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Popes
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome and is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The Pope is also head of state of the Vatican City, a sovereign city-state entirely enclaved by Rome.
2,799 Questions
Is Peter the first pope the same Peter that denied Jesus?
No. The disciple Peter, who is reported to have denied Jesus three times, lived in the first half of the first century, but the two epistles that bear his name are clearly works written in the second century. In fact, 2 Peter incorporates almost all of the Epistle of Jude*, itself a second-century work. Not only would the apostle Peter not have had to copy the work of a lesser disciple, he could not have done so in the second century.
* Jude was written as if by either the apostle Jude or by Jude the brother of Jesus, but speaks (Jude 17-18) somewhat carelessly of the disciples as people who had lived in the distant past.
What were some of Pope Pius XII's accomplishments?
One of his greatest accomplishments was to save hundreds of thousands of Jews and other persecuted groups from the Nazi's during WWII by hiding them in churches, monasteries and convents, even within the Vatican itself. Unfortunately, he is given little credit for this. Those actions to save the Jews should be sufficient in themselves to canonize him as a saint.
After World War 2 Pius became a target of the USSR to discredit his efforts to save the Jews and they had a specially designated disinformation group call Operation Seat 12. Unfortunately, many fell for these lies.
For additional information on Seat 12 click here.
What is the role of the Pope in the Mormon religion?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (commonly called the "Mormon Church") does not have a pope, the Catholic Church does.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is lead by a 'president' or 'prophet'. Church members believe that he receives direct revelation from God in how to direct the members and affairs of the Church. The prophet is assisted by twelve Apostles.
paul zindel died of cancer when he was 66 in new york city, New york
When a new Pope is elected what color is the smoke?
The smoke comes from burning the ballots in a stove in the Sistine Chapel.
How many popes have been named Joseph?
There has only been one pope by that name - Pope Benedict XVI.
Why did Leo IX excommunicate the bishop of Constantinople?
Because he wouldn't recognize his authority as a pope.
Who decided that the catholics couldn't eat meat on Fridays?
This practice began in 1966 with Pope Paul VI. Since Jesus died on a Friday, we are supposed to remember His sacrifice and death through little sacrifices of our own. Each Friday should be a mini Good Friday, as each Sunday should be a mini Easter. I am adding a link to an article about the start of the practice of not eating meat on Fridays.
[more from the same website] "The general law of the Catholic Church states that Catholics who have reached their 14th birthday should observe Ash Wednesday and all Fridays as days of abstinence. In 1966, as permitted then, the U.S. bishops decided to modify the general legislation. Instead of requiring abstinence on every Friday, Catholics 14 and older must abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and the Fridays of Lent. Those between 18 and 59 must also fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday."
15 days after the previous Pope has died, or in this case resigned, the Camerlingo assembles the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City. There are usually 4 "favourites" known as the prefereti. And although any male from the Catholic Church can be elected it is usually reserved for Cardinals.
All potentials MUST be under 80. The offcial voting is done in a process called conclave liturally meaning "with key". The Cardinals (also non-voting cardinals and assistants to the cardinals may be inside conclave they are sworn to absolute secrecy) vote by secret ballot. Should the electoral process take more than a day, the cardinals have lodging at St. Martha's house. They are "sequestered" like a jury however, and have no contact with the outside world.
All ballots are burned and if the vote has elected a new pope, this burning causes white smoke to float above the Vatican, signifying the world has a new pope. If the vote is unsuccessful, water or a chemical is added to the burning ballots to cause gray smoke to appear. This signifies a vote without an election.
How a Papal Conclave works:
• A pope dies and is buried (or in the case of Benedict, resigns)
• The cardinals come to Rome for the conclave that will elect the new pope. The word conclave (Latin, cum • clavis, literally, "locked with the key") designates:
• The place in a locked section of the Vatican where the cardinals under the age of eighty elect a new pope.
• The actual gathering of the cardinals.
• The conclave begins 15 to 20 days after the pope's death.
• The cardinals pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit during a Mass
• The cardinals, sealed in the Sistine Chapel, vote every morning and afternoon.
• A two-thirds majority plus one is required for election for the first 30 ballots. After that, a simple majority is required.
• After each vote, they burn the ballots and add special chemicals to make the smoke white or black.
• Black smoke means no new pope yet.
• White smoke announces the election of a new pope.
• The cardinals may elect any fully initiated Catholic male over the age of 18.
• They ask the one elected if he accepts. If he is already a bishop, then the moment he accepts, he is pope. If he is not yet a bishop (ie, if he is only a priest, deacon, or layman) he will be ordained bishop and at that moment be pope.
• The pope chooses his "Papal" name.
• Then the new pope is announced to the world.
Popes are elected by the College of Cardinals meeting in Conclave when the place of Pope is vacant. Type of election for Pope is balloting system.
The Pope is elected by members of the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church.
By a vote of the Cardinals in Conclave.
How many popes have there been since 1992?
Two, as of April 2014. Pope Benedict XVI resigned in February 2013 and Pope Francis was elected in March of that year.
For the vast majority of people who are not Catholic, the pope speaks only for himself. Protestant denominations hold the belief that God speaks through the Bible, and that any Christian who is properly disposed (e.g. by prayer) will be able to discern God's will by reading its contents. There is no need for a pope or religious leader to "speak for God".
Catholics also believe that the Bible is the word of God, and that it contains wisdom that may be discerned through prayerful reading. However, Catholicism also holds that it is Christ's will that the Church be led by a person who represents Him (i.e. Christ) on Earth, and that this person (the pope) is guided by the Holy Spirit in a special way.
When the pope speaks, it may be about several things, each with a different level of importance:
1. He may given an opinion on a particular situation in the world e.g. the Middle East or in the Catholic Church e.g. whether or not nuns should wear a religious habit. In such cases, this is his own opinion and it is not considered to be Church teaching. People are free to disagree, and Catholics do not believe the pope speaks for God.
2. The pope may speak on a matter of Church discipline such as whether or nor priests in the Latin branch of the Catholic Church must be celibate; in this case, he is re-emphasising an existing position of the Church. Catholics should listen, but are free to disagree whil still being Catholics in good stead as celibacy is a matter of discipline and not a divine law (dogma) or doctrine. Again, the pope is not considered to be speaking for God, though he may be speaking about something the Church considers to be important.
3. The pope may speak on a matter of dogma or doctrine (official teaching) of the Church e.g. the presence of Christ in the Euharist or the Incarnation' in these cases he is explaining, or developing what the Church already believes and teaches. In this sense, Catholics believe he is speaking for God - but no pope can change doctrine.
4. The pope may also speak 'ex cathedra' (i.e. "from the chair") on matters of faith or morals. When this happens, the pope is speaking in the name of the whole Church, and not on his own. In such instances, Catholicism teaches that what he says is to be believed as being revealed by God. This has happened only twice in the 2000 years of the Church's history and in both instances concerned faith not morals: the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Mary, Mother of Christ.
There are some Protestants and non-Christians who see the pope as being a prophet in the sense that he may defend traditional moral values such as the family and the sacredness of human life; in this meaning of prophet, the pope would be "speaking" for God. (See related links)
There is no pope in the English Church even though it is a Catholic Communion! There is no sight of him in the Revelation of Christ, or in Scripture or Holy Tradition!
When Augustine head of the Roman Mission met the British Bishops they are alleged to have replied to him,
"be it known and declared that we all, individually and collectively, are in all humility prepared to defer to the Church of God and to the Bishop of Rome and every sincere and Godly Christian so far as to love everyone according to his degree, in perfect charity and to assist them all by word and deed in becoming the Children of God. But as for any other other obedience we know of none that he, whom you term the Pope or Bishop of Bishops can demand. The deference we have mentioned we are ready to pay to him as to every other Christian, but in all other respects our obedience is due to the Jurisdiction of the Bishop of Caerleon , who alone under God, is our ruler to keep us right in the way of salvation".
[Spelman, Concilia,pp108/109.]
The above answer contains enough terms that someone who could legitimately ask a question like "who is the pope of England" would not understand that the following may be more useful:
The Church of England does not have a "Pope". The head of the church is officially the Archbishop of Canterbury, which office is currently (Sep 2010) filled by Rowan Williams.
What do different colors signify in the Catholic Church?
They symbolize the different times of the liturgical calendar.
Who is the current pope and what is his job?
Answer 1: Pope Benedict XVI is the current pope (2011) and was born Joseph Alois Ratzinger.
Answer 2: Benedict XVI is no longer the Pope. The above answer was made when he was still Pope.
The current Pope is Francis (the first), born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on 17 December 1936. He is is the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, elected on 13 March 2013 after Pope Benedit XVI announced his resignation on 11 February 2013, which resignation took effect on 28 February 2013. Though of Italian descent, Frances was born in Buenos Aires (in Argentina). He was ordained to the priesthood in 1969, and served as Argentina's Provincial superior of the Society of Jesus from 1973 to 1979; so he was already, then, on a fast track to high rank in the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Argentina. He became the country's Arch Bishop in 1998; then its Cardinal in 2001. He is the first Latin-American Pope.
Benedict XVI was the first Pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII in 1415, and the first to do so on his own initiative since Pope Celestine V in 1294. He now holds the title "Pope Emeritus," and lives in retirement in the newly renovated Mater Ecclesiae monastery at the Vatican.
Leo II. That was the year he died, and he was replaced by Benedict II in AD 684.
Is the Popes sister a Jehovah's Witness?
I do not even know if the Pope has any sisters, but according to the Catholic Answers website, he does have a cousin who is one of Jehovah's Witnesses. See the information in the "Related Link" below:
Why did Henry IV beg pope Gregory vII for the forgiveness?
It's because Henry's nobles supported Gregory, and the reason why Henry begged the Pope was because he said the Pope had no real authority.
Why did the pope name Charlemagne Emperor of the Roman people in 799?
We have no record of why Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as emperor. All we have is a record of the event and the fact that Charlemagne claimed he did not expect it to happen. The result is that the question is the subject of debate and differences of opinion.
I have read the view of some historians that the West was ready for the restoration of the Roman Empire, and had the belief that crowning Charlemagne emperor would facilitate this, to the benefit of all the people in Europe.
I have also read that Leo III may have believed the government of the Byzantine Empire, which never gave up calling itself the Roman Empire, was illegal because it was headed by a woman, Empress Irene. This leads to further speculation about what he intended to do with separate Roman Empires of the East and West, with the possibility that uniting them was envisioned.
And, of course, there are a number of other opinions, including the idea that Leo III merely wanted to express thanks that Charlemagne had saved him from a mob that had attacked him.
Nobody knows exactly why this is. Even so, Charlemagne was never really emperor. He was king of the Franks, a people who lived in modern day France and Germany. He lived 300 years after the true western half of Rome fell. The eastern half, Byzantium, already had a leader.
The pope is chosen by the Cardinal Electors - all the cardinals under the age of 80.
