Free Republic

The Catholic historian, A. Dufourcq, called the papacy of 1447 to 1527, la papauté princière, “the papacy of princes.�[1] This trenchant appellation conveys Fr. Maurice Sheehan’s meaning when he says “these popes were more men of culture or rulers than popes.�[2] Regardless of the scandalous particulars of their military extravagances, personal profligacy, or political intrigues, what is common to these popes is that “they had other interests, other things on their minds besides being pope.�[3] Therein lies the problem. In explaining how the Renaissance Papacy was a cause of the Reformation, we should not fall into a monism, as if...

Pope: From the Greek word papas, a term of endearment meaning "papa" or "daddy." With the recent, historic visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the U.S., many Christians may be wondering what exactly Catholics believe about the robed figure with the German accent and his line of predecessors. Why do Catholics have a Pope? Do Catholics worship him? Is his authority political, spiritual, or is he just a figurehead?While I had a basic understanding of the Catholic papacy before his visit, I didn't fully grasp it. So, in an effort to better understand this central figure in Christendom and...

The armies of female ordination have just taken over Hollywood and are now set to march onto the Vatican. Coming soon to a movie theater near you is a "historical drama" about "Pope Joan." Shooting is set to begin in August, for a planned 2009 release, says Yahoo. You've heard of Pope Joan, right? Pope Joan is the name of a female pope (also La Papessa) who supposedly reigned for less than three years in the 850s, based on a legend that circulated in the Middle Ages. Pope Joan is regarded by most modern historians and religious scholars as fictitious,...

Almost 700 years after the Pope burned their leader at the stake, the Knights Templar are back. Or are they? Patrick Barkham tries to find out why the long-vanished order of Crusaders might suddenly be advertising in the press.... ~~~snip~~~ Apart from the odd misplaced apostrophe and various arcane references to "annulling the bull", the advert gravely announced that the Knights Templar would petition the Pope to "restore the Order with the duties, rights and privileges appropriate to the 21st century and beyond". It called on all Templar groups and "brothers in arms" around the world to get in touch,...

COLUMBUS, Ohio, OCT. 24, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Young people want something built on a solid foundation after seeing how the culture of death is destroying society, said author David Hartline. Hartline is the author of the recent book "The Tide Is Turning Toward Catholicism," published by Catholic Report. In this interview with ZENIT, Hartline considers some of the changing trends in the Church that have come about through courageous Catholic leaders, seen especially in Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Q: What motivated you to write "The Tide Is Turning Toward Catholicism"? Hartline: While working for the Church, I began...

1. At this moment in the Church's life, the question of the primacy of Peter and of his Successors has exceptional importance as well as ecumenical significance. John Paul II has frequently spoken of this, particularly in the Encyclical Ut unum sint, in which he extended an invitation especially to pastors and theologians to "find a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation".1In answer to the Holy Father's invitation, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith decided to study the matter...

In Europe and the United States, Catholic authorities have encouraged the transformation of Catholic schools and churches into Muslim schools and mosques. One order of friars is helping Italian Muslims build a mosque right next to its monastery. In Belgium, meanwhile, the Catholic bishops let illegal Muslim immigrants live and worship in churches to force the government to grant amnesty.

Pope Benedict XVI's comments on religious radicalism are another sign of his intention to bring his voice into one of the world's most critical showdowns: Islam's internal struggles between moderates and extremists. The remarks — tucked into an address at a German university where he formerly taught theology — were interpreted by many experts in interfaith relations as a signal that the Vatican is staking a new and more demanding stance for its dealings with the Muslim world. Benedict, they say, appears to increasingly view the West's confrontation with radical Islam as a fateful moment in history that demands the...

The decision to study the primacy of the bishop of Rome in the universal Church of Christ indicates that the Orthodox;Roman Catholic consultation is moving towards the centre of the issues that have separated our respective communions. In this process, our deliberations must take seriously into account the theological statements of the bilateral dialogues between Roman Catholics and Anglicans, Lutherans and others. It must also take into consideration the reflection of Roman Catholic theologians who are seeking to reform; but not to reject ‑ the primacy of the Roman church.[1] Orthodox‑Roman theological reflection of the primacy of the Roman church...

Of the authority of the bishops of Rome during the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries. We have already seen that the œumenical councils of Constantinople and Chalcedon had given to the Bishop of Constantinople the second place in the Catholic episcopacy, and that St. Leo, Bishop of Rome, had opposed this law, as changing the hierarchal order established at the first Œcumenical Council of Nicea. We may believe that St. Leo was indeed only moved to this opposition by his respect for the canons. But his successors, probably, had another motive. They feared lest the Bishop of Constantinople should soon...

The most important and the most controversial point in all endeavors for rapprochement of other Churches with the Roman Catholic Church is undoubtedly the question of the Roman Primacy in Christianity. The denial of this prerogative to the Bishop of Rome by the Orthodox is, perhaps, the only serious obstacle on the way to reunion of the Eastern Churches with the Roman Church. The many polemic writings issued in the East and in the West from the eleventh century, denying or defending the primary position of the Roman Bishop, have, so far, failed to produce the desired effect on either...

WASHINGTON -- The Crusades may be causing more devastation today than they ever did in the three centuries when most of them were fought, according to one expert. Robert Spencer, author of "Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)" (Regnery), claims that the damage is not in terms of lives lost and property destroyed but is a more subtle destruction. Spencer shared with ZENIT how false ideas about the Crusades are being used by extremists to foment hostility to the West today. Q: The Crusades are often portrayed as a militarily offensive venture. Were they? Spencer: No. Pope Urban...

The "Siri Thesis" Unravels - by Inside the Vatican staff In our confusing times, many otherwise faithful traditional Catholics have denounced and broken with "conciliar Rome," including the "conciliar Popes." But that has not ended the confusion... "It has been very well observed that there is no such thing as an impartial historian. Every man who sets out to trace the development of life, whether in politics, religion, or art, is bound to do so with some theory in his mind... The historian, or the theologian, who is most nearly impartial is not he who has no view, but he...

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 27, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Pope John Paul II contemplated the possibility of resigning but decided against it for fear of creating a "dangerous precedent for his successors." So revealed his longtime private secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, to Cardinal Julián Herranz, president of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, on Dec. 17, 2004. Cardinal Herranz has now revealed the contents of that conversation in a book entitled "Nei Dintorni de Gerico. Ricordi degli Anni con San Josemaria & con Giovanni Paolo II" (In the Surroundings of Jericho: Memories of the Years with Saint Josemaría and John...

The death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI have drawn great attention to the papacy in recent months. Such intense interest is remarkable. Much of it relates to the personality and accomplishments of John Paul II. He was a man of great courage and contributed significantly to the collapse of communism in eastern Europe. Part of the interest also results from the powerful images that Rome can offer television cameras. Some of the greatest art and architecture of western civilization serve as a backdrop for elaborate rituals performed by gloriously clad clerics. Part of...

The Importance of the Hierarchy in the ChurchIn a diocese neighboring the one in which I live there was a recent controversy when the archbishop insisted that one parish regularize its canonical status by submitting to him authority over its finances, authority previously held by a lay board. The parish refused, and ultimately the archbishop removed its priest. What was most interesting and disturbing about the situation was not the problem with the status of the parish in itself, but the fact that many Catholics in the area sincerely could not understand why this "detail" mattered, and why the archbishop...

Pope John Paul II's last words before his death were "let me go to the house of the Father", according to documents released by the Vatican.His words were spoken in his native Polish to aides hours before he died last April. They are preserved in a new 220-page volume which chronicles the last two months of the late pontiff's life. It is the first time the Vatican has published such a detailed account of any pope's final moments. Parkinson'sCorrespondents say the report is an unprecedented move, as the death of a pope has always been surrounded by secrecy. The book...

Everybody knows that one of the major divergences between the Orthodox and Roman Catholics is based on the position of the Bishop of Rome in the Universal Church. According to the Romans the Pope is the head of the Universal Church. According to Orthodox doctrine, instead, the Pope of Rome is a bishop equal in dignity to the other bishops. At this point it is interesting to read a qualified opinion: that of St. Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome (+ 604 A.D.), whose feast is celebrated on 12 March. St. John the Faster, Patriarch of Constantinople (feast: 2 September)...

This an excerpt is from Against False Union by Dr. Alexander Kalomiros (Seattle, WA: St. Nectarios Press, 1990 [1967]), pp. 53-55 as posted on www.orthodoxinfo.com /small> XXVIII. ECCLESIOLOGY The commotion about union of the churches makes evident the ignorance existing as much among the circles of the simple faithful as among the theologians as to what the Church is. They understand the catholicity of the Church as a legal cohesion, as an interdependence regulated by some code. For them the Church is an organization with laws and regulations like the organizations of nations. Bishops, like civil servants, are distinguished as...

The extensive media coverage of the passing of Pope John Paul II might have left readership of this newspaper "poped-out," and not without reason. Media attention was intensive and around the clock. The Vatican broke all precedents and was very forthcoming about the pope's condition. It used to be that a pope was in good health until he died. But John Paul II changed all that, and in the process showed us how to live, how to grow old with dignity, how to persevere in weakness and feebleness, and then how to meet death with courage - for all the...

New York, May. 03, 2005 (CNA) - Planed Parenthood has launched a campaign to motivate all of its members and supporters, nominal Catholics and non-Catholics, to send letters to the editor, requesting that Pope Benedict XVI reconsider his “backward views” and change his opinion on sexual morality. Pope Benedict XVI must be encouraged to “reconsider his dangerously outdated stances on birth control, abortion and sexuality in order to help move the Catholic Church into the 21st century,” reads a memo issued by campaign manager Eve Fox. “The new Pope's positions on these crucial issues pose a terrible danger to the...

As the church's period of mourning for Pope John Paul II comes to a close and the election of a successor is complete, media analysts can begin to get a full picture of how this historic and influential papacy was covered. The late Pope John Paul II received positive, praise-filled media coverage after his death, according to the Media Research Center. While he led the church, however, the slant of news coverage varied depending on the issue in question. While one of the most widely reported of Pope John Paul II's accomplishments for the past three weeks has been his...

Pope Benedict XVI was elected by an overwhelming majority of his fellow cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, possibly rallying an impressive 100 out of 115 votes, Italy's La Repubblica has reported. The exact number of votes in favour of Joseph Ratzinger will likely never be known, as records of the four ballots of this week's conclave have been sealed and can only be opened upon order of the pontiff himself. But citing Vatican sources, La Repubblica said the German-born Pope won the support of far more cardinals than the strict two-thirds majority needed to be elected. Pope Benedict was...

Habemus Papam! That's Latin for "We have a pope!" With those words the College of Cardinals announced that the world's Catholics have a new spiritual leader, former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. As the Vatican's chief defender of theological doctrine, it's no surprise he's already being condemned as a "traditionalist" and a "hardliner." Of course, if some of the modernizers had their way, a new pontiff would be announced with the declaration, "We got pope!" Or maybe "The pizzy is in the hizzy!" Then Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake would bump and grind a bit before His Holiness...

by Fr. Frank Pavone Other Articles by Fr. Frank Pavone The New Pope 4/19/05 God always blesses His Church with the type of leader it needs at each time in history. That was true with John Paul II, and it is true with Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. His role as the head of the Church's doctrinal office, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, may seem to some a far cry from what he now has to do as the Universal Pastor of the Church. Some see enforcing doctrinal orthodoxy as perhaps in tension with reaching out,...

London's Sunday Times would have us believe that one of the leading contenders for the papacy is a closet Nazi. In if-only-they-knew tones, the newspaper informs readers that German-born Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was a member of the Hitler Youth during World War II and suggests that, because of this, the "panzer cardinal" would be quite a contrast to his predecessor, John Paul II. The article also classifies Ratzinger as a "theological anti-Semite" for believing in Jesus so strongly that – gasp! – he thinks that everyone, even Jews, should accept him as the messiah. To all this we should say,...

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the election of German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new pope, Benedict XVI. Under his leadership in Germany and Rome, the Catholic Church made important strides in improving Catholic-Jewish relations and atoning for the sin of anti-Semitism. Cardinal Ratzinger has been a leader in this effort and has made important statements in the spirit of sensitivity and reconciliation with the Jewish people. Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National director, issued the following statement: "We welcome the new Papacy of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. From the Jewish perspective, the fact that he comes from Europe is important,...

RUSH: We have microphones in the Vatican. Let's JIP it. CARDINAL / TRANSLATOR: My dearest brothers and sisters. (cheers) My dearest brothers and sisters. (cheers) My dearest brothers and sisters. RUSH: He's speaking in a bunch of different languages, for those of you in Rio Linda. There's nothing wrong here. CARDINAL: I announce to you a great joy. (cheers) We have a pope! (cheers) The most eminent and most reverent Lord Joseph (chimes) of the holy Roman Catholic church, Cardinal Ratzinger! (roars) RUSH: So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. From Germany, the new pope is Joseph Ratzinger. He...

¡Habemus Papam!Folks, I knew he was "papabile," and knew he could make a great Pope, but wow! I am elated.¡Ad multos annos, Benedictus, PP XVI, Pontifex Maximus!It is a great and agreeable surprise that the former "Panzer" Cardinal is now the new Holy Father. What his election portents for the Church is continuity and consolidation of the work of Pope John Paul the Great. We can expect continued, strong doctrinal clarity, leadership, and discipline, as well as the continued authentic interpretation of Vatican II. All-in-all, steady as she goes for the Ship of Peter. The initial coverage from the mainstream...

Statement by The Lutheran World Federation – A Communion of Churches, upon the election of Pope Benedict XVI At the election of Pope Benedict XVI it is appropriate for Christians to be united in prayer that God may bless, strengthen and guide him as a heavy mantle of responsibility is now being put upon him. History has shown in so many ways the impact of the Roman Pontiff on the direction of events both in church and in society. At the present time we see especially the urgency of processes of reconciliation across religious, ethnic and economic divides. The main...

<p>Never having been made a cardinal, retired Archbishop John R. Quinn of San Francisco will not be participating in the conclave that will elect a successor to Pope John Paul II. But the 76-year-old Quinn thinks that some of the electors could literally take a page from his book in choosing the next pope.</p>

Baptist church 'fake pope' sign attracting attention, criticism By JEANNINE F. HUNTER, hunter@knews.com April 13, 2005 NEWPORT, Tenn. - Two days after being posted, a church marquee message that questions the purpose of the papacy is still attracting attention in this small community. "What I am trying to do is to let people know there's only one way to heaven through Jesus Christ," said the Rev. Cline Franklin, pastor of Hilltop Baptist Church. "There's no need for help. God sent his son, Jesus Christ. We're all priests if we're saved. I don't need to go to anybody else to pray."...

 HISTORY LABORS--A WORN machine, sick with torsion, ill-meshed--and every repair of an old fault ruptures something new. Or so it seems, much of the time. Our historical choices are limited, constrained by the poverty of what appears possible at any given moment. To be a good leader is, for most figures who walk the world's stage, merely to pick the best among the available options--to push back where one can, to hold on to the good that remains, to resist a little the stream of history as it seems to flow toward its cataract.For the past decade and a half,...

'New' Litany of the Saints from the Papal Funeral Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro eo Sancta Maria, Mater Ecclesiæ, ora pro eo Sancta Maria, Salus populi Romani, ora pro eo Sancti Michael, Gabriel et Raphael, orate pro eo Omnes sancti Angeli, orate pro eo Sancte Ioseph, ora pro eo Sancte Ioannes Baptista, ora pro eo Omnes Sancti Patriarchæ et Prophetæ, orate pro eo Sancti Petre et Paule, orate pro eo Sancte Andrea, ora pro eo Sancti Ioannes et Iacobe, orate pro eo Sancte Thoma, ora pro eo Sancte Matthæe, ora pro eo Sancte Matthia, ora pro eo Sancte Luca,...

Conclave veterans say most 'electioneering' happens out of public view When it comes to electing a pope, there are no Iowa caucuses, no candidate debates, no conventions or platforms. The "campaign" is more analogous to the 2003 California gubernatorial recall than a presidential primary -- a quick sprint that flares up unexpectedly and is over before it even seems to begin. Conclave veterans say most of the heavy lifting involved in electing a pope happens out of public view. Cardinal Franz König of Vienna, in a July 2001 NCR interview, said the real work is done in behind-the-scenes meetings of...

What papal name do you think the next pope will take? As I search the list there have never been 3 popes taking the same name in a row. Bookies are giving 7-4 that the next pope will take John Paul III. There was never a double name before John Paul I. Not interested in this thread who will become Pope, just what name do you think he will take? Is there some Pope that the next Pope will want to pattern after besides John Paul II that any new Pope would see the Church in need of? If it...

MOSCOW, April 4. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Romanov) - It seems the only place the pope wanted but could not visit was Moscow. His patience was boundless, but he did not live long enough to see changes in the Russian Orthodox Church. He, however, was open to the whole world, including Russians. It turned out that establishing contacts with the secular authorities of the new Russia was much easier than with the hierarchs of the Russian Church. The pontiff received Gorbachev, Yeltsin and Putin, the latter of whom has sent the Vatican an unusual letter of condolences. More...

Numbers favour Latin American successor By Richard Lapper, Latin America editor Published: April 3 2005 12:29 | Last updated: April 3 2005 12:29 History and tradition may favour an Italian, but the strength of the Catholic church in Latin America means that the next Pope could come from the region that boasts the largest number of Catholics in the world. Certainly that is what bookmakers believe. Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, Claudio Hummes, of Brazil,. Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina, Jaime Ortega from Cuba and Dario Castrillion Hoyos, from Colombia have frequently featured among the favourites detailed by Paddy Power...

For all his erudition and mysticism, Pope John Paul II was a gloriously human pope, not pale and other-worldly from years in a Vatican bureaucracy, but fully rounded and robust from toiling in the harsh light of the real world. This pope felt the sting of his parents' deaths at an early age, worked with his hands, heard the rock-hard cacophony of a quarry and the boom of Nazi bombs, enjoyed belting out a good song. He lived an outsized, epic life -- so full of novelistic, even cinematic, twists of plot that it might well have been written by...

Israel expressed "deep sorrow" at the passing of Pope John Paul II, who in 1986 referred to the Jewish people as "our elder brothers." Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom issued a statement saying that "Israel, the Jewish people and the entire world, lost today a great champion of reconciliation and brotherhood between the faiths." "On behalf of the government and people of Israel, we extend our condolences to the Catholic Church and the flock of Pope John Paul II," Shalom said. "This is a great loss, first and foremost for the Catholic Church and its hundreds of millions of believers, but...

I WAS SITTING at Cork airport yesterday morning next to some talkative young Corkmen. “The Pope is near dett,” says one, reading a text from his mobile phone. “Ah, sure,” says another, “tis the best for him now. Won’t he be better off? He’ll be safe enough anyway — Jeez, if he doesn’t go straight up, what hope is there for the rest of us?” Laughter. “Oh he’ll go straight up all right,” said a third. “I wonder will the schools have a day off? For mourning, like.” The young Corkonians were articulating, in their cheerful vernacular, something about the...

The Reverend Billy Graham issued the following statement Saturday: "Pope John Paul II was unquestionably the most influential voice for morality and peace in the world during the last 100 years. His extraordinary gifts, his strong Catholic faith, and his experience of human tyranny and suffering in his native Poland all shaped him, and yet he was respected by men and women from every conceivable background across the world. He was truly one of those rare individuals whose legacy will endure long after he has gone. "It was my privilege to meet with him at the Vatican on various occasions,...

The papacy is not, in theory, a man-made office at all. Its holder is chosen for life, by God himself, to hold the keys of Peter and to be the vicar of Christ on earth. This is yet another of the self-imposed tortures that faith inflicts upon itself. It means that you have to believe that the pope before last, who held on to the job for a matter of weeks before dying (or, according to some, before being murdered) was either unchosen by God in some fit of celestial pique, or left unprotected by heaven against his assassins. And...

1. Mane nobiscum, Domine! Stay with us, Lord! (cf. Lk 24:29) With these words, the disciples on the road to Emmaus invited the mysterious Wayfarer to stay with them, as the sun was setting on that first day of the week when the incredible had occurred. According to his promise, Christ had risen; but they did not yet know this. Nevertheless, the words spoken by the Wayfarer along the road made their hearts burn within them. So they said to him: "Stay with us". Seated around the supper table, they recognized him in the "breaking of bread" - and...

What happens when the pope gets sick? If the pope becomes sick, he can delegate some of his authority to the cardinal secretary of state or to any other person. In the long history of the papacy, popes have formally or informally delegated authority to Vatican officials, cardinal nephews and other members of their families. But today the logical person to run the church while the pope is sick would be Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the secretary of state, who is more like a prime minister than a U.S. secretary of state. Such delegation presumes that the pope is still capable...

How typical of the heroic Pope John Paul II that he would hold on long enough to see us through Holy Week; that he would use such strong words in his defense of a dying Terri Schiavo. How like this "Pope of the People" that even in failing strength he kept coming to the window of his Vatican apartment to bless the pilgrims. The life of Pope John Paul II has been a courageous one that made a difference for so many. Frail as he was back in 2002 when he came to Toronto for Youth Day, the Holy Father...

VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II developed a high fever Thursday because of a urinary tract infection and was being treated with antibiotics at the Vatican, his spokesman said. The latest health setback for the 84-year-old pontiff came one day after he began receiving nutrition through a feeding tube. There were reports that the pope received the sacrament of the anointing of the sick — what used to be called the last rites. But the Italian news agency Apcom, without citing any sources, reported that John Paul's condition was "stable" early Friday, several hours after he started receiving antibiotics....

Now off the launching pad and in the running to replace Pope Paul John II, Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, shoots from the lip. A drawn-looking John Paul II, unable to preside over last Sunday’s Palm Sunday for the first time in his 26-year papacy, and reportedly not responding well to his medication, and was unable to speak during the traditional Easter Sunday blessing. Among the ranks of potential papal replacement cardinals, Maradiaga is restive. The long on charisma Maradiaga, who hails from Honduras, is ready to rock the Vatican boat. The difference between the Polish pontiff and the would-be...

As far as the next pope is concerned, expect the unexpected. That's the message National Catholic Reporter Vatican correspondent John Allen, Jr. stressed in his 2005 Religious Education Congress Feb. 20 workshop, "Four papacies, four futures for the church" highlighting four differing points of view among the 118 Cardinals under age 80 who will elect the future pope. Although Pope John Paul II has appointed all but three of the cardinals who will elect his successor, Allen said it is a misconception that the next pope will be similar to the current one. "It doesn't work like that," declared...

SCRANTON, Pa. — Eric Bergman gave up friendships, his home and his priesthood in the Episcopal Church for his beliefs. The 34-year-old renounced his priesthood Dec. 31 and now wants to win souls as a priest of the Roman Catholic Church.Joining him in the move to Catholicism are his wife, Kristina, and his three children, all under the age of 3. Bergman also brings with him some 60 parishioners from his former congregation, the Church of the Good Shepherd in Scranton, Pa., where he served as rector for five years, and 10 Episcopalians from a nearby parish.Bergman is petitioning the...