Does the pope love Jesus more than himself?

Answer 1

Himself. Unfortunately, the title on the popes headdress is Latin for "The one who stands in the place of Jesus" which is blasphemous. He does NOT stand in place of Jesus - nobody does! Therefore he must think himself equal or more to Jesus. In reality, one cannot know the pope's subjective dispositions, although it is hoped he would love with his whole heart, mind and soul the God whom he has dedicated his life to and whose priesthood he bears. In its official capacity, the papal office most certainly exists as a testament to the love of Jesus, for it was Jesus Who initiated it, and it exists that people may have Christ's teachings available that they may better come to the knowledge and love of Jesus themselves.

The original answer given to this question is the atypical urban legend concerning alleged writing on one of the papal tiaras (above referred to as "headdress"). Though attributed to the Seventh Day Adventists as its source, many Protestant sects quickly championed it when the tiara was still in use. The alleged words in question are, "Vicarius Filii Dei" which is translated as "Vicar of the Son of God", not "the one who stands in the place of Christ" as given above, although that rendition was probably a natural corruption of the legend throughout the years. The myth further asserts that the numerical value of the Latin letters is 666, which have traditionally been regarded as satanic and thus, some further insist, the pope is openly the anti-Christ spoken of in the book of Revelation. "Vicarius Filii Dei" not only fails to appear on any papal tiara, but is not even a proper title for one in the papal office, although an apocryphal document exists calling St. Peter such in the time of Constantine. Witnesses to the rumor claim pope Gregory XVI wore a tiara with this inscription during Mass in 1832 and 1845 and even insist that a photograph of the pope wearing it at a funeral exists. Also, it is claimed Pius XII was crowned with this same tiara in 1939. Historically and liturgically these claims have been proved as fallacious. The tiara is not a liturgical vestment, and so would never be present at a Mass or funeral or any Church liturgy in the first place. The alleged photograph has never been produced, and even if it did exist, a 19th century Photography would be too primitive to zoom in on writing or to take a clear picture inside a church, which are notoriously ill lit. Puis XII could never have been crowned with the same tiara as pope Gregory XVI, as the one he was crowned with was made over thirty years after Gregory had died. Any tiaras Gregory may have worn are still in existence, and not only are they free of the alleged motto, none even have writing on them. Some cry that there has been a cover-up, but all tiaras made since 1800 still exist and are accounted for, not to mention that they are on public display. Of them, only a couple have writing, and these are dedication verses. The legend is a fairly standard anti-Catholic myth that is largely unsupported today even by rabid anti-Catholic proponents. Even if the myth could present reasonable doubt, it would have been bizarre for a pope to openly wear something indicating he was a fraud and bent upon destroying Christendom. Further, since the tiara has not been worn since 1969, what might have been written on a tiara decades ago has no bearing on the present pope's disposition towards Jesus.

Answer 2

That depends on the pope, from time to time, and we will never know a pope's most private thoughts. Some popes have been so pious that this could well be true about them, but there were others about whom this might not be so true.

Take Pope Alexander VI: Russel Chamberlin (The Bad Popes) says that triumphal arches erected for his coronation procession blazed the words "Rome was great under Caesar but even greater far under Alexander. The first was only a mortal – the second is a God."