Religion: Three in Pectore

Gathered in secret consistory last week to give formal approval to seven newly designated cardinals (TIME, March 14), the princes of the Roman Catholic Church listened as Pope John XXIII intoned the seven names. The list read, they rose and lifted their red hats—signifying approval —as the Pope put the traditional question, “Quid vobis videtur?” (What is your opinion?). Then came the surprise.

“Beyond those already listed,” said John, “we have nominated as members of the Sacred College three other illustrious personages whose names we reserve to ourselves in pectore.”

Not since 1933 had new cardinals been created in pectore, meaning that their names are held secret “in the heart” of the Pope.* In the past, in pectore appointments sometimes led to disputes after a Pope’s death, when prelates claimed to have been secretly appointed but could furnish no proof. Under present rules, Pope John’s three secret designates will not officially become cardinals until he makes public their names either to the consistory or in writing, and only then will they take up their duties as cardinals.

The chief tangible value of the in pectore nominations is that the future cardinals’ seniority in the Sacred College will date from last week’s announcement.

Since in pectore appointments are often made for political reasons, when public recognition from Rome might jeopardize a cardinal in his own country, Pope John’s announcement touched off a rash of speculation about likely candidates in the Iron Curtain countries. Possibilities: Archbishop Josef Beran of Prague; Monsignor Franjo Seper, former assistant to Yugoslavia’s late Cardinal Stepinac.

But most Vatican observers doubt this, since Pope John usually seems reluctant to aggravate already troublesome situations. Best guesses are that at least two of the three secret cardinals are actually Vatican officials. Pope John is keeping their names secret in order to hold them to their present assignments (which they would have to give up if publicly appointed). Most likely candidates: Monsignor Enrico Dante, Prefect of Pontifical Ceremonies; Monsignor Antonio Samore, Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs; Monsignor Acacio Coussa, Assessor for the Holy Congregation for the Oriental Church; and Monsignor Giuseppe Ferretto, Secretary of the Sacred College. The foreign favorites: Monsignor Juan Landázuri Ricketts, Archbishop of Lima, and Monsignor Jose Newton de Almeida Batista, Archbishop of Brasilia. (The Pope may have decided to withhold Batista’s formal elevation until his new archdiocese buildings are dedicated.)

It all makes for the liveliest guessing game in Rome since the betting in 1958 on who would succeed the late Pius XII as Pope.

*The 1933 appointments: Federico Tedeschini and Carlo Salotti. Pope Pius XI’s reasons for secrecy: Tedeschini was performing a critical mission as Papal Nuncio to Madrid at a time when the Republican regime was replacing the Spanish monarchy; Salotti was busy trying cases for sainthood as Promoter of the Faith, and the Pope wanted him to complete his work. Both were publicly elevated in 1935. The practice goes back to 1426, when Pope Martin V withheld publication of the names of three cardinals to avoid upsetting the delicate balance achieved by his election in 1417, ending the 4O-year Great Schism.