College of Cardinals

"In the early years of the eleventh century the . , the father of , deposed three popes, no man saying him nay. The removal of the right of election from the Roman nobility to the , however, brought to an end an system under which it was the Emperor who really decided who should sit on the papal throne, and was determined that lesser ecclesiastical appointments should also be taken out his hand. In the complicated feudal system, bishops and abbots often held their lands as the vassals of a suzerain lord, compounding for the military service demanded from lay vassals. It was the habit, too, of the pious to endow monasteries and churches on the condition that they held the patronage. And, in one way and another, the noble, the prince, and the emperor claimed the right of ecclesiastical investiture which in effect meant the right of nomination to the offices of the Church. This lay patronage naturally led to simony, and it was the fashion for rich abbeys and attractive bishoprics to be sold to the highest bidder, to the scandal of the faithful and the hindrance of the work of the Church."

"I hope that my being a member of the College of Cardinals can increase the affection and the devotion of the people of the Archdiocese of Washington for Pope Francis and his Petrine Ministry."

"In the Islamic world, from the beginning, Islam was the primary basis of both identity and loyalty. We think of a nation subdivided into religions. They think, rather, of a religion subdivided into nations. It is the ultimate definition, the prime definition and the one that determines, as I said, not only identity, but also basic loyalty. And this is quite independent of religious belief. In Islam, there isn't or rather, there wasn't until recently any such thing as the church, in the Christian sense of that word. The mosque is a place of worship. It's a building, a place of worship and study. And in that sense, it is the equivalent of the church. But in the sense of an institution with a hierarchy and its own laws and usages, there was no such thing in Islam until very recently. And one of the achievements of the Islamic Revolution in Iran has been to endow an Islamic country for the first time with the equivalents of a pope, a college of cardinals, a bench of bishops and, above all, an inquisition. All these were previously unknown and nonexistent in the Islamic world."

"Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church, is often labeled today as a fundamentalism. … Whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and "swept along by every wind of teaching," looks like the only attitude acceptable to today's standards.We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as definitive and has as its highest value one's own ego and one's own desires... The church needs to withstand the tides of trends and the latest novelties. ... We must become mature in this adult faith, we must guide the flock of Christ to this faith."

"Vittoria Vetra: When did you hear your call? Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: Before I was born. I'm sorry, that always seems like a strange question. What I mean is that I've always known I would serve God. From the moment I could first think. It wasn't until I was a young man, though, in the military, that I truly understood my purpose. Vittoria Vetra: You were in the military? Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: Two years. I refused to fire a weapon, so they made me fly instead. Medevac helicopters. In fact, I still fly from time to time. Vittoria Vetra: Did you ever fly the Pope? Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: Heavens no. We left that precious cargo to the professionals. His Holiness let me take the helicopter to our retreat in Gandolfo sometimes. Ms. Vetra, thank you for your help here today. I am very sorry about your father. Truly. Vittoria Vetra: Thank you. Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: I never knew my father. He died before I was born. I lost my mother when I was ten. Vittoria Vetra: You were orphaned? Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: I survived an accident. An accident that took my mother. Vittoria Vetra: Who took care of you? Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: God. He quite literally sent me another father. A bishop from Palermo appeared at my hospital bed and took me in. At the time I was not surprised. I had sensed God's watchful hand over me even as a boy. The bishop's appearance simply confirmed what I had already suspected, that God had somehow chosen me to serve him. Vittoria Vetra: You believed God chose you? Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: I did. And I do. I worked under the bishop's tutelage for many years. He eventually became a cardinal. Still, he never forgot me. He is the father I remember." Vittoria Vetra: What became of him? The cardinal who took you in? Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: He left the College of Cardinals for another position. And then, I'm sorry to say, he passed on. Vittoria Vetra: Le mie condoglianze. Recently?" Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: Exactly fifteen days ago. We are going to see him right now."

"Tour guide: All right, summer at sea group. Our tour begins in the Vatican museum. This way, please. Scott: There it is. Swiss guard: This entrance is for private tour groups only. Jenny: Oh... but we are a private tour group. We've come all the way from America. That guy in the orange jacket is mentally retarded. [Cooper struggles with his ice cream cone] Swiss guard: Si, I can tell. How very, very sad. Jenny: Yes, it is. Swiss guard: But if you are a tour, where is your guide? Jenny: We've got a fantastic tour guide. Right here. Jamie: What? No... The Vatican has been used as a papal residence ever since the time of Constantine the Great of the 5th century A.D.! Swiss guard: Oh. Okay... um... if you'll all follow me, please. Have a very special day for a very special little man. Cooper: Okay. I can't believe that guy let us in. What a retard! Swiss guard: [To Jamie] Scusate. One of our English-speaking tour guides has called in sick. [Points to a tour group] Could you please take these peoples also? Tourist 1: How big is Vatican City? Jenny: We've got a fantastic tour guide. Right here. Jamie: 0.5 square kilometers. Tourist 2: Who built the colonnades? Jamie: Gianlorenzo Bernini, 1656. Tourist 3: Where are the bathrooms? Jamie: Floors 6 and 7. Next I'll take you to where the College of Cardinals elects a new pope. When this happens, white smoke is sent up from the Vatican. Here's a fun fact... [On an upper floor] Scott: Mieke must be around here somewhere. Let's go."

"Cesare Borgia: Have you heard? Vanozza Cattaneo: (playing cards with her two youngest children) Even Joffrey has heard, have you not? Joffrey Borgia: The Pope is dead? Cesare Borgia: You know what that means? Vanozza Cattaneo: I know there will be an election. Juan Borgia: (enters after Cesare) And the city will be bedlam until it is over. Lucrezia Borgia: Do you think our father can win, Juan? :Juan Borgia: Are we allowed to dream, Mother? Vanozza Cattaneo: Your father found ways to love and care for us in this house, but I'm not sure that, as Pope, he can do the same. Juan Borgia: As Pope, he can do what he wants. Vanozza Cattaneo: (gives him a direct look) Are you sure? Kings and Popes and Emperors belong to their people, not to their families. Cesare Borgia: So- we allow the election to run its' course, and he won't be Pope? Vanozza Cattaneo: What other course is there? It's in the hands of God. Cesare Borgia: (smiles) It's in the hands of the College of Cardinals, Mother. Not quite the same thing. (gestures to Joffrey to play a particular card) This one."

"There is no authority to declare or consider an elected and generally accepted Pope as an invalid Pope. The constant practice of the Church makes it evident that even in the case of an invalid election this invalid election will be de facto healed through the general acceptance of the new elected by the overwhelming majority of the cardinals and bishops."

"To teach contrary to the apostolic faith would automatically deprive the pope of his office. We must all pray and work courageously to spare the Church such an ordeal."