Cum gravissima

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Cum gravissima is an Apostolic Exhortation from Pope John XXIII. in the form of a motu proprios . It was published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis (AAS), the Official Gazette of the Holy See , on April 15, 1962, Sunday . It stipulates that all cardinals  - regardless of which cardinal class they belong to - should have received episcopal ordination before their elevation ; since 1917 they should have received at least the priestly ordination, before that even laypeople could be elevated to cardinal status and in isolated cases actually were.

General

Cum gravissima is one of thirteen motu proprios that John XXIII. published during his pontificate between October 1958 and June 1963. It is written in Latin , the official language of the Holy See; it was also published in Spanish . The title Cum gravissima is derived from the first sentence of the letter, beginning with "Cum gravissima sint munera Sacro Cardinalium Collegio concredita, ..." (translated roughly: "With the greatest consideration of the tasks assigned to the College of Cardinals ...").

As early as Canon 232 of the Codex Iuris Canonici of 1917 it was stipulated that cardinals should at least have received priestly ordination. Theodulf Mertel was the last layperson to become cardinal when he was appointed in 1858.

background

At that time the Second Vatican Council was being prepared, which finally took place from October 11, 1962 to December 8, 1965 with a total of 3,044 participants, including 2,498 Council Fathers , i.e. voters. It was by the then 80-year-old Pope John XXIII. convened with the mandate of pastoral and ecumenical renewal. For many meetings, the ranking of the individual officials of the Roman Catholic Church , especially the protocol ranking, was important.

In terms of content and theme, this Motu proprio is closely related to another Apostolic Letter from Pope John XXIII, the Motu Proprio Suburbicariis sedibus , which was published only four days earlier on April 11, 1962 . This stipulated that separate diocesan bishops should be appointed for the suburbicarian bishoprics and that the cardinal bishops should no longer exercise jurisdiction over them.

The protocol-based hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church is primarily based on the ordination received (bishop, priest or deacon ordination). Immediately after the Pope the Cardinals are ranked: Rank default comes first the Cardinal Dean , it follows the Kardinalsubdekan and the cardinal bishops . Then come the cardinal proto-priest , the remaining cardinal priests according to the date of creation, the cardinal protodeacon , and the cardinal deacons according to the date of creation, regardless of which level of ordination they have received. Then come the patriarchs , unless they are cardinal. Contrary to the principle, according to the old regulation, for example, cardinal deacons who had received only the ordination of priests were ranked above patriarchs , who are always ordained bishops. With Cum gravissima , among other things , Pope John XXIII eliminated. previous breaches of the rules that determine rank.

Effects of cum gravissima

In anticipation of cum gravissima , all twelve non-bishops cardinal deacons were appointed titular archbishops on April 5, 1962 . On April 19, 1962, Maundy Thursday , Pope John XXIII dedicated. them to bishops. Co-consecrators were the Prefect of the Congregation for the Seminars and Universities , Cardinal Giuseppe Pizzardo , and the Prefect of the Congregation for the Order of the Sacraments , Cardinal Benedetto Aloisi Masella . Thus, the requirements of the Motu Proprio were implemented just four days later.

Usually a titular bishopric becomes free again after its holder has been elevated to cardinal status. Accordingly, the newly ordained resigned as titular bishops on April 19, 1962. Since then, priests, such as Walter Brandmüller , who are appointed cardinals, have been assigned a titular bishopric in the weeks leading up to the creation of a cardinal , and episcopal ordination has been donated.

However, at the request of the prospective cardinal, the Pope can dispense with the obligation . This exception applies to Albert Vanhoye and Ernest Simoni , for example . Since 1994 some Jesuits have renounced the episcopal ordination before their elevation to the cardinalate.

Cum gravissima , together with Suburbicariis sedibus, made the three cardinal classes a pure honorary rank.

Overview of the twelve cardinal deacons, the Pope John XXIII. consecrated as bishops on April 19, 1962 based on the Motu proprio Cum gravissima :

No. Surname Age Titular archbishopric Title diakonia Curia office Ref
1 Alfredo Ottaviani 71 Berrhoea Santa Maria in Domnica Secretary of the Holy Officium
2 Alberto di Jorio 77 Castra Nova Santa Pudenziana Pro-President of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican State
3 Francesco Bracci 82 Idassa San Cesareo in Palatio Secretary of the Congregation for the Order of the Sacraments
4th Francesco Roberti 72 Columnate Santa Maria in Cosmedin Cardinal Prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature
5 André Jullien 79 Corone San Giorgio in Velabro Dean of the Roman Rota
6th Arcadio María Larraona 74 Diocaesarea in Isauria Santi Biagio e Carlo ai Catinari Secretary of the Congregation for Religious
7th Francesco Morano 89 Fallaba Santi Cosma e Damiano Secretary to the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature
8th William Theodore Heard 78 Feradi Maius San Teodoro former dean of the Roman Rota
9 Augustin Bea 80 Germania in Numidia San Saba President of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity
10 Antonio Bacci 76 Colonia in Cappadocia Sant'Eugenio former secretary of the department for the briefs to the princes
11 Michael Browne 74 Idebessus San Paolo alla Regola former Magister General of the Dominicans
12 Anselmo Albareda 70 Gypsaria Sant'Apollinare alle Terme Neroniane-Alessandrine Prefect of the Vatican Library

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. AAS 54 (1962), pp. 256-258.
  2. ^ Stephan Haering , Wilhelm Rees , Heribert Schmitz : Handbook of Catholic Church Law . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, 2015, ISBN 978-3-7917-7084-0 ( google.de [accessed June 30, 2020]).
  3. a b Martin Bräuer: Handbook of the Cardinals: 1846–2012 . Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2014, ISBN 978-3-11-026947-5 ( google.de [accessed June 30, 2020]).
  4. ^ Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani. Catholic-Hierarchy, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  5. ^ Alberto Cardinal di Jorio. Catholic-Hierarchy, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  6. Francesco Cardinal Bracci. Catholic-Hierarchy, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  7. Francesco Cardinal Roberti. Catholic-Hierarchy, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  8. ^ André-Damien-Ferdinand Cardinal Jullien. Catholic-Hierarchy, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  9. ^ Arcadio María Cardinal Larraona Saralegui. Catholic-Hierarchy, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  10. Francesco Cardinal Morano. Catholic-Hierarchy, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  11. ^ William Theodore Cardinal Heard. Catholic-Hierarchy, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  12. Augustin Cardinal Bea. Catholic-Hierarchy, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  13. ^ Antonio Cardinal Bacci. Catholic-Hierarchy, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  14. Michael Cardinal Browne. Catholic-Hierarchy, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  15. ^ Joaquín Anselmo María Cardinal Albareda y Ramoneda. Catholic-Hierarchy, accessed June 30, 2020 .