is still a very important force, as experience in daily life proves.

The Holy Office, noted for its calm deliberation, has also to decide on the value of visions, prophecies, and seemingly miraculous occur- rences. The attitude of the faithful towards these apparitions is de- pendent upon its decisions. Thus Catholics are forbidden by it, as their protector against deceit and superstition, to participate in spiritistic seances. It also lays down the rules which govern the relationship between Catholics and mixed schools, or their intercourse with those of other faiths. The printed publications not only of priests, but in the strict sense of all Catholic laymen as well, is subject to ecclesiastical censorship exercised by the Holy Office. The ethical jurisdiction of this highest moral court of the Church extends even into medicine: a loyal Catholic doctor is not permitted to kill a child in the womb in order to save the mother, for Rome has condemned this practice. It is evident that the General Inquisitors of the Holy Office they are still so-called have a broad field in which to carry on their activities. Of necessity they deal most directly with what is done by priests in the realm of faith and morals, since here the Holy Office can impose other penalties (such as removal from office and degradation) , than excom- munication.

Originally censorship of books, often effectively employed in spirit- ual warfare, was one of the duties of the Holy Office. But when, as a result of the discovery of printing, the number of books began to multiply rapidly, the Holy Office was relieved of the burden of scrutiny by a special commission known as the Congregation of the Index.

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The first Index appeared in 1559 and dealt so radically with all heretical and schismatic utterances that even learned works used in Catholic research were ordered cleansed of the names, notes and citations of heretics. Germany resisted and the bishops refused to publish the Index. St. Peter Canisius complained feelingly that the Congrega- tion had been too severe. Though he is today a Saint and a recognized Doctor of the Church, he called the Index a "stumbling block" and "the ruin of schools," and declared that efforts to tone it down were "good works." The Jesuit Lainez wrote to the Pope saying "that the Index has done harm to many souls and benefited only a few." A Tridentine (1564) and a Clementine Index (1595), somewhat less exacting but still impractical, met with the same passive resistance in Germany. They were not published and so went unheeded, with the result that no consciences were troubled. But Rome did not cease to insist upon publication, and so England, and later on Germany, pro- ceeded to introduce a very easy form of dispensation by the bishops. Permission to read books on the Index was granted without examina- tion of the petitioner: the dead letter of the ordinance was thus re- placed with an empty formality. In the France of Gallican times nobody paid any attention to the Index and there seems to have been little change since. Yet the Church could not, would not surrender its justifiable and eminently natural right to exercise censorship. If Catholic faith is based upon the conviction that Revelation is no mere consequence of human research but a treasure handed down by tradi- tion, it must be the business of the Church's juridical office to decide what is genuine revelation and therewith also to pass judgment on every expression of opinion concerning Catholic teaching. It must see to it that changing forms of expression, the product of changing times, do not lead to grave concessions to what is thought and written outside the Church.

In 1573 Pope Benedict XIV recast the weapon of the Index. He laid down rules governing its procedure, and established general prin- ciples which breathe an attractive spirit of pastoral mildness. In all essential matters these are still in force today. But the instrument was still too dangerous to make even the most careful instructions for its use a guaranty against misuse. Since denunciation was necessarily the means employed to set it in motion, all forms of human meanness

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slipped in through the door unnoticed. Doubtless those in whose hands the decision rested had the best intentions, but they were after all Romans and Italians and thus inevitably too alien to the intellectual products of other peoples and cultures to be really well informed and judicious critics. If an intellectual innovator had enemies or jealous friends who were clever and cunning enough, a condemnation could always be obtained. For the fact that a book had offended "certain pious suceptibilities" or was "inopportune" sufficed to bring down upon it an order to take it out of circulation or change it. The sorest trial for the victim was the fact that the investigation and the reasons given for disapproval were shrouded in the deepest secrecy, and that in ad- dition he was bound to keep to himself any news that did leak out. But the triumphant opponents had no seal on their lips; and so it happened all too freely that a great and noble soul was hounded out of the Church by a howling pack or driven to quiet despair. Ger- man Catholicism saw all this with sorrow, and many a layman directed an humble petition to Rome. Pope Leo XIII again tried to soften the procedure, but since he allowed the Index to be printed and spread he made it a real creature after it had been for many years something like a threatening spectre of half legendary character. The ironical recognition of enemies of the Church was accorded this "catalogue of brilliant books," which was declared to prove anew that no Catholic could undertake serious study unless he set about first of all to get a dispensation from the Index. Catholic scholarship saw itself curtailed and isolated. The fact that it was held in bondage by ecclesiastical censorship was one of the reasons why hostile groups sponsored the adage, catholica non leguntur (Catholic books are not read) .

In Germanic countries the ancient opposition came to life again, and it was necessary to grant the same especial consideration. But despite all this Pope Pius X did not dissolve the Congregation when he reformed the Curia, though in a truly paternal way he declared that theology must not seek to condemn but "in an amiable and irenic manner seek to find common ground and show the author, if he is of the faithful, how much beauty and majesty he shares with the Church. If this course is followed, kindly enlightenment may result and at all events an invitation may be extended to seek conformity with the Church in all things/' But despite these mild words, the method

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of procedure became noticeably sharper when all bishops and ordinaries were bound in conscience to look upon surveillance of published works and denunciation of those that were questionable as a function of their office. Germanic ideas of justice took offense at this system of de- nunciation to almost the same extent that it had been repelled by condemnations without trial or the right of defense, and verdicts which, though irrevocable, were handed down without an explanation and without hearing the defense. Whether it was the ceaseless insistence of a great many scholars or whether it was the realization that it was rapidly becoming impossible even for a Congregation numbering more than fifty persons to run the bottomless sea of books through a sieve of criticism at any rate, on March 25th, 1917, Pope Benedict XV disbanded the Congregation of the Index as such and put the duty of censorship back again on the shoulders of the Holy Office, which was henceforth to look upon this as part of its general task and to perform it by confining itself to really important cases. The most recent edition of the Index is still binding in conscience, as its precedes- sors were; and it remains a very simple matter for the individual to obtain a dispensation. Shall we 'say that the tendency is to permit, in view of the changed times, the debated catalogue to slip back once more into the soothing quiet of things that are not talked about? Rome can adapt itself to conditions but it never concedes a point. It is also true that since the very earliest times no state has dispensed with its right to forbid writings and addresses calculated to undermine its existence. Indeed, the practice of the totalitarian states of the present day even finds it compatible with the German sense of freedom and natural law to submit views of life and intellectual products to the dictatorship of the state and its inquisitorial organs. Every society organized on a constitutional basis is justified in principle in demand- ing obedience in essential matters. It could hardly survive otherwise. And though Catholics have been opposed to the Index and some of its attendant phenomena, they have never thought of denying the right of the Church to exercise supervision. The point at issue has always been how the methods employed could be reformed to meet valid needs. It would appear that at present such a reform, proceed- ing slowly, as is customary with the Church, may bring a solution of this century old quarrel.

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The Congregation of Studies has been more fortunate in its positive efforts than the Congregation of the Index has been in its negative efforts. Since 1915 the Congregatio Studiorttm is known as the Con- gregation for Seminaries and Universities, and its task is now much more extensive than formerly. It watches over and controls not only the religious universities and institutions of higher study conducted by Orders, but also all the educational foundations dedicated to the train- ing of the clergy, among which the very numerous diocesan seminaries require the largest measure of attention. This centralization of the clerical educational system under one authority guarantees that the minimum requirements for the training of priests will be met uni- formly by each country and people, even though some differences may persist in so far as the Church as a whole is concerned- It is the duty of the bishop and the diocese to conduct and maintain the seminary. The controlling hand of Rome is felt only when matters are not entirely as they should be, or when a bishop causes trouble. In addition, every exception an institution makes to the rules laid down must receive the assent of the Congregation. It decides, for example, whether illegitimate or physically abnormal young men are to be permitted to study theology.

Relations between the Congregation and the Universities are more intimate. The faculties of Catholic theology are naturally under its supervision, but it also is a court of last appeal in so far as Catholic universities in general are concerned, whether they have been founded and endowed by the Church or by lay benefactors. The Congrega- tion determines the degrees that are to be earned by priests and has the right to confer the honorary doctorate. The amount of control exercised is different in the several countries and varies also with the universities of a given country. Where the idea of academic freedom is as highly developed and as sensitive as it once upon a time was in Germany, the Congregation makes very little stir and carries out its official control more or less silently. The religious universities and colleges in Rome itself are naturally nearest to the hand and the heart of the Congregation. The national colleges, all of which are con- trolled by the Jesuits and are affiliated with the four Papal Universities, now number more than a dozen; and it is the Pope's express wish that every country should be united with Rome by a college of its own.

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Young priests arc selected in all lands and are sent to Rome to spend seven or eight stimulating and relatively free years in the Eternal City. Well-known coloured attire cut according to the picturesque mantal- lone fashion of itself compels the student to be on his dignity when he goes about without surveillance. The students then return home with a training that usually assures them positions of preference. All are thoroughly schooled pioneers of the Roman spirit, qualified and called to be quiet aids of the Curia and its dependable supporters. But since the clergy which has been trained at home does not usually look upon these favourites with more affection than Jacob's sons ac- corded their brother Joseph, it offers a very stubborn resistance to the idea of national colleges and the preference accorded to their students. All this becomes more pronounced if the clergy is of an independent disposition or of a homogeneous race. Thus petty personal interests carry on in this domain the ancient opposition of the "parts having wills of their own** to the whole, the "commanding centre,*' Rome. While the Holy Office safeguards dogmatic teaching and Christian ethics, which form the core of the life of grace in the Church, the visible expression of that life is under the supervision of the Congrega- tion of Rites, the Congregatio Sacrorum Ritttum. This is the Office which supervises the form of divine worship, the ceremonies, the liturgy of the Sacraments. It is the guardian of that magnificent sameness which prevails throughout the Western Church in matters o divine service. It relentlessly obliges all to use the pure Latin tongue of the cult at Mass and in all official devotions, permitting the ver- nacular only for congregational singing, for the prayers of the faithful at Low Mass, and for non-liturgical worship. It also issues rules gov- erning Church music Most of the work of this Congregation has to do with beatifications and canonizations, and the affiliated super- vision of relics. The departed declared by the Church elect souls worthy of veneration are not merely those great figures of the past to whom hundreds of years have rendered homage Jeanne d'Arc, Canisius or Bellarmine. They may also be saints of our own time persons of heroic faith and virtue who walked in our midst up to and beyond the threshold of this century. Among them are Don Bosco, apostle to abandoned youth; the quiet young Carmelite nun of Lisieux, known to millions as the Little Flower; Ferrini, who was a university

424 THE CURIA

professor in Padua; Brother Konrad of Altoetting who was a monastery porter; and others. It is even the wish of the Church that the process of beatification should be inaugurated not more than thirty years after death, so that eyewitnesses can still be questioned.

A petition for beatification may be submitted when saintliness of life is testified to by unimpeachable witnesses and by at least two miracles that have occurred after death. The life and the miracles are then very carefully investigated in a series of hearings, first by the bishop in whose jurisdiction the person lived, and then by the Con- gregation of Rites. A postulator is appointed to support the claim; and a promoter fidei assumes a role like that of a prosecuting attorney, acting in this instance in behalf of the Church, whose interest it is that only worthy persons should be beatified, and therefore raising every conceivable obstacle and doubt. Accordingly he is referred to in jest as the "devil's advocate" (advocates diabolf). The defense at- torney (advocatw causa") need not be a priest, but he must have an academic title earned in studying canon law and theology. Every letter, every testimonial, every memoir, the place in which the person lived and died, the grave, all these are submitted to further and further investigation until the preliminary inquiry is ended and the evidence is ready to be passed on to the highest examining judge, the Cardinal Ponens. Two or three revisors then examine the docu- ments independently and without knowledge of each other. If the result is entirely favourable, there follow three sessions, the last of which is attended by the Pope, and the matter is then referred to the Holy Father for his decision. The beatification itself takes place with great solemnity in St. Peter's in the presence of the Congregation of Rites and of distinguished prelates, but without the participation of the Pope. Only during the afternoon docs he enter the decorated basilica in simple robes, and assist at a devotion in honour of the new saint. A feast lasting three days is then held in the national or Order church of the saint and concludes the long and dignified process.

Beatification is nothing more than the assent of the Apostolic See that a certain limited, also often regionally circumscribed, cult may be not must be paid to the saint. Only canonization, the dec- laration of sanctity, confers the full "honours of the altar." Only a canonized person must be recognized by the Church as a whole as a

CANONIZATION 425

saint, and only he can become the patron o churches, towns and countries. His relics and pictures may be displayed openly in the church and carried about in processions. His name is worthy of inclusion in litanies, and his feast day is fixed. Canonization, which is irrevocable, and is to be regarded as a papal decision ex cathedra, is always preceded by long drawn out investigations, concerned especially with the new miracles which have followed beatification and without which no canonization can be petitioned for. This investigation is conducted even more strictly, with a still larger number of judges and hearings, experts and witnesses. Three consistories must debate the matter, and all the cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops and bishops resi- dent in Rome must cast their votes for the affirmative before the Pope, acceding to the three-fold petition of the Cardinal-procurator in- stanter, instantius, instantissimc (urgently, more urgently, most ur- gently) summons the divine assistance in three successive prayers and then solemnly proclaims the elevation of the new saint to the altars of the Church. The Pope himself celebrates the High Mass, St. Peter's gleams with candles and ornaments, and an image of the saint is surrounded with wreaths of lights. Reminiscences of the Jewish Temple are to be seen in this unusual ceremony. When huge wax candles, bread and wine, turtle doves and young birds are borne before the enthroned Pontiff in a festive offertory procession, they seem like a thanksgiving by the Congregation and therewith by the whole Church for the gift of the new saint.

It need hardly be said that canonization is not a kind of judgment of merit undertaken in the divine stead. It is concerned only with veneration on earth, and presupposes that the saint has been received into the company of the elect. The veneration of saints consists of prayer to them and is always far different from the veneration of God, which is adoration. Faith looks upon the saint not as someone who can help by reason of his own power, but only as a supplicant at the divine throne, & helper by reason of God's omnipotence. The saints are the "Church Triumphant" in Heaven, and according to the Creed of the Council of Trent the "Communion of Saints" sees in them its own transfigured members, offering consolation to the "Church Mili- tant" of the faithful on earth. This explains the jubilation and festive pomp of the canonization ceremony, and also the human warrant of

426 THE CURIA

power to aid which lies in Catholic veneration of the saints, whether that be understood naively or philosophically.

Of course as soon as one resorts to figures a less attractive aspect of the matter appears. The process of beatification, and still more noticeably that of canonization, consumes huge sums of money which the petitioner an Order, a family, a diocese must raise. All members of the Congregation swear a solemn oath to spurn every bribe, but it may well be that deference to national wishes proves under given circumstances not without influence upon the readiness of the Curia to act. How imminent the danger always is that political in- terests may play a part was shown recently by the efforts of Austrian noblemen to make a martyr of Emperor Charles, and so to provide the Habsburg monarchy with a canonized saint. It is certain that in our times no servant of God is proclaimed a saint who was not really a hero of the faith and of charity. But it is no less certain that not everybody is beatified who deserves to be. It is reported that Prince Falconieri jestingly said to his children on the evening of the beatifica- tion of Juliana Falconieri, the expense of which he had wanted to bear alone as a matter of family pride: "Children, you may become angels, but never become saints it is too expensive."

What the Congregation of Rites is for the whole Church, the Con- gregation of Ceremonials is for the Papal Court. It regulates not only the rite of divine services in which the Pope officiates, or which are held in the Papal chapels, but also supervises the formalities which prevail in the Vatican in so far as its residence, its visitors, and the extra-mural activities of its dignitaries are concerned. As a custodian of decorum, it delivers to everyone who needs it a private lecture on etiquette.

The guardianship of the Church's treasury of grace is also confided in part to the Congregation of Sacramental Discipline, to which are referred all questions concerning the administration of the Sacraments, excepting those of a ritual character. The cleavage is more distinct than the layman realizes. This Congregation came into being through Pius X's reform and exercises powers of administration, legislation and canonical decision. Dispensations for obstacles, and decisions con- cerning the validity of a sacrament received are its province. Thus for example it deals with obstacles to ordination in the secular clergy,

MARRIAGE CASES 427

and above all with matrimonial problems. This second group is very numerous: there may be question of according permission to near rela- tives to marry, or regularizing invalid marriages, of legalizing the separation (never divorce) of validly married couples, of the annul- ment of valid but unconsummated marriages, of establishing forced or conditional assent, of the legitimization of children, or of obstacles which have grown out of matrimonial blunders. The Congregation seeks to smooth out and to heal whatever it can, but under no circum- stances can the dispensations given by the Church exceed the limits of the law of the indissolubility of a valid marriage (which law is based on divine ordinance) or the boundaries of the natural law. Two of the three departments of the Congregation deal exclusively with matrimonial problems and this is numerically one of the largest Congregations .

A remnant of the old consistorial power is still preserved today in a Congregation which stands at the head of the hierarchical administra- tion proper and ranks immediately below the Holy Office. Like this it is distinguished by the fact that the Pope is personally at its head. The Vice-Chairman of the Holy Office, the Prefect of the Congrega- tion of Studies, the Secretary of the Consistory, and the Cardinal- Secretary of State are cx-officio members. It is known as the Con- sistorial Congregation and concerns itself in part with the preparation of the proceedings of the Consistory (which are in main matters con- cerning the constitution of bishoprics and the election of bishops), and in part with the immediate superintendence of episcopal ad- ministration. Thus it is a centre of the life of the Curia a corps of assistants confided in by the Pope as the supreme shepherd of the faithful, just as he confides in the Holy Office as the supreme teacher.

All episcopal appointments pass through the hands of the Con- gregation of the Consistory, because they require Papal confirmation and must therefore be weighed carefully. Nevertheless, the Con- gregation actually makes the preparations for an election only when the Pope has the exclusive right to name the incumbent of an episcopal see. If as a result of a Concordat with the government of the country in question, or of the rights of the crown, negotiations must precede an appointment, another Congregation, the Congregation for Extraor- dinary Ecclesiastical Concerns to be described later on, deals with the

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matter. In addition the missions have a Congregation of their own.

The manner in which bishops are elected is slowly being altered. Rome is seeking to exclude alien influences; and the disparity o exist- ing methods of nomination and appointment render this desire under- standable. Even where political ties create no difficulty, the right to name bishops is often placed in such undesirable hands as those of the Cathedral Chapter, where there is always danger of local intrigue and bias. In England the bishops of a Church province and the cathedral chapter draw up a list of candidates; and until recently a similar method of procedure was in vogue in the United States. Since IQIO the Consistorial Congregation has gradually made progress in introducing its own system, which is based on a biennial meeting of every group of suffragan bishops under the chairmanship of their metropolitan. At this meeting the names and qualifications of some candidates arc agreed upon. The selection must be supported by personal acquaintance of long standing. Each of the bishops must submit a list independently of the others; all are then examined in joint session. Finally a list in which the names are arranged accord- ing to merits is secretly agreed upon. This is then compared with information supplied by the Congregation's own secret service. It may be stated that this method of selection is probably the fairest that human fallibility can arrive at. It may be that men of unusual ability are slighted because they are found less subservient, but the method does keep out unworthy characters and weak compromise candidates. It assures to the hierachy a band of successors able to serve the Church as a whole.

Every five years each bishop must submit to the Congregation a detailed report concerning his activities and his diocese. The ques- tionnaires submitted go beyond religious and moral considerations proper, and deal with industrial, social, educational and political con- ditions, so that virtually the whole complex of matters affecting Catho- lic life is discussed. The Congregation proves that it reads these documents carefully by sending back critical remarks. Even the private life of a bishop is subject to supervision. The Congregation does not permit those in whom it has placed its trust to come even remotely near a life of vice.

Even the lower prelates and pastors are subject to the direct scrutiny

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of Rome. With this the Congregation of Councils is entrusted. It was originally established to carry out the decrees of the Council of Trent in so far as the reform of the clergy and the laity was concerned. Today it still has the task of keeping watch over the fulfilment of the commandments, especially those of the Church concerning Sunday observance and fasting. It issues ordinances governing the public and in part the domestic conduct of the secular clergy, and when neces- sary can take steps to bring about improvement. In order to perform its duties satisfactorily it co-operates with the episcopal authorities and from time to time demands reports. The questions which rise out of Church property are also entrusted to it Mass stipends, pious foundations, brotherhoods, charitable organizations, Church taxes and emoluments, the property of the Church as a whole and its administra- tion. It constitutes the court of appeal to which priests may go if they wish to enter complaints against their bishops. Indeed in one respect it takes precedence over the Consistorial Congregation, in so far as the bishops are concerned: it has the right of supervision over episcopal conferences and provincial synods, and is thus the guardian of the loyalty of the bishops to doctrine and to the Papal primacy. More- over it strives to eliminate national influence on ecclesiastical directions. All in all, it is a disciplinary institution having broad powers.

The number of secular priests far exceeds a quarter of a million, and the total of religious (half of whom are priests and half of whom are lay brothers) is about as large. Accordingly the jurisdiction of the Congregatio de Rcligiosis, the Congregation of the Orders, is no less extensive than that of the Congregation of Councils.

The largest religious foundations of the Western world have created the types of religious living according to which all associations foster- ing a religious and ascetic life now conform in the Church. Those Orders which follow the so-called rule of St. Augustine today include the well-known and active Premonstratensians and the monks of the Hospices of St. Bernard and the Simplon among its relatively few groups. The first monastic rule of Europe, the Rule of St. Benedict, created monasticism proper, and this continues to flourish in those splendid old centres of culture associated with the Benedictine Order, as well as in numerous younger foundations. Familiar to all is the

45 o THE CURIA

careful Benedictine fidelity to a pure liturgy, to science and to art. The Order not only conserves what is old but constantly sends an invigorating new stream of vitality through the Catholic world. Its pastoral methods and the wholesome spirit of its educational institution are famous. The abbeys enjoy great independence; and the monk be- longs all his life to the home he has chosen. The same basic trait of a monastic family bound to its site prevails in other developments out of the Benedictine Rule branches of the original Order, among which the Cistercians, the strict Carthusians, and the still stricter Trappists, are most familiar. They live in the utmost simplicity, in a silence and seclusion devoted to work and prayer. Their existence is so com- pletely the opposite of everything which human nature normally desires that a lover of life stands in awe before this hard reversal oi his own ideal.

The Mendicant Orders serve the immediate demands of the people. They live in simple, often poverty-stricken monasteries on the alms of the faithful and in turn offer Christian mercy to the body and the soul. They include the Sons of St. Dominic in their black habits, and the sons of St. Francis in their brown robes. Both Orders also serve ecclesiastical learning in scholarly foundations. In addition to the Franciscans proper, there are the bearded Capuchins, men of the people in their manner of preaching, caring for souls, and helping the poorest of the poor. Finally we may mention the Carmelites, the Augustinian hermits (Luther s Order), and the Christian Brothers. Just as the monastic Orders localize their work in the fixed central point of the abbey and perform it there, so the Mendicant Orders go wherever their work calls, being sent from one monastery to another. They are always homeless, as the Son of Man was homeless, but yet are rooted in a great religious family spread all over the world.

Then there are associations with a freer constitution, the members of which are religious but not monks or mendicant brothers. The most important of these is the Society of Jesus. The Theatines and the Piarists also belong to this group which is the model for various religious congregations and societies which are not Orders in the strict sense. They too are bound by lifelong vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, but these vows are not taken in the solemn, sternly bind- ing form of the Orders, but rather as simple and therefore more easily

THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS 431

dissoluble promises. A Jesuit foundation is called a college, not a monastery, and always serves the purpose of study and training, either for members of the Society or for outside students.

The educational system followed in their institutions combines in an unusual way the strictest discipline, familiarity with the world, and modern methods. All this reflects a spirit rooted deeply in Loyola. From everything that the Society undertakes there emanates wide- awake awareness of the needs of the time. Today as always it covers all those aspects of religious and social life which are open to the in- fluence of the Church or which can be subordinated to that influence either by prudent skill or by tenacious effort. The violence of the opposition incurred is the yardstick by which one can measure the not always visible successes obtained by these shock troops of Rome.

There are about fifty Congregations, most of which are devoted to missionary activities, though some foster learning. Among these the Oratorians, the Sulpicians, the Rosminians and the relatively numerous Redemptorists are closely bound up with the history of the Church in a significant way.

Almost all these Orders and Congregations have branches for women. There is no work of Christian charity which the convent does not foster, and there is no field of education or of the training of girls in which its women arc not busy. This army of almost half a million women dedicated to God is a power in the Christian world; and not only the Church but also the State knows that nothing else can take their place in social welfare.

The organization of the Orders and Congregations is as diverse as are their rules. Whatever may be the form adopted, there is always a religious association in which life is fostered according to a firmly established order similar to that of the hierarchical office. But since the religious are wholly dependent economically upon the organization and are required to practice very strict obedience, the powers entrusted to the superiors are more extensive and more direct than is the case among the secular clergy. The enforcement of discipline lies pri- marily with the superior, inside the limits set by the Rule, and is up- held by methods of punishment to which the bishop cannot resort against his priests. Nevertheless the Congregation of Orders has much to do* It requires superiors to submit a carefully prepared re-

432 THE CURIA

port every five years. To it there must be referred all requests to establish new foundations. It controls the election of superiors, and must be asked for permission if re-election is desired. It is a general supervising body and intervenes whenever there is disorder. Dis- pensations are obtained from it; complaints and quarrels must be sub- mitted to it. In economic matters an Order exercises freedom of management only in a limited degree, beyond which evety change in economic status is contingent upon Rome's permission.

In the missionary Orders the competency of the Congregation of the Orders is often hard to distinguish from that of the Congregation of the Missions. Every Order as a whole is subordinate to the Con- gregation of the Orders, to which all its inner business must be re- ferred; and it is dependent upon the Congregation for the Missions only in so far as its missionary activities are concerned. The boundary- line between the two is often difficult to find.

The examination of a new religious Rule is entrusted to a special group of councillors. The foundation of a new congregation is per- mitted only when there is reason to believe that the effort rests upon a substantial basis. It must survive a time of probation, in which it is to prove its worthiness, and is then removed very gradually from the jurisdiction of the bishop of the diocese in which the foundation is made and placed directly under the control of the Pope. Decades may still go by, however, before a preliminary endorsement is trans- formed into a final recommendation. Every monastic society en- deavours to become exempt i. e. to be wholly removed from the control of the episcopal authority. Larger religious societies are customarily represented at the Congregation by a procurator-general. The older Orders enjoy honorary rights in the Curia; not only are one or more of their members recipients of the Cardinal's purple, but they are entrusted in accordance with custom with important positions. Thus the General of the Dominicans and three other members of his Order always belong to the Holy Office. The magister palatii, who is a member of important Congregations, the supreme censor of books, and papal court theologian assigned the duty of reading through the Pope's sermons before these are delivered, is also always a Domini- can. A Franciscan is consultor of the Holy Office, a Capuchin is Papal court preacher, a Servite is the confessor of the Papal "family,"

THE PROPAGANDA 433

and a bishop appointed from the Augustinian Order is sacristan of the Palace. One o the most important offices held by the Jesuits is in the College of the Penitentiaries.

The Divine task of the Church to "go and teach all nations" is confided to the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith) , which is an especial part of the Con- gregation for the Missions. It is in control of all territories which are not organized into dioceses having full rights. That means most of the earth's surface. Before the reform of the Curia, the Prefect of the Congregation of the Propaganda had sole authority in the territory, to the exclusion of the other Congregations and indeed partly of the Pope himself. He was not incorrectly termed the "Red Pope." The reform deprived him of important territories the British Isles, Holland, Luxembourg, Newfoundland, Canada and the United States, in all of which ecclesiastical conditions had long since been so settled that the term "missionary region" could no longer be applied to them. In 1917 Pope Benedict XV also took away from the Propaganda the subdivision for Oriental rites and made of this an independent Con- gregation. The Congregation of the Orders also extended its rights to include the missionary Orders, and so the Propaganda retained absolute control only of the purely missionary societies and seminaries. The oflices 1 entrusted with the faith and canon law became, as their nature implied, qualified to control the whole Church. Therewith the supreme power of the Propaganda had been reduced to a bearable degree. Nevertheless it still has the right to legislate and administer the tremendous world of the missions in an almost sovereign way, and manages by reason of its systematic work and its well-co-ordinated strength to make energetic inroads into peoples of other faiths. A small group of courageous souls first sets foot on new missionary ground, and then nuns and other missionary priests follow. The boundaries of the new foundation are fixed in advance. If it seems likely to succeed it is elevated to the rank of an Apostolic Prefecture. Later on, as Church life and charitable activities grow, the mission becomes an Apostolic Vicarate, the superior of which is similar in rank to a coadjutor bishop. Finally, when it is certain that the founda- tions will prosper in an orderly way, that the district can maintain

434 itself with its own energies and its own means, and that it needs neither missionary priests nor subsidies, it becomes an established bishopric inside the great hierarchical system. Thus one may say that the Propaganda is, as it were, the Church's botanical garden — a term that indicates sufficiently well how significant it is and how great an amount of work it accomplishes.

Spreading the faith in countries where the political situation is difficult is sometimes entrusted to the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, and sometimes missionary activity as such involves political measures. For good reasons the Propaganda desires that missionaries who serve one folk group or territory shall be of different nationalities; but every state tries with all the means at its disposal to establish a monopoly of its own missionaries, realizing that a country which has been Christianized by missionaries speaking its language thereby becomes a fertile field for its trade and its policy. Accordingly the Prefect of the Propaganda is an important political personage whom statesmen and diplomats surround jealously.

It is very surprising to learn that a considerable portion of Europe belongs to the terræ missionis, for this term includes the diaspora i. e., Protestant countries with a scattered Catholic population. The three Scandinavian kingdoms are Apostolic Vicarates, and the diaspora regions of North and Central Germany were only recently — the final change took place when the Concordat with Prussia was signed in 1929 — transformed from Apostolic Vicarates and Prefectures into dioceses, in so far as they were not incorporated in older dioceses. Therewith there finally ended a situation whereby the Catholics of Hamburg, Saxony, Mecklenburg and Holstein were made to live under the same ecclesiastical authorities who supervise the newly converted Zulus and Bantus.

When the reigning Pope dissolved the administration of the Oriental Church from the Congregation of the Missions this was looked upon as an act of respect to the ancient rite of the East and as a grant to the Uniat Greek Church of equal rank with the Latin Church. The Pope gave this measure especial significance by himself taking the presidency of the new Congregation for the Oriental Church, and thus giving it a rank next to that of the Holy Office and equal to that of ORIENTAL INSTITUTE 435

the Congregation of the Consistory. As a matter o fact only the Holy Office is its superior; and it is as true to say of it that in so far as the Oriental Church is concerned it "incorporates all other Congrega- tions/* as it was formerly correct to say as much of the Propaganda. The unconditional recognition of the Oriental rite is in itself nothing new, since there has always been preserved a custom that during the Pope's Pontifical Mass the Epistle and Gospel are first sung in Latin, and are then repeated in the Greek tongue by Greek bishops who participate in the service at the altar in robes prescribed by their rite. Pius XI commemorated the Council of Nice with a Pontifical High Mass sung in St, Peter's according to the Greek rite. Today, when Russian Orthodoxy is tottering, the Curia strives harder than ever be- fore to reach an understanding with the non-Uniat Eastern Churches, the more than hundred million belonging to which are numerically so much stronger than the six million Uniats. A commission in the Congregation for the Oriental Churches is entrusted with the special conditions which prevail in the land of the Soviets.

The Oriental Institute in Rome, founded by Pope Benedict XV, is an institution of theological study which is open not only to students of the Uniat Churches, but also to those of the non-Uniat Churches a magnificent expression of freedom of thought which is new in Roman practice. In addition there are a number of national colleges to which others are being circumspectly added. The Oriental Church, despite its relative numerical weakness is harder to govern than the whole of Europe. There are four rites the Greek, Armenian, Syrian and Coptic and in addition numerous variations of each. The decadent forms of the Greek rite in Hungary and Poland are sponsored by nearly two-thirds of the Uniat Churches, the other third being divided into a number of small and even infinitesmal groups. The highest officials are seven Patriarchs, Rome confirms their elec- tion and can, when necessity arises, bring gentle pressure to bear on a Patriarch who ought to retire. Yet on the whole these higher shep- herds, all of whom wear magnificent tides, have kept much of the independence and power of the ancient Patriarchs. The most difficult thing in so far as relationships with the Latin Church are concerned is not the use of the vernacular liturgy, or the administration of com-

436 THE CURIA

munion in two forms, but the marriage of priests. Until the present Rome has compromised in cases of acute difficulty, but the compromises have all been in favour of the other side.

Another Congregation, essentially different in character from the others, is the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, which is political in scope and is very intimately associated with the Secretariate of State as the organ of Papal policy. It does not legislate, administer or adjudge; it is "only an advisory body which places its decisions and reports at the disposal of the Pope." Its Prefect is the Secretary of State, and its members are the highest officials of his office. It is composed of the most able statesmen of the Curia, and in all ques- tions that come under its jurisdiction it is the Pope's right hand and probably more. It is true that there is no legal definition of its powers. As need arises the Pope refers problems to it through the Secretary of State who also has no absolute right to do anything, being merely a Secretary, though of course a very powerful, very dominating secre- tary, who is the alter ego of the Pope, He is an ex-officio member o every other Congregation, so that he may be informed of everything that happens and may by reason of the fact that he surveys the whole scene assist each separate Congregation when matters of importance arise. He is a foreign minister and almost a premier. After nepo- tism had declined, this position was created as a substitute boon for the Cardinal's nephew; but since Consalvi's time and that of his energetic successors in office it has gradually come to exercise an influence of a far-reaching kind. The Cardinal-Secretary of State is chosen by the Pope himself, since no intimate co-operation would be possible unless there were personal agreement and boundless confidence on both sides. Every day the Secretary of State appears in the morning as the first to talk to the Pope and discuss matters with him. He may deliver important despatches throughout the day and even at night. There- fore he lives as close as possible to the Papal apartment, now residing in the first story of the same wing just below the Pope's chambers. The Vatican carriage is at his disposal. He is the Papal representative in so far as current relationships of a diplomatic kind are concerned, and he also gives the official dinners, which etiquette will not allow the Sovereign Pontiff to attend. The visits of princes, which arc

PAPAL NUNCIOS 437

always paid first to the Pope and then to the Secretary, arc repaid by the second in the Pope's name. He goes out of office when his master dies; and as a general rule the confidential relationship is maintained throughout the Pope's life. It is seldom that a Pontiff takes over, to- gether with the ideas of his predecessor, their living exponent as Pius XI so graciously did.

The first division of the Secretariate of State is entrusted with the conferring of positions and titles, and above all with the correspondence with the nuncios. These diplomatic representatives of the Pope in foreign countries were not only recognized at the Congress of Vienna, but were honoured with the right to take precedence over other diplo- mats of the same rank. They are ambassadors, diplomats of the first class. The inter-nuncios are regarded as legates, and are diplomats of the second class. They are given by way of assistance an uditorc whose rank is that of a secretary to the legation and a private secretary. In addition to what might be termed their secular diplomatic office, the nuncios are also expressly given an ecclesiastical right of supervision over the country into which they are sent that transcends that of even an archbishop. At this point the Curialistic hierarchy comes into conflict so sharply and painfully with the apostolic hierarchy that Rome has often had to act sternly to end the resistance. The great nuncia- tures ar* looked upon as positions occupied by men who may later on be cardinals; but a cardinal cannot be a nuncio, and if the red hat should come to a Papal diplomat while he is still in office, he must carry on as a pro-nuncio until relieved of his duties. A number of Popes have risen from among these ambassadors of the Church. As is well-known, Pius XI was Papal nuncio to Poland; and as the Papal commissioner during the plebiscite in Upper Silesia his neutral at- titude brought down so much hatred and criticism from both sides that a whole year later, when he ascended the Papal throne, there was a trying situation to deal with in both Poland and Germany. The tradition that any nuncio may become a "crowned prince of the Church" is naturally a great boon in so far as regard for their position and for their official wishes is concerned. It goes without saying that the Curia takes great pains to choose these diplomats carefully, know- ing full well that not only the Concordats but the whole of the mani-

438 THE CURIA

fold relationships between Church and State must be entrusted to the skill of these hands. Though the appointment is reserved to the Pope himself, the nominations are made by the Secretary of State, who thus comes to have more influence upon the appointments of cardinals and bishops than is officially accorded to him.

When knots appear in the smooth yarn of diplomatic intercourse or when tasks of far-reaching importance transcend the' ordinary routine e. g., a Concordat is to be signed and put in force the second division of the Secretariate of State, the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, steps in. It may also be appealed to for an opinion concerning the change of a diocese as was the case some years ago in Germany. If the matter under discussion is within the official jurisdiction of another Congregation, or if it is adjudged that such a Congregation could throw light on the problem, mixed sessions are resorted to i. e., the cardinals of the other Congrega- tion who are familiar with the situation are invited to the discussion. It is always the Secretary of State himself who determines how the advisory Council is to be composed, and who then also summarizes the findings and reports on them to the Pope. The Pope then renders a decision but of course cannot help being guided by the material which has been placed before him. Nevertheless one has less reason here than elsewhere to speak of a ruler who i? ruled, for at this point the mystical element enters the faith of the Church and the suc* cessors of Peter in the direct illumination and guidance of God, which transcends the limits to which critical and reflective investigation can go. The Pope feels that the keys of Heaven are in his hands; and he knows that the shield of his divine Master is held over him to ward off all assaults of the enemy. This is the mystery of his calling, and in its presence one can only be silent.

The third division of the Secretariate of State is a bureau, ^ mem- bers of which are chiefly laymen and which is employed for the most part in drawing up the briefs. These are short Papal letters, scaled or rather stamped with the Fisherman's ring, which are the usual form in which important decisions of the Congregation arc made known. Thus every utterance of importance passes finally through the hands of this all powerful central office. It means the closest possible com- bination of information and control.

THE PENITENTIARY 439

The Church lays claim, by reason of its divine foundation, to a code of law independent of the state, and this makes necessary the existence of Papal courts. Among these a particular importance attaches to the Penitentiary. This is an organization in control of consciences, a court of confession and penance, the head of which is the Cardinal Grand Penitentiary, who is assisted by six councillors chosen for their ripe scholarship. The Penitentiaries of great cathedrals have all the powers of a bishop in so far as giving absolution is concerned, but they are not members of the Confessional Court. Canon law speaks o "reserved sins," from which only the Pope or the bishop, who may be represented by the Penitenriaiy, can absolve: the slanderous denuncia- tion of a priest in certain grave matters is a sin reserved to the Pope; then there are murder, abortion, arson, etc. A second sin quite re- cently reserved to the Pope characterizes the sharp opposition to Rome to heretical philosophical nationalism. A confessor who knowingly absolves an insubordinate member of I' Action Franfaise, can secure pardon for this grave sin of priestly disobedience only from the Pope. The simple father-confessor can be the mediator of this absolution if he appeals to the bishop or directly to the Penitentiary. When a doubtful matter arises which he does not himself feel able to settle, he likewise follows the same course. The name of the penitent is not revealed, since it is an inviolable law that the secret of the confessional must be strictly guarded. Only the sin itself is clearly described. Release from vows, conflicts of conscience which arise in marriage, , or as the result of the acquisition of ill-gotten goods, a conflict between one's oath as a state official and one's duty as a Catholic, and disparity between what one owes to human society and to the Church these are examples of other matters than grave offences which are brought before the forum of the highest court of conscience. The confessor is sent the absolution or decision in Latin, and this he then reads to the penitent in the confessional. Afterward the communication is torn up, for not a trace must remain of the matter discussed in this secret tribunal. Every case is settled for the individual conscience in foro interne, and it is impossible to appeal to precedent. The Peni- tentiary is in charge of a real office of grace: it gathers together again souls that have strayed from the flock. Not infrequently something which a Congregation would have had to decide in the negative by

440 THE CURIA

reason of the principle involved can be quietly answered in the affirma- tive through the means of grace, thus bringing comfort to a beleaguered conscience. The law must be inflexible, but the quality of mercy is not strained, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.

The two courts which decide conflicts in foro externo are the ancient Papal courts of the Rota and Signatura. The Sacra Romana Rota is the regular court of appeals to which one turns after the first tribunal, i. c., die bishop, has reached a legal decision. The episcopal office confers upon the incumbent a share both of the highest power to ab- solve and of ecclesiastical jurisdiction since Christ's word concerning loosening and binding was addressed to all the Apostles, The Rota can also be appealed to as the court of the first instance, but only upon the special recommendation of the Signatura, which acts as a kind of court of cassation controlling and completing the Rota, for the reason that a direct appeal to the Rota would involve a circumvention of the apostolic right of the bishop. To the Rota there are brought "all civil and criminal cases which reach the Curia and are to be disposed of by due process of canon law." In addition to clerical disputes, there figure here also the complaints brought by laymen against religious persons or associations, since these enjoy immunity from the civil courts in many countries with which Concordats have been signed. The purely lay cases brought before the court consist almost exclusively of annulment cases. The court is comprised of ten uditore, the senior member being the dean. Each case tried is laid before three uditore; and only in difficult cases does the group meet as a whole. The Rota has a rule, which is common to the Congregations, that the decision asked for must always be phrased clearly and succinctly. Thus for example such cases as these are referred to it as a court of appeal: Is the first decision to be confirmed or changed; is the nullity of the marriage contracted certain? The parties appear personally, or can so appear, only in the first session, excepting in few rare cases when they may appear a second time. All they can do is to draw up the question precisely. From that point forward the trial proceeds in writing. Short written sentences are printed, submitted, exchanged, answered. The uditort first set down their opinions in writing and then discuss them in a secret session at which neither the parties nor the counsel for the defence is present. The verdict is as succinct as the

OTHER FUNCTIONS OF THE CURIA 441

question, but when it is made public there is appended a reason. In this respect the Rota deviates from the Congregations, which add noth- ing to the laconic formula in which their decision is rendered. It is possible to appeal again to the Rota itself, which will try a case under different aditore if new arguments are introduced. Or one may ap- peal to the Signatura Apostolica, the highest ecclesiastical court from whose decision there is no appeal. Accordingly the eleven judges of the Signatura are all Cardinals. The causes majores, which are expressly placed outside the jurisdiction of the Rota, are either decided by the Pope in person or are turned over to the Signatura. Occasion- ally, it is true, they may be referred to a Congregation.

Thus a very modest role is assigned to the canonical courts when one compares their work with that done by the extensive offices of administration. Before the reform of Pope Pius, the courts had almost nothing to do. Today their competencies are still not always clearly defined, and there is a tendency to dispose of quarrels and penalties in the regular administrational routine. The first decision here rests with the bishop, who will prevent as long as he can a dispute from being brought to court. But if something is once introduced as a problem to be settled in the way of administrational routine, it cannot be turned over to the court until a decision has been reached one way or the other. Whenever a matter is referred to the Curia, whether it concerns a congregation or a court, knowledge of the right way to proceed and of die authorities in question is of the greatest importance. If one congregation has handed down a verdict, no other can render an opinion in the same case. Even if the first verdict were kept secret and the matter were then referred to a second congregation which would render another decision, the procedure would be invalid in canon law. A great number of lawyers and agents are credited to the Curia as councillors to the petitioners and as representatives of the parties to the suit. Success depends to no little extent as it does every- where in the world upon the choice of a good attorney. Patience is always required. The Curia goes along at an even pace, not pretending to be at all in a hurry. The weight of responsibility and of work to be done grows heavier the higher the station of those in authority, and finally becomes oppressively burdensome. But the lower officials have as a rule only three hours of work a day; and they

442 THE CURIA

enjoy many holidays and long vacations. The method is really ad- mirable, and the Curia proceeds always with noble, superior calm and self-assurance. This is not surprising when one remembers that here is an institution which, as a Russian has said, "usually thinks in centuries, often in generations, but only under the pressure of extraor- dinary circumstances in years, and never in shorter spans of time."

Apart from the Secretariate of State the offices of the Curia are four purely executive bodies. Once they were of great importance, but they no longer are. Thus the Apostolic Chancellery publishes the Bulls, those documents inscribed on parchment to which a leaden seal is affixed, in which the decisions of the Pope and of the Consistorial Congregation are made public. For some decades past the mediaeval leaden seal has been replaced, as a rule, with a red stamp. The Secretariate for Briefs i. e., princely briefs and Latin briefs does what its name implies. The Pope's letters are drawn up in that solemn, conventional Latin which is the official public language of the Curia as a whole. The Dataria bestows the benefices of the Holy See, examines the applicants, and supervises the successful incumbents. The Apostolic Camera, which administers the worldly goods of the Holy See, has little to do now; but at the Pope's death its presiding official, the Cardinal-Chamberlain or Cameralingo, is in charge of the temporal ruling authority of the Pope for the short time during which the See is vacant. But there still exists today an "Administration of the Property of the Holy See." This is a commission comprised of four members, all of them Cardinals, among whom the Secretary of State is one. The lower officials are laymen. For a long time the Popes themselves have been accustomed to live in monastic simplicity, but the expenditures for the Curia and the Court are large. Probably half of the money is supplied by the interest on the remnant of the Papal fortune. A part is derived from taxes and fees, but the greater part of what remains to be collected is derived from the Peter's pence, the voluntary offerings of the faithful, France was once the greatest donor, then it was Germany, and now it is the United States. Pius X fearlessly swept away old injustices and misuses of money. His suc- cessors have faithfully kept the Roman administration of finance, which caused past times so much trouble, clean and healthy.

The. ecclesiastical interest in the sciences is served by permanent

ARISTOCRACY AND DEMOCRACY 443

Papal Commissions which meet in die Vatican. One supervises Biblical studies, another the interpretation of the Codex Juris canonist, a third (comprised o Benedictines) is entrusted with the study and editing of the Vulgate, and a fourth deals with Russian questions. The newest Commission, founded by Pope Pius XI, fosters Christian archaeology and an institute affiliated with this is supervised by a German scholar. The renowned Vatican Library is carefully watched over, especially now that a librarian wears the tiara. The Vatican missionary expedition of 1925 gave rise to a Museum in the Lateran Palace for missionary and ethnological study, At the head of this there is an anthropologist who belongs to the Society of the Divine Word.

A structure of harmonious proportions, simple and majestic alike, the Curia compels even its enemies to pay it respect. But it is not what its adulators would make of it, an ideal co-ordination of antago- nistic forms of government. It is rather the purest incarnation of absolutism, being bolstered up not only by Divine right, as was the old idea of the monarchy, but by the consciousness of representing God's kingdom on earth. The structure of the hierarchy rests, it is true, on the soil of the believing laity, but it is as if it hung from heaven with chains by reason of its faith in the imparting of the Holy Ghost to the one consecrated Head. No secular form of the state can be compared with this kingdom of Christian souls. The Church also has its aristocracy in the College of Cardinals, but this is basically dif- ferent from the hereditary nobility because it is always renewed from below according to the democratic principle. The parliamentarism of the Church, on the other hand, is completely undemocratic: one will, one power, flow from above downward through organs chosen and guided; and the will and the co-government of the masses below never move upward through freely elected representatives, without whom democracy and parliamentarism are inconceivable. Demo- cratic renewal from below is, however, nothing excepting natural neces- sity, for the absolute electoral monarchy of the Church cannot dispense with the mothers who from out of the laity send successors into its celibate hierarchical organization.