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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 there a previous pope still alive today?
As of March 1, 2013, Pope Francis is the reigning pope and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is alive and in retirement.
How many popes since Queen Elizabeth II?
Pope Pius XII
Pope John XXIII
Pope Paul VI
Pope John Paul I
Pope John Paul II
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Francis
Who decides on the next pope to be chosen?
The College of Cardinals chooses the pope in a secret meeting called a conclave.
Peter was called by Jesus "the rock" that he would base his church on. Not just a "roving preacher".
Peter did not hold the title of Pope, but held the same position within the group of apostles that the earliest men called "Popes" held amongst the group of bishops. The function and standing being the same, the title applies as equally to the past as present.
Similarly, a corporation founded 300 years ago no doubt had a Chief Financial Officer, but would not have called him that. We may retroactively speak of a "first CFO", though.
The Catholics recognize Peter as the first Pope, however they are not alone in awarding a retroactive title to label a similar function. Many diverse denominations of Christianity will claim that their current leadership is the inheritor of Peter's legacy. Thus Peter may be regarded as a first President/Prophet or first "faithful and discrete slave", whichever is appropriate to the group in question.
And in some sense, they are all correct. Each demonination, as best they understand it, is trying to carry on the mission first charged to Peter.
There are those who believe that when Jesus said He'd build His church upon "This Rock" He was talking about Himself - yes, Peter was a rock in his faith and personality (but remember this was before he denied Jesus), but he wasn't the Rock Jesus spoke of building His church upon.
It is folly to live in Rome and strive with the pope?
The pope is the head of Rome and he therefore wields quite a lot of power. The saying therefore implies that you cannot strive with a person that is more powerful than you are.
How many popes were named John Paul?
Only Saint Peter has that name. However, St. Malachy predicts that the final pope will also be named Peter.
What religious order does Pope Benedict belong to?
Pope Benedict was a diocesan priest early on his life in Munich. Diocesan priests commit their lives to serving the people of a diocese, a church administrative region, and generally work in parishes assigned by the bishop of their diocese. Diocesan priests take oaths of celibacy and obedience. He was NOT in a religious order.
Were any of the 265 popes in the Catholic Church bad?
Yes, there have been several popes in the past who were an embarrassment to the Church.
Which groups of Christians did the pope exclude from his call for a Crusade?
Anyone who was weak, feeble, or unable to bear arms.
Were any of the bad popes canonized?
No bad popes have been canonized.
Answer:
None of the popes known to have been truly evil have been canonised, but some popes of dubious morality have been canonised as saints:
- Pope Saint Felix IV has been described as a devious and ruthless Pope. His most famous work, a work of almost pure fiction was the Liber Pontificalis- an attempt to create a line of non-existent popes, mixed with dynastic hereditary Papal lines in order to create the impression of Apostolic succession from St Peter until his present day.
Pope Saint Gregory II wrote a letter to Boniface, agreeing to polygamy if a person's wife is unable to provide her husband sexual enjoyment through illness.
- During the rule of Pope Saint Leo III, he was accused of adultery, perjury and other crimes. Charlemagne seems to have believed the accusations, but Leo cleared himself by an oath of purgation.
Pope Saint Paschal I was accused of murdering two papal officials, but avoided trial by swearing innocence.
Pope Saint Nicholas I may have been involved in the Isidorian decretals forgery but, if not, at least used them in support of claims put forward by himself and his successors.
As part of a vendetta, Pope Saint Adrian III had a noble lady, Mariam, widow of a dignitary who had been murdered at the accession of Pope Marinus I, whipped and led naked through the streets of Rome.
Pope Saint Gregory VII exchanged "warm" letters with the beautiful Countess Matilda and spent extended periods at her castle. It was said that they were lovers.
Blessed Victor III took Countess Matilda as his mistress.
- At a time when the enforcement of celibacy was often lax, Blessed Urban II ruled that the wives of priests were to be sold into slavery.
Who led the Roman Catholic Church before Pope Gregory I?
Pope Pelagius II was the predecessor of Pope Gregory I, the Great.
No. Here is the list of papal names (if we count John Paul as one name) in alphabetical order with the number of times each name has been used in parentheses: Adeodatus (1)
Adrian (6)
Agapetus (2)
Agatho (1)
Alexander (7)
Anacletus (1)
Anastasius (4)
Anicetus (1)
Anterus (1)
Benedict (16)
Boniface (8)
Caius (1)
Callistus (3)
Celestine (5)
Clement (14)
Conon (1)
Constantine (1)
Cornelius (1)
Damasus (2)
Deusdedit (1)
Dionysius (1)
Donus (1)
Eleutherius (1)
Eugene (4)
Eusebius (1)
Eutychian (1)
Evaristus (1)
Fabian (1)
Felix (3)
Formosus (1)
Gelasius (2)
Gregory (16)
Hilarius (1)
Honorius (4)
Hormisdas (1)
Hyginus (1)
Innocent (13)
John (21)
John Paul (2)
Julius (3)
Lando (1)
Leo (13)
Liberius (1)
Linus (1)
Lucius (3)
Marcellinus (1)
Marcellus (2)
Marcus (1)
Marinus (2)
Martin(3)
Miltiades (1)
Nicholas (5)
Paschal (2)
Paul (6)
Pelagius (2)
Peter (1)
Pius (12)
Pontain (1)
Romanus (1)
Sabinian (1)
Sergius (4)
Severinus (1)
Silverius (1)
Simplicius (1)
Siricius (1)
Sisinnius (1)
Sixtus (5)
Soter (1)
Stephen (10)
Sylvester (3)
Symmachus (1)
Telesphorus (1)
Theodore (2)
Urban (8)
Valentine (1)
Victor (3)
Vigilius (1)
Vitalian (1)
Zachary (1)
Zephyrinus (1)
Zosimus (1)
White smoke from the temporary Sistine Chapel chimney resulting from the ballots cast in the conclave being burned, for the final time, along with chemicals (as opposed to the old dry hay) to create the white, as opposed to black, smoke.
It was used as a quick, easy and dramatic way to inform the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square that they indeed did have a new pope. Shortly afterward bells will start to peel.
Anura Guruge
Papal Historian
Before his appointment as pope he was cardinal?
Popes are not appointed, they are elected and nearly all have been cardinals before becoming the pope.
How did the conflict between pope and emperor reflect the Church's authority?
they fought over who was in power because they were both holy. The HRE (holy roman emperors) wanted power but the Pope who was holy as-well wanted the power also. the Popes ended up Excommunicating all the HREs.
Excommunicating means to band someone from heaven when they die.
Which pope decreed the first Holy Year?
Pope Boniface VI declared the first Holy Year (Jubilee Year) in 1300.
How long after a pope dies do they wait to vote for a new pope?
They wait 14 days. The Camerlingo is basically in charge of the preciding of the ancient ritual of re-electing a new pope. He must organise the College of Cardinals and he is the only one who is allowed to 'check' whether the Pope is actually dead.
What does the popes fisherman's ring symbolize?
It symbolize the Age that we living in today. The age of Pisces the Latin word for fish. Follow me and I make you fisher of men. A phrase that Jesus use when he got his first 2 disciples.
Will the bells ring if there is black smoke for the pope election?
No, the bells will only be rung if a new pope has been elected.
His mission is to guide and to serve as an example for the Catholics.
The Pope is needed because Our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ, appointed him to lead His Church.
