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 CARDINAL

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CARDINAL

Lipsanotheca or relic-treasury of the vicariate, the censorship of books, and the permission to print. The eensorslup of books was entrusted to the vicar by a Bull of 4 May, 1515 (in the Magnum Bullarium); this right, however, is now exercised by the vices- gerens subject to the Magister sacri jxilaiii, to whose imprimatur he adds his own name without further examination of the book in question. The really re- sponsible censor is therefore the Magister sacri palatii. not the vicesgerens. Occasionally there have been two assistants of the vicar, to one of whom were com- mitted all matters of jurisdiction, to the other the pontificalia and ordinations; the latter was known as suffragan of the vicar.

Organization of the Vicariate. — Ordinations. — In this respect the duties of the vicar are of primary importance, since a multitude of ecclesiastics from all parts of the world pursue their studies at Rome and receive orders there on presentation of the required authorization of their respective bishops. For every order conferred at Rome there is a special examina- tion conducted by a body of twenty-five learned ec- clesiastics from the secular and the regular clergy, which operates in sections of three. Orders are regu- larly conferred on the days prescribed by ecclesias- tical law and in the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, i. e. in the Lateral! Church; they may, however, be conferred on other days and in other churches or chapels. They are usually conferred either by the vicar himself or by the vicesgerens; by special dele- gation from the vicar, however, another bishop may occasionally ordain candidates. For the rights of the cardinals to ordain in their own churches (tituli, diaconio?) see Cardinal. By a general pontifical in- dult any bishop resident in Rome may administer the Sacrament of Confirmation, it being still customary at Rome to confirm all children who seem in danger of death.

Religious Orders. — All matters concerning the mon- asteries of Rome and their inmates pertain to a special commission in the vicariate composed of about eight members and under the direction of the vicar.

Preaching. — Strict regulations of Pius X permit only those to preach in Rome who have been found worthy after a thorough examination, scientific and practical, before a special commission which issues to each successful candidate the proper authorization. A similar regulation exists for priests desirous of hearing confessions in the city.

Parochial Clergy. — The parochial clergy of Rome form a special corporation, under a camerlengo (q. v.) chosen annually by themselves. Apart from the rights secured them by their statutes, in so far as ap- proved by the pope, they are entirely subject to the vicar.

Treasury oj Relies (Lipsanotheca). — The adminis- tration of the large collection of relics preserved in that part of the vicariato (palace of the vicar) known as the Lipsanotheca, and whence relics are regularly distributed to corporations, churches, or private per- sons, is confided by the vicar to his vicesgerens. On the other hand the vicar himself is at all times the president of the pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology (see Arch.eolooy, Commission- ok Sa- cred) which has charge of the catacombs (q. v.); he cannot confide this duty to another.

Since the vicar i< tin' ordinary judge of the Curia Romana (see 1!o\i\n Cdhia) and its terri- tory, it follows that lie has always had and now has his own court or tribunal. Formerly it took cog- nizance of both civil and criminal matters, either alone or concurrently with other tribunals, whether the case pertained to voluntary or to contentious jurisdiction (q. v.). I bis court no longer deals with criminal cases, though it still exists for certain mat- ters provided for in the ecclesiastical law, tin' details of which may be seen in any of the larger manuals of

canon law. The principal officials of the court of the vicariate are the above-mentioned vicesgerens, the locum tenrns civilis, the promotor fiscal is for cases of beatification and canonization (q. v.). the promotor fiscalis for other ecclesiastical matters, chiefly monas- tic vows. In former times the auditor of the vicariate was a very busy person, being called on to formulate or to decide the various processes brought before the vicar; to-day the office is mostly an honorary one. .Matrimonial cases are dealt with by two officials who form a special section of the vicariate.

Secretariate. — Among the minor officials of the vicar the most important are those who have charge of t he secretariate, i. e. the secretary, his representative, two minvtanti or clerks, and the aforesaid auditor of the vicar. The secretary is daily at his post and is authorized by subdelegation to decide or settle a number of minor matters of a regularly recurring na- ture; he also makes known the decisions of the vicar in more important matters; and is accessible to every one daily during a period of two hours. In view 7 of a speedier administration corresponding to modern de- mands Pius X has very much simplified the workings of the vicariate; some of its departments he sup- pressed, others he combined, so that now of its former fifteen sections and sub-sections only seven remain.

For the latest complete account of the Vicariate of Rome see Bacmgarten. Die papstlicke Kirche unserer Zeit una] ihre Dierier (Munich. 1906), 4S3-510; note, however, that the above-mentioned reform of Pius X was published after the appearance of this work. See also Humphrey, f f rbs et Orbis: or The Pope as Bishop and as Pontiff (London. 1899), 172-186.

Paul Maria Baumgarten.

Cardinal Virtues, the four principal virtues upon which the rest of the moral virtues turn or are hinged. Those who recite the Divine Office find constantly recurring what seems to be the earliest instance of the word cardinal as applied to the virtues. St. Ambrose, while trying to identify the eight Beatitudes recorded by St. Matthew with the four recorded by St. Luke, makes use of the expression: "Hie quattuor velut virtutes amplexus est cardinales". A little later we find cardinal employed in like manner by St. Augus- tine (Common of Many Martyrs, third nocturn, sec- ond series; also Migne, P. L., XV, 1053; St. Thomas, Summa Theol., I-IT. Q. lxix. a. 1. ad 1). Thai St. Jerome also uses the term is a statement which rests on a treatise not written by him. but published among his works; it is to be found in Migne, P. L., XXX, 596.

The term cardo means a hinge, that on which a thing turns, its principal point; and from this St. Thomas derives the various significations of the vir- tues as cardinal, whether in the generic sense, inas- much as they are the common qualities of all other moral virtues, or in the specific sense, inasmuch as each has a distinct formal object determining it- na- ture. Every moral virtue fulfils (he conditions of being well judged, subserving the common good, be- ing restrained within measure, anil having firmness; and these four conditions also yield four distinct virtues.

Fourfold System. —The origin of the fourfold

system is traceable to Creek philosophy; other sources are earlier, but the Socratic source is most definite. Among the reporters ol Socrates. Xenophon is vague on the point; Plato in "The Republic" puts together in a system the four virtues adopted later, with modifications by St. Thomas. (In "The La Bk. I. 631, Plato recurs to his division: "Wisdom is the chief and leader: next follows temperance; and from the union of these two with courage -pnngs jus- tice. These four virtues take precedence in the of divine goods".) Wishing to say what justice is, the Socratic Plato looked for it in the city-state,

where he discovered four classes ol men. Lowest was

the producing class the husbandmen and the crafts-