VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
Cardinals govern during the sede vacante transition phase as they elect the new Pope
Vatican Insider staff
Rome
Both electors and non electors have the important role of advising the Pope; a role which Wojtyla and Ratzinger have strengthened in recent years. Indeed, Benedict XVI has continued John Paul II’s decision for the Concistory to be preceded by a consultation with cardinals for the exchange of opinions on issues that have been brought to the Church’s attention.
Cardinals have had the power to elect Popes since 1059. In 1150 the College of Cardinals was formed, with a dean and a Camerlengo (whose responsibilities formerly included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of St. Peter), and from the 12th Century onwards, prelates outside Rome also began to be appointed as cardinals. Still today, each cardinal receives the title or diaconate of a Roman diocese or a suburbicarian diocese, from the Pope. This is a symbolic of the Roman clergy’s long tradition with the Pope being the Bishop of Rome.
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