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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
What position does a Pope hold before he comes to this position?
Any baptised man who is faithful to the Catholic Church can become a Pope. However, he gets elected by the College of Cardinals and is normally a Cardinal himself.
Do people believe that the pope is chosen by God?
The modern day Catholic Church is lead by Man. If one is alluding to Gods church and if the leader is selected by god, then one must remember that the Catholic Church has migrated from being a pure church to more of a church organization with lots of rhetoric and dogma. Many Catholics believe the Pope is gods representative on earth, just as there are many that actually believe this, there are even more that don't believe this.
Roman Catholic AnswerYes, people honestly believe this - that the Pope leads the Catholic Church and that he has been selected by God (through the Cardinals). The vast majority of baptized Christians on the face of this planet are Catholic Christians who most sincerely believe that the Holy Father has been selected by God to fill the shoes of the fisherman. In other words, they believe that he is the successor of St. Peter and Christ's representative on earth. This is most clearly foretold in the Bible, in ancient Israel where the prime minister held the "keys of the Kingdom" and ruled in the King's name. Jesus, while on earth, chose Peter, and his successors, to hold this office, and very clearly gave him the the "keys of the kingdom". Everything in the New Testament is grounded, foreshadowed, etc. in the Old Testament, and we can very clearly see that here.Furthermore, Jesus guaranteed that He would be with His Church until the end of time. That He would guard it from all error. And that there would only be ONE Church. To deny any of this is to call Jesus a liar, to disbelieve in Scripture, to twist the obvious meaning of the Holy Bible, and Our Blessed Savior to try and make them fit facts which are not Truth. To make such a claim about Christ's church in direct opposition to what He, Himself, said about it is to deny God.
In his later years his health steadily declined. He then developed a urinary tract infection that lead to septic shock. He died of heart failure from profound hypotension and complete circulatory collapse from the septic shock.
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The first site below has pictures of Medieval clothing for a Bishop, the second site and descriptions.
Why was the first Pope Peter executed?
St. Peter, the first pope, was ordered executed by the Roman Emperor Nero because he was a Christian and Nero had decided to blame the great fire that destroyed much of Rome in the year 64 on the Christians.
Who was excommunicated by Pope Leo X?
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Catholic AnswerPope Clement VII excommunicated Henry VIII on July 11, 1533, after he got his new pet Bishop to declare his marriage to Catherine invalid, he married Anne, and fathered a child with her:Clement, who had previously sent to Henry more than one monition upon his desertion of Catherine, issued a Bull of excommunication on 11 July, declaring, also, his divorce and remarriage null. In England Catherine was deprived of her title of Queen, and Mary her daughter was treated as a bastardWhat was the pope's role in Vatican II?
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Catholic AnswerThe only voting members of any Ecumenical Council are the Bishops of the Catholic Church. Invited and attending the Second Vatican Council were any number of observers, primarily periti (experts in various fields, the current pope, Benedict XVI, served as a periti during the Second Vatican Council), also there were outsiders invited to observe such as representatives from various protestant groups..
from Wikipedia:
Attendance varied in later sessions from 2,100 to over 2,300. In addition, a varying number of periti (Latin: "experts") were available for theological consultation-a group that turned out to have a major influence as the council went forward. Seventeen Orthodox Churches and Protestant denominations sent observers. More than three dozen representatives of other Christian communities were present at the opening session, and the number grew to nearly 100 by the end of the 4th Council Sessions.
What is the protocol when meeting the pope?
When meeting the Pope, one should be dressed in a nice attire such as a jacket and tie for men and a dress or suit for women. When the Pope approaches you, you should genuflect and you should address him as "Holy Father".
What country have most of the Popes come from?
The vast majority of popes have been Italian. As of February of 2013 there have been only 18 popes from other countries.
Are you sure that you want Pope Paul I? He was pope back in the middle of the first millenium, if you are asking about Pope John Paul I, you need to ask that question. Anyway, this is from the Catholic Encyclopedia:
Pope Paul I was pope from 757-67 A.D. He died near the church of San Paolo fuori le mura, where he had gone during the heat of summer. He was buried in this church, but after three months his body was transferred to St. Peter's. The "Liber Pontificalis" also praises the Christian charity and benevolence of the pope which he united with firmness. Paul is venerated as a saint. His feast is celebrated on the twenty-eighth of June.
Who is the Roman Catholic pope whom the Muslim honored?
Muslims really honored Pope John Paul II since he made alot of progress in trying to build relationships between the Catholic-Christian community and the communities of other world religions, especially the Islamic religion. On a trip to the Ummayad Mosque in Syria, the supposed burial site of John the Baptist more familiar to Muslims as Prophet Yahya, Pope John Paul II was quoted as saying "It is my ardent hope that Muslim and Christian religious leaders and teachers will present our two great religious communities as communities in respectful dialogue, never more as communities in conflict." Pope John Paul II was also the first pope to kiss the Qu'ran and to enter a Muslim mosque Parvez Ahmed from United Press International said this of Pope John Paul II after he died "Many Muslims will rightfully remember Pope John Paul II as an advocate of justice, a bridge builder and a visionary leader. The Pope promoted his own faith without appearing condescending of others. Public figures who have espoused Islamophobic views in the past could borrow a page of tolerance from this great Christian leader."
Pope Benedict XV's statute stands in the courtyard of St Esprit Cathedral, Instanbul Turkey.
What are the weeks leading up to Christmas called?
The period from December 1 to December 24 is known as Advent.
What does popes and king have in common?
Commonalities are absolute rule, money, power and authority.
Catholic AnswerPopes and Kings have very little in common. Kings mostly rule nowadays because they were born to it. Their authority varies depending on the country they rule and its type of government. Popes are elected by Cardinals, and serve as the Vicars of Christ. Popes have no power, and no real authority to change anything that has been handed down to them. They certainly have no money.Which pope was the father of Cesare Borgia?
There were two Borgia Popes: The Borgias are the most infamous family of Renaissance Italy, and their history normally hinges around four key individuals, two of whom were Popes:Pope Calixtus III, his nephew Pope Alexander IV.
Is the pope the teaching authority of the Church?
Catholics, (big C, not catholic) believe that the authority of the Pope comes from the Apostle Peter, whom Jesus said "Upon this Rock I build my Church". The Rock was Peter, to whom he was speaking. Peter went later to Rome and started a church there, which over the next 400 years became what is now the Catholic Church. The leader of that Church became the leader of that Christian movement, and was titled the Pope.
The Pope's authority is usually referred to as infallibility. In this sense, however, the word has a slightly different meaning than usual. The Pope is only considered infallible when he makes particular statements on faith or morals that he declares to be contained in divine revelation. The statement, also, can not contradict the already established Sacred Tradition or Sacred Scripture.
This papal authority is rarely used. In fact, only two statements have been officially accepted as papal infallibility. There are approximately seven other statements (issued before papal infallibility was officially defined by the Catholic church) that are often considered instances of papal infallibility.
Why is Pope Benedict XVl coming to London?
It is to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman to Blessed John Henry Newman
How many popes have taken the name Celestine?
There is only one pope that has taken the name Celestine. His name was Pope Celestine V and his Papacy began in July 1294 and ended in and ended in December 1294.
Was there any married catholic popes?
See the link below for a list of all married or sexually active popes.
What is a papal emissary called?
A messenger or ambassador from the Roman Catholic Pope is called a nuncio. Nuncio comes from the Latin word for messenger. A nuncio may represent the Pope in foreign countries.
What did Pope Julius II commission Michelangelo to do?
Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Can the Pope formally excommunicate himself?
Answer:
There are two very separate issues: resignation and excommunication.
1) Resignation
A person cannot 'resign' from being a Catholic by doing something such as sending a letter requesting removal from the Baptismal register; Church authorities will not remove a name because it would be to deny that the act of Baptism ever took place. However, regarding marriage, canon 1124 states:
"Without express permission of the competent authority, a marriage is prohibited between two baptised persons of whom one is baptised in the Catholic Church or received into it after baptism and has not defected from it by a formal act and the other of whom is enrolled in a Church or ecclesial community not in full communion with the Catholic Church."
The fact Canon Law recognises that someone may defect from the Catholic Church by a formal act (e.g. joining another church) clearly indicates that a person may leave Catholicism by simply joining another denomination or religion.
2) Excommunication
Excommunication is different from leaving the Catholicism; it means that a person may not receive any of the sacraments of the Church (apart from Reconciliation i.e. confession); however, the individual remains a member of the Church, albeit not one who is in good standing.
Canon 1323.1 restricts excommunication to those over 16 years of age and lists several situations when excommunication cannot be incurred due to such things as pressure, mental incompetence or an act done in ignorance. Canon 1342.1 expressly forbids an excommunication being regarded as permanent. A very few acts incur automatic excommunication e.g. having, performing or assisting in an abortion. (Canon 1398). See related link.
Answer
The teaching of the Catholic Church is based on Scripture. According to Scripture a person is born into the Kingdom of Heaven through spiritual birth in Baptism. This cannot be denied or revoked as is made clear when John the Baptist "....saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit that befits repentance." (Matthew Ch 3) and when Jesus said "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force "(Matthew Ch 11)
Catholics regard the pope as the successor of St Peter and according to the Gospel of St. Matthew (Ch 16) Jesus gave the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter alone. Like any key-holder the role of Peter and his successors is to provide access to the benefits of the Kingdom of Heaven for those authorised to receive them ("feed my lambs." "feed my sheep").
Answer
The excommunication discussion is quite interesting concerning eternal truth. Some Catholics in the past were excommunicated for saying they believed in things that the church did not teach - such as the sun being the centre of the solar system and the planets going round it. We laugh at such beliefs now but what happened to the people who were excommunicated for their enlightenment?
If someone is excommunicated for believing something that the church would now treat as truth why excommunicate anyone? As science advances so does the church's teaching - not quite at the same speed but it does raise issues for ordinary people.
If humans have souls and we can trace our ancestry back to primitive beings then were the souls given at a stroke, later on in human development or did we have them from the outset?" At which point there is problem of different branches of the same family chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and the wide variety of great apes also having souls. Of course if we go back further our common inheritance from creeping things would give even more creatures souls.
Answer: Clarification to the statement above regarding souls. Catholicism is possibly the only Christian denomination (apart from Eastern Orthodoxy)which regards animals as having souls, but these souls are considered to be finite. As for humans, Catholicism - like all Christian groups - regards these souls as being immortal; in other words, the human soul continues after the body dies. Catholicism also has no difficulty in accepting evolution as this does not detract from God's creative power. However, Catholicism who hold to what is termed "interventionist evolution"; this means that God intervened in the process of evolution to gift humanity with an immortal soul.
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NB - people were notexcommunicated for believing things that were emerging as scientific advancements in astrology and such, they were excommunicated for teaching without first having their finds confirmed and for disobedience. Church doctrine has never changed; the earth centric model was never a doctrine of the Catholic Church.
Catholic AnswerA Catholic cannot "resign", it is called "apostasy: when a baptized person entirely gives up his Christian faith. To the second, yes a person can excommunicate himself; certain crimes carry a latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication. Among the later would be an apostate from the faith, a heretic, or a schismatic: all would incur a latae sententiae excommunication. There are, I believe, five other crimes which carry the same sentence - desecrating the Sacred Species, assaulted the Holy Father, procuring or participating in an abortion, etc..Please note that the teaching of the Catholic Church is NOT based on Scripture. If you read and know history, you will realize that the New Testament Scriptures are based on the Catholic Church, not the other way 'round. The Scriptures were written by members of the first generation of Christians, and were approved and brought together as the New Testament around 380 A.D. by the Council of Rome and Pope Damasus.
