Caput I

Just as, by the Lord's decision, Saint Peter and the other Apostles constitute one college, so in a similar way the Roman Pontiff, successor of Peter, and the bishops, successors of the Apostles, are joined together.

The bishop of the Church of Rome, in whom resides the office given in a special way by the Lord to Peter, first of the Apostles and to be transmitted to his successors, is head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ and Pastor of the universal Church on earth; therefore, in virtue of his office he enjoys supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power in the Church, which he can always freely exercise.

§ 1.

The Roman Pontiff obtains full and supreme power in the Church by means of legitimate election accepted by him together with episcopal consecration; therefore, one who is already a bishop obtains this same power from the moment he accepts his election to the pontificate, but if the one elected lacks the episcopal character, he is to be ordained a bishop immediately.

§ 2.

If it should happen that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that he makes the resignation freely and that it be duly manifested, but not that it be accepted by anyone.

§ 1.

The Roman Pontiff, by virtue of his office, not only has power in the universal Church but also possesses a primacy of ordinary power over all particular churches and groupings of churches by which the proper, ordinary and immediate power which bishops possess in the particular churches entrusted to their care is both strengthened and safeguarded.

§ 2.

The Roman Pontiff, in fulfilling the office of the supreme pastor of the Church is always united in communion with the other bishops and with the universal Church; however, he has the right, according to the needs of the Church, to determine the manner, either personal or collegial, of exercising this function.

§ 3.

There is neither appeal nor recourse against a decision or decree of the Roman Pontiff.

In exercising his office the Roman Pontiff is assisted by the bishops who aid him in various ways and among these is the synod of bishops; moreover the cardinals assist him as do other persons and other institutes according to the needs of the times; all these persons and institutes, in his name and by his authority, carry out the task committed to them for the good of all the churches, according to the norms defined by law.

When the Roman See is vacant or entirely impeded nothing is to be innovated in the governance of the universal Church; however, special laws enacted for these circumstances are to be observed.

The college of bishops, whose head is the Supreme Pontiff and whose members are the bishops by virtue of sacramental consecration and hierarchical communion with the head and members of the college, and in which the apostolic body endures, together with its head, and never without its head, is also the subject of supreme and full power over the universal Church.

§ 1.

The college of bishops exercises power over the universal Church in a solemn manner in an ecumenical council.

§ 2.

The college exercises the same power through the united action of the bishops dispersed in the world, which action as such has been inaugurated or has been freely accepted by the Roman Pontiff so that a truly collegial act results.

§ 3.

It is for the Roman Pontiff, in keeping with the needs of the Church, to select and promote the ways by which the college of bishops is to exercise collegially its function regarding the universal Church.

§ 1.

It is for the Roman Pontiff alone to convoke an ecumenical council, to preside over it personally or through others, to transfer, suspend or dissolve it, and to approve its decrees.

§ 2.

It is for the same Roman Pontiff to determine matters to be treated in a council and to establish the order to be followed in a council; to the questions proposed by the Roman Pontiff the fathers of a council can add other questions, to be approved by the same Roman Pontiff.

§ 1.

It is the right and duty of all and only the bishops who are members of the college of bishops to take part in an ecumenical council with a deliberative vote.

§ 2.

The supreme authority of the Church can call others who are not bishops to an ecumenical council and determine the degree of their participation in it.

If the Apostolic See becomes vacant during the celebration of a council, it is interrupted by the law itself until a new Supreme Pontiff orders it to be continued or dissolves it.

§ 1.

Decrees of an ecumenical council do not have obligatory force unless (nisi) they are approved by the Roman Pontiff together with the fathers of the council and are confirmed by the Roman Pontiff and promulgated at his order.

§ 2.

For decrees which the college of bishops issues to have obligatory force this same confirmation and promulgation is needed, when the college takes collegial action in another manner, initiated or freely accepted by the Roman Pontiff.

The synod of bishops is that group of bishops who have been chosen from different regions of the world and who meet at stated times to foster a closer unity between the Roman Pontiff and the bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel in safeguarding and increasing faith and morals and in preserving and strengthening ecclesiastical discipline, and to consider questions concerning the Church's activity in the world.

It is the role of the synod of bishops to discuss the questions on their agenda and to express their desires about them but not to resolve them or to issue decrees about them, unless (nisi) the Roman Pontiff in certain cases has endowed the synod with deliberative power, and, in this event, it is his role to ratify its decisions.

A synod of bishops is directly under the authority of the Roman Pontiff whose role it is to:

(1) convoke a synod as often as he deems it opportune and to designate the place where its sessions are to be held;

(2) ratify the election of those members who are to be elected in accord with the norm of special law and to designate and name its other members;

(3) determine topics for discussion at a suitable time before the celebration of the synod in accord with the norm of special law;

(4) determine the agenda;

(5) preside over the synod in person or through others;

(6) conclude, transfer, suspend and dissolve the synod.

A synod of bishops can meet in a general session, which deals with matters which directly concern the good of the entire Church; such a session is either ordinary or extraordinary; a synod of bishops can also meet in a special session, which deals with matters which directly concern a definite region or regions.

§ 1.

The membership of a synod of bishops gathered in ordinary general session consists of the following: for the most part, bishops elected to represent their individual groups by the conferences of bishops in accord with the special law of the synod; other bishops designated in virtue of this law itself; other bishops directly named by the Roman Pontiff. To this membership are added some members of clerical religious institutes elected in accord with the norm of the same special law.

§ 2.

A synod of bishops is gathered in extraordinary general session to deal with matters which require a speedy solution; its membership consists of the following: most of them are bishops designated by the special law of the synod in virtue of the office which they hold; others are bishops directly named by the Roman Pontiff. To this membership are added some members of clerical religious institutes elected in accord with the same law.

§ 3.

The membership of a synod of bishops gathered in special session consists of those who have been especially selected from the regions for which the synod has been convoked, in accord with the norm of the special law which governs it.

§ 1.

When a session of a synod of bishops is concluded by the Roman Pontiff, the responsibility entrusted to the bishops and other members in the synod ceases.

§ 2.

If the Apostolic See becomes vacant after a synod has been called or during its celebration the meeting of the synod is suspended by the law itself as is the responsibility which had been entrusted to its members in connection with it; such a suspension continues until a new Pontiff decrees either that the session be dissolved or continued.

§ 1.

The synod of bishops has a permanent general secretariat presided over by a general secretary who is appointed by the Roman Pontiff; he is assisted by the council of the secretariat; this council consists of bishops, some of whom are elected in accord with the norm of its special law by the synod of bishops itself while others are appointed by the Roman Pontiff; the responsibility of all these members ceases when a new general session begins.

§ 2.

Furthermore one or several special secretaries are established who are named by the Roman Pontiff for each session of a synod of bishops, but they remain in the role entrusted to them only until the session of the synod has been completed.

The cardinals of the Holy Roman Church constitute a special college whose responsibility is to provide for the election of the Roman Pontiff in accord with the norm of special law; the cardinals assist the Roman Pontiff collegially when they are called together to deal with questions of major importance; they do so individually when they assist the Roman Pontiff especially in the daily care of the universal Church by means of the different offices which they perform.

§ 1.

The college of cardinals is divided into three ranks: the episcopal rank which consists of both the cardinals to whom the Roman Pontiff assigns the title of a suburbican church and the oriental patriarchs who have become members of the college of cardinals; the presbyteral rank; and the diaconal rank.

§ 2.

The Roman Pontiff assigns to each of the cardinals of presbyteral or diaconal rank his own title or diaconia in the city of Rome.

§ 3.

The oriental patriarchs who have become members of the college of cardinals have as their title their own patriarchal see.

§ 4.

The cardinal dean holds as his title the diocese of Ostia along with the other titular church which he already holds.

§ 5.

With due regard for the priority in rank and in promotion, through an option made during a consistory and approved by the Roman Pontiff, cardinals from the presbyteral rank can transfer to another title, and cardinals from the diaconal rank can transfer to another diaconia, and if they have remained in the diaconal rank for a period of ten full years they can transfer also to the presbyteral rank.

§ 6.

A cardinal from the diaconal rank who transfers through option to the presbyteral rank precedes all those cardinal presbyters who became cardinals after him.

§ 1.

Those promoted as cardinals are men freely selected by the Roman Pontiff, who are at least in the order of the presbyterate and are especially outstanding for their doctrine, morals, piety and prudence in action; those, however, who are not yet bishops must receive episcopal consecration.

§ 2.

Cardinals are created by a decree of the Roman Pontiff, which is published in the presence of the college of cardinals; from the time of this publication they are bound by the duties and possess the rights defined in law.

§ 3.

When a person has been promoted to the dignity of cardinal and his creation has been announced by the Roman Pontiff who, however, reserves the person's name "in pectore," he is not bound by any of the duties of cardinals nor does he possess any of their rights in the meantime; however, after his name has been made public by the Roman Pontiff he is bound by those duties and possesses those rights; but he enjoys his right of precedence from the day on which his name was reserved "in pectore."

§ 1.

The dean presides over the college of cardinals; if he is impeded from doing so, the assistant dean takes his place; the dean or assistant dean does not possess any power of governance over the other cardinals but is considered to be first among equals.

§ 2.

When the office of dean becomes vacant, the cardinals who possess a title to a suburbican church and they alone elect someone from their own number to act as dean of the college; this election is to be presided over by the assistant dean if he is available or by the oldest elector; they are to take the name of the person elected to the Roman Pontiff who is competent to approve the one elected.

§ 3.

The assistant dean is elected in the same manner described in § 2, with the dean himself presiding over the election; the Roman Pontiff is also competent to approve the election of the assistant dean.

§ 4.

The dean and the assistant dean are to acquire a domicile in the city of Rome if they do not already have it there.

§ 1.

The cardinals are of special assistance to the Supreme Pastor of the Church through their collegial activity in consistories to which they are called by order of the Roman Pontiff who also presides over them; consistories are ordinary or extraordinary.

§ 2.

All the cardinals, at least all those present in the city of Rome, are called together for an ordinary consistory to be consulted on certain serious matters which nevertheless occur rather frequently, or to carry out certain very solemn acts.

§ 3.

All the cardinals are called together for an extraordinary consistory which is celebrated when the special needs of the Church or the conducting of more serious affairs suggests that it should be held.

§ 4.

Only the ordinary consistory in which some solemnities are celebrated can be public, that is, a consistory to which, in addition to the cardinals, there are admitted prelates, legates of civil societies, or others who are invited to it.

Cardinals who preside over the dicasteries and other permanent institutions of the Roman Curia and Vatican City and who have completed their seventy-fifth year of age are requested to tender their resignation from office to the Roman Pontiff, who will decide on the matter after he has weighed all the circumstances.

§ 1.

The cardinal dean is competent to ordain to the episcopate the person elected to be Roman Pontiff if that person requires ordination; if the dean is hindered from doing so the assistant dean has the same right; if the assistant dean is likewise hindered from doing so then the oldest cardinal from the episcopal rank has this right.

§ 2.

The first cardinal deacon announces to the people the name of the newly elected Supreme Pontiff; he likewise invests metropolitans with the pallium or hands it over to their proxies in place of the Roman Pontiff.

Cardinals are obliged to cooperate assiduously with the Roman Pontiff; therefore cardinals who exercise any office in the Curia and who are not diocesan bishops are obliged to reside in Rome; the cardinals who care for a diocese as diocesan bishops are to come to Rome whenever they are called there by the Roman Pontiff.

§ 1.

The cardinals who have been assigned title to a suburbican church or to a church in Rome are to promote the good of these dioceses and churches by their counsel and patronage after they have taken possession of them; they do not, however, possess any power of governance over them; nor are they to intervene in any way in matters which concern the administration of their goods, their discipline or the service of the churches.

§ 2.

The cardinals who are staying outside Rome and outside their own diocese are exempt from the power of governance of the bishop of the diocese in which they are staying in those matters which concern their own person.

At times the Roman Pontiff commissions a cardinal to represent him in some solemn celebration or in some group of persons as his "legatus a latere," that is, as his alter ego; likewise at times the Roman Pontiff commissions a cardinal to fulfill a certain pastoral duty as his special envoy (missus specialis); such cardinals possess competence only over those matters entrusted to them by the Roman Pontiff.

When the Apostolic See becomes vacant the college of cardinals possesses only that power in the Church which is given to it in special law.

The Supreme Pontiff usually conducts the business of the universal Church by means of the Roman Curia, which fulfills its duty in his name and by his authority for the good and the service of the churches; it consists of the Secretariat of State or the Papal Secretariat, the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church, congregations, tribunals and other institutions, whose structure and competency are defined in special law.

In this Code the term "Apostolic See" or "Holy See" applies not only to the Roman Pontiff but also to the Secretariat of State, the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church and other institutions of the Roman Curia, unless (nisi) the nature of the matter or the context of the words makes the contrary evident.

The Roman Pontiff possesses the innate and independent right to nominate, send, transfer and recall his own legates to particular churches in various nations or regions, to states and to public authorities; the norms of international law are to be observed concerning the sending and the recalling of legates appointed to states.

§ 1.

To legates of the Roman Pontiff is entrusted the responsibility of representing him in a stable manner to particular churches and also to states and public authorities to which they are sent.

§ 2.

They also represent the Apostolic See who are appointed to a pontifical mission as delegates or observers at International Councils or at conferences and meetings.

The principal duty of a pontifical legate is to work so that day by day the bonds of unity which exist between the Apostolic See and the particular churches become stronger and more efficacious. Therefore, it belongs to the pontifical legate for his area:

(1) to send information to the Apostolic See on the conditions of the particular churches and all that touches the life of the Church and the good of souls;

(2) to assist the bishops by action and counsel, while leaving intact the exercise of the bishops' legitimate power;

(3) to foster close relations with the conference of bishops by offering it assistance in every way;

(4) to transmit or propose the names of candidates to the Apostolic See in reference to the naming of bishops and to instruct the informative process concerning those to be promoted in accord with the norms given by the Apostolic See;

(5) to strive for the promotion of matters which concern peace, progress and the cooperative efforts of peoples;

(6) to cooperate with the bishops in fostering suitable relationships between the Catholic Church and other churches or ecclesial communities and nonChristian religions also;

(7) in concerted action with the bishops to protect what pertains to the mission of the Church and the Apostolic See in relations with the leaders of the state;

(8) to exercise the faculties and fulfill the other mandates committed to him by the Apostolic See.

§ 1.

It is the special responsibility of a pontifical legate who also exercises a legation to states in accord with the norms of international law:

(1) to promote and foster relations between the Apostolic See and the authorities of the state;

(2) to deal with questions concerning the relations between the Church and the state; and in a special manner to deal with the drafting and implementation of concordats and other agreements of this type.

§ 2.

In conducting the negotiations mentioned in § 1, as circumstances suggest, the pontifical legate is to seek out the opinion and counsel of the bishops of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction and also inform them on the progress of these negotiations.

In view of the special character of a legate's role:

(1) the headquarters of a pontifical legation is exempt from the power of governance of the local ordinary unless (nisi) it is a question of celebrating marriages;

(2) after he has previously advised the local ordinaries insofar as this is possible, a pontifical legate is allowed to perform liturgical celebrations, even in pontificals, in all the churches within his legation.

The function of pontifical legate does not cease when the Apostolic See becomes vacant unless (nisi) the contrary is determined in the pontifical letters; it does cease, however, when his mandate has been fulfilled, when he has been informed of his recall, or when his resignation has been accepted by the Roman Pontiff.