As such, he joins a list of 23 other cardinals who have lost this position from the 15th century onwards. The list of legitimate and illegitimate cardinals who for various reasons lost their rights and powers as cardinals between 1440 and today was published by Italian religious news blog Il Sismografo and is based on documentation provided by Salvador Miranda.

The pseudo-cardinals, the monk and the Duke of Valentinois

The list begins with the names of four former cardinals who lived in the 15th century: Johann Grünwalder, Otón de Moncada y de Luna, Wincenty Kotz Dębna and Bartolomeo Vitelleschi.

They are considered "pseudo-cardinals" because they were all elevated to the Cardinalate between 1440 and 1449 by the Antipope Felix V. The case of young Ardicino Della Porta, who was created cardinal in March 1489, was quite different.

Three years later he retired to a Camaldolese monastery with the Pope's permission. He was summoned back to Rome to take part in the Conclave that elected Rodrigo Borgia Pope Alexander VI. He fell ill and died a short while later.

The list of former cardinals that lived in this century ends with one of Alexander VI's illegitimate sons, Cesare. His father had him appointed bishop, archbishop and then cardinal in 1493. Five years later he asked his father for permission to withdraw from ecclesiastical life, which he obtained, resigning from the cardinalate. Continue reading

Sources

• Vatican Insider
• Image: aleteia

When British Cardinal Keith O'Brien announced his resignation Monday as a Scottish archbishop, he also said he would not do the most important task of a cardinal: vote for the next pope. But he did not take the rare step of quitting the College of Cardinals altogether.

The last five cardinals to resign or be forced out of office left for reasons ranging from health to politics to a desire to have a family, says church historian Matthew Bunson, editor of The Catholic Almanac. They were:

• French Cardinal Louis Billot (1846-1931), the only cardinal to resign in the 20th century, stepped down in 1927 in a political split. He supported a radical French nationalist movement, Action Française, which was opposed by Pope Pius XI.
• Italian Carlo Odescalchi (1785-1841) sought to leave so he could devote his life to preaching and prayer as a member of the Jesuits; Pope Gregory XVI ordered a commission of cardinals to study the matter and accepted his request in 1838.
• Italian nobleman Cardinal Marino Carafa di Belevedere (1764-1830) resigned from the college in 1807 so he could marry and maintain the line of descent for his family. He became prince of Acquaviva and married Marianna Gaetani dell'Aquila d'Aragona.
• Italian Cardinal Tommaso Antici (1731-1812) asked to leave in 1798, citing poor health and a desire to spend his last days in solitude and prayer. His resignation was accepted by Pope Pius VI.
• French Cardinal Étienne-Charles de Loménie de Brienne (1727-1794) got in political hot water with Pope Pius VI in the wake of the French Revolution. The cardinal, who had served as finance minister to King Louis XVI, accepted a civil constitution that put the Catholic Church in France under the control of the political authorities. He was repudiated by the pope and removed from the college in 1791. The revolutionaries were no happier with him: He died in prison.

Sources

• USA Today
• Image: The Guardian

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, will call in his Easter Sunday homily for Christians to "wear proudly a symbol of the cross of Christ on their garments each and every day of their lives".

"I know that many of you do wear such a cross of Christ, not in any ostentatious way, not in a way that might harm you at your work or recreation, but a simple indication that you value the role of Jesus Christ in the history of the world, that you are trying to live by Christ's standards in your own daily life," he will say in a service in the Scottish capital Edinburgh.

"I hope that increasing numbers of Christians adopt the practice of wearing a cross in a simple and discreet way as a symbol of their beliefs."

Blair, who introduced same-sex civil unions to Britain, is reported as telling friends that he "strongly supports" plans for gay marriage.

Blair's support of gay marriage is likely to upset the Vatican and is likely to see him also at odds with Archbishop of Westminister, Vincent Nichols, who wrote a letter to England and Wales' 5 million Catholics. The letter was read at all masses on Sunday.

Blair joined the Catholic Church in 2007, just 6 months after resigning as Prime Minister and in what Vatican spokesman, Fr Federico Lombardi SJ, described as an occasion that "can only arouse joy and respect".

Mindful of events in Britain and the United States, Pope Benedict XVI, on Friday, called on visiting U.S. bishops to fight the "powerful political and cultural currents seeking to alter the legal definition of marriage."

The Holy Father's comments follow those of Scotland's Cardinal, Keith O'Brien who as outlined in CathNews, described gay marriage as "madness", "a grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right", and a "redefinition of reality".

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu have also expressed their serious concerns.

The British government is expected to release a consultation document detailing its plans on the law next week.

Sources

• The Independent
• Christian Post
• Image: The Telegraph

In a hard-hitting column in the Sunday Telegraph, O'Brien went on to ask: 'If marriage can be redefined so that it no longer means a man and a woman but two men or two women, why stop there? Why not allow three men or a woman and two men to constitute a marriage?'

In what seems to be a collision course with British Prime Minister David Cameron, O'Brien's criticims are the strongest yet from any church figure of the plans to soon to be unveiled by Equalities Minister, Lynne Featherstone.

Adding his voice to those of leading figures in the Coalition for Marriage, a group of bishops, politicians and lawyers, including Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, to opposed to the changes, O'Brien labelled the changes as being "at the behest of a small minority of activists".

The British government led by Cameron, plans to make legislation changing the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples one of the central achievements of his time in office.

Mr Cameron told last year's Tory conference in Manchester: "I don't support gay marriage in spite of being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a Conservative." Last week his spokesman said he was "passionate" about the issue.

Margot James, the first openly lesbian Conservative MP, criticised the 'apocalyptic language' used by O'Brien.

'I think that the government is not trying to force Catholic churches to perform gay marriages at all. It is a purely civil matter,' she told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.

In an article for The Sunday Telegraph, Cardinal O'Brien wrote: 'Same-sex marriage would eliminate entirely in law the basic idea of a mother and a father for every child.'

Sources

• The Telegraph
• Metro
• Sunday Telegraph

The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales said: "I welcome the decision of Her Majesty's Government to give heirs to the throne the freedom to marry a Catholic without being removed from the line of succession. This will eliminate a point of unjust discrimination against Catholics and will be welcomed not only by Catholics but far more widely. At the same time I fully recognise the importance of the position of the Established Church in protecting and fostering the role of faith in our society today."

Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien said: "I welcome the statement from the Prime Minster indicating that his Government together with all of the Commonwealth Heads of Government intend to reform the Act of Settlement. I am pleased to note that the process of change, which I hope will lead to repeal of the Act has started, and I look forward to studying the detail of the proposed reforms and their implications in due course."

Sources

• Independent Catholic News
• Image Reuters

Quoting the words of Pope Benedict XVI, he said: "In a nuclear war there would be no victors, only victims."

O'Brien, who was protesting at Faslane for the first time, said: "I've been speaking of the teaching of the Catholic Church on nuclear weapons for many years now, telling our message to whoever is willing to listen, and I'm very pleased to repeat that teaching again.

There is no better place to say that it is not courageous of Britain to have these dreadful weapons of mass destruction.

"As you'll see, it's a consistent teaching, a central part of our pro-life stance, that has human dignity at its very core.

"And it's a message I'm all the more glad to repeat here at the gates of Faslane, which is the very heart of Britain's nuclear weapons industry."

Cardinal O'Brien said Trident was becoming obsolete, providing the opportunity to give it up.

He added: "Here at the gates of Faslane, there is no better place to say that it is not courageous of Britain to have these dreadful weapons of mass destruction.

"It is shameful to have them. If our government wished to truly be courageous it would unilaterally give up its nuclear deterrent, giving the witness and impetus for other nations to do the same."

The cardinal was joined by representatives from churches across Scotland in an Easter witness for peace.

In 2006 the British government, under Prime Minister Tony Blair, committed itself to replacing its entire submarine-based nuclear weapons system. That policy is currently being continued by the new British government under Prime Minister David Cameron. The present system, code named Trident, is headquartered at the Faslane naval base on the west coast of Scotland.

The replacement system will also be berthed there.

Sources

• BBC
• Catholic News Agency