English Translation

This applies above all to the adaptability of their form, i.e. to the forms of their legal organization. Accordingly, the forms in which they are organized are of a multifaceted nature. In order to have an idea of how it is possible for the Catholic Church, the 375 million I. The College of Cardinals. People who belong to it to maintain under their influence and vice versa from this fact a political power- The College of Cardinals is to be claimed according to ecclesiastical definition, it is necessary to know the members of their "a reflection of the foreign national unity of the Church", which organization. In the following, however, the opposite is not valid for its percentage composition. Its full occupation reaches 70 cardinals. This number represented the state of organization of the Catholic Church - was represented by Pope Sixtus V in 1586. wisely determined according to the Old Testament model of the Jewish Council of Elders appointed by Moses. Today, although the saying "Whoever has the Pope as his cousin, becomes a cardinal" is no longer valid in this sense, the appointment of a cardinal, which is made by the Pope, is still based on his merits, especially in the field of church politics. History has a number of cardinals who were the most prominent political figures, e.g. the French cardinals Mazarin and Richelieu, who were not by chance the greatest enemies of the German Empire. The most important task of the cardinals and their totality as cardinal college is the pope's election. There is a certain interaction between the election of the Pope by the College of Cardinals and the appointment of the individual Cardinal by the Pope. The Pope appoints the cardinals whom he is entitled to, while the Cardinals in turn elect the Pope whom they receive, thereby achieving the greatest possible stability in the political line.