Father Francis G. Morrisey, also a canon law expert, told Crux that “the cardinalate has nothing to do with the priesthood, or the episcopate. It is an honor that can be taken away.”
This means that if a bishop is made a cardinal and then has that honor taken away, he is still a bishop, just as a priest would remain a priest, Morrisey noted.
Though it’s impossible to predict what Pope Francis will do, both Martens and Morrisey agree he shouldn’t take the red hats from the four cardinals who presented the dubia.
Morrisey’s argument is that it would “make them into victims among the arch-conservative factions, and this could easily lead to schism.”
He doesn’t believe Francis should answer the questions either, because they’re all “trick questions like the Pharisees asked Jesus.”
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2016/11/29/vatican-judge-says-cardinal-critics-pope-lose-red-hats/
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