With a rescript dated 26 June 2018, Holy Father Pope Francis has named four Cardinals to the Order of Bishops within the College of Cardinals. The rescript, signed by His Eminence Cardinal-elect Angelo Becciu, the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, says the new Cardinal Bishops will be equal “in all respects to the Cardinals holding the title of a suburbicarian Church.”
Traditionally, the Order of Bishops within the College is composed of six Bishops who are given the “title” of Bishops of the suburbicarian sees – that is, dioceses in the immediate vicinity of Rome. The new Cardinal Bishops are Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State; Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches; Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; and Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for Peoples. From the moment the rescript enters into force on 28 June, the new Cardinal Bishops will be equivalent in all respects to their confreres who hold the title of suburbicarian churches.
The rescript notes that although the numbers of Cardinals who belong to the Orders of Priests and Deacons have increased with the growth of the College, the number of Cardinal Bishops “has remained constant and unchanged over time.” The elevation of new Cardinals to the Order of Bishops is intended to meet “the need to enlarge the current composition” of the Order.
