Popes

Teaching the world about salvation.

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There have been 16 Popes called Benedict (or Benedictus in Latin) (and a couple of anti-popes to make it interesting). The most recent is Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave and took the name Pope Benedict XVI. He celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005.

Pope Benedict XVI's biography on the official Vatican site:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/biography/documents/hf_ben-xvi_bio_20050419_short-biography_en.html

For a more complete biography of Pope Benedict XVI see this Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI

For more information on each of the popes see the Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_benedict

In the year 1059 the College of Cardinals was designated the sole body of electors.

A history of political interference in these elections and consequently long vacancies between popes, and most immediately the interregnum of 1268-1271, prompted the Second Council of Lyons to decree in 1274 that the electors should be locked in seclusion cum clave (Latin for "with a key"), and not permitted to leave until a new Bishop of Rome had been elected. Conclaves are now held in the Sistine Chapel in the Palace of the Vatican
In the year 1059 the College of Cardinals was designated the sole body of electors.

Yes, of course.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: (Bolded numbers are paragraph reference numbers)

169 Salvation comes from God alone; but because we receive the life of faith through the Church, she is our mother: "We believe the Church as the mother of our new birth, and not in the Church as if she were the author of our salvation." Because she is our mother, she is also our teacher in the faith.

620 Our salvation flows from God's initiative of love for us, because "he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins" (1 Jn 4:10). "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor 5:19).

621 Jesus freely offered himself for our salvation. Beforehand, during the Last Supper, he both symbolized this offering and made it really present: "This is my body which is given for you" (Lk 22:19).

The official residence of the Pope within the Holy See (Vatican City) is the Apostolic Palace. It is actually a collection of buildings including the Papal Apartments, the Vatican Museums, Library, a number of chapels and government offices.

The summer residence of the Pope is the Pontifical Palace in the Italian city of Castel Gandolfo. It, as well as a number of other properties around Italy, has extraterritorial status and is thus governed by the Holy See. It is worth noting that the property of the summer residence is actually larger than Vatican City itself.

Rome.

The traditional Papal Apartments are sumptuous in the extreme, decorated by the great Raphael, and evidence that for Renaissance popes, money was no object. Pope Francis has chosen not to live there, prefering instead to live in the Vatican's guest house, in an apartment that is still quite comfortable and well suited to the chief executive of a worldwide religious organisation. He has also announced that he will not spend his summer months at Castel Gandolfo, making the palace gardens available for public tours.

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The pope resides in the Papal Apartments in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. This has been the home of the popes for centuries. though there were times when other palaces such as the Lateran Palace were used.

Pope Francis has decided to forego the Apostolic Apartments and has chosen to live in a small aprtment in the Casa Marta, a hostel constructed for housing official visitors to the Vatican as well as the cardinals during a conclave.

Out of 265 popes, only a handful had mistresses. Those that did committed grave (and even damnable) sin. Hopefully, those who committed this sin sincerely repented of it before they died.

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Keeping mistresses in vatican has been their tradition and still being practice today in a disguise as sexual abuse, sex harrasment, rape and pedophilea. So christian today could hardly delete from their minds the misbahavior of popes and its bishops. Just read the news today and find out how many of the man of God go to the way of Satan.

That being said, it is not only NOT helpful to paint all the clergy, including our Holy Father, with the same tar brush that is being used on the abusers. There is a word for judging a whole class of people by the despicable actions of a minority, that word is not used in polite society, and most people of any moral fiber would not scruple to spread such calumny, or to allow themselves to be grouped with such people.

A:

Pope Gregory VII wanted total mastery, both spiritual and secular, over Europe. He claimed supremacy over the secular authorities, with supreme legislative and judicial power, and the right to depose all princes and to have all Christians as his subjects. He also claimed what was then another innovation - the sole right to appoint bishops, with a council held in the Lateran in 1075 decreeing that the pope alone could appoint or depose churchmen or move them from see to see. He also attempted to organise a crusade into Spain and a military expedition to the Holy Land, as well as attempting to heal the Great Schism of 1054, reuniting Christianity under papal rule.

In 1074, Gregory wrote to Emperor Henry IV reproaching him for his conduct and telling him that like everybody else, he was bound to obey papal decrees. If Henry did not, he would have to suffer the consequences. Henry, furious at such insolence, summoned at Worms a synod of German bishops, who were themselves smarting under Gregory's dictates. The synod denounced Gregory as a usurper of the papacy and accused him of perjury, immorality of various kinds, and abuses of papal authority in the dioceses of Germany. It pronounced Gregory deposed, a sentence confirmed by bishops of Lombardy.

A few weeks later, Gregory held a synod in Rome, that excommunicated Henry and all the bishops who had sided with him, released Henry's vassals from their oath of fealty, and declared him deposed. Henry, placed on the defensive and with his throne endangered, had to agree to allow Gregory to come to Augsburg in Germany to settle the affair. Gregory accepted the invitation, set out but had difficulty getting through Lombardy because of the strong sentiment against him. Finding his passage to Germany blocked by the Lombards, Gregory accepted Henry's plea for forgiveness at Canossa, and Henry was able to return and present to his subjects his absolution as the definitive settlement of the affair.

Now feeling secure in Germany, Henry marched into Italy with his troops in 1081 and laid siege to Rome. In desperation Gregory appealed to the Normans. Henry's forces withdrew, without giving battle. The Normans had freed the city from the emperor but then looted and burnt at least a third of it. The result was one the worst sacks in the history of Rome, for which the Romans held Gregory responsible. He managed to get out of the city unscathed, though cursed, and made his way to Salerno where the Normans ensured his safety.

Gregory died in exile, defeated and powerless. He had achieved none of his main objectives, but brought about his own ruin. John W. O'Malley S.J. (A History of the Popes) says that no pope ever died hated by more people than Gregory VII.