Posted on 04/16/2005 4:46:53 PM PDT by NYer
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The first message a new pope sends to the world is encoded in the name he chooses.
If Roman Catholicism's next leader calls himself John Paul III, that would signal continuity. "John" would connote a gentle father while "Pius" could herald an era of deep conservatism.
A name from the distant papal past -- improbable ones like Zephyrinus, Hilarus or Formosus -- would send Catholics scurrying to their history books to see what it could mean.
The maxim "Nomen est omen" (Latin for "a name is a sign") is as valid today for popes as it was for ancient Romans whose emperors took new names or titles when they assumed power.
"It's a practice that goes back as far as the Book of Genesis, where Abram changed his name to Abraham," said John-Peter Pham, a former Vatican diplomat and papal historian.
"Simon changed his name to Peter, which means rock," he added. "Because Christ said he was the rock on which he would build the Church."
There is no law saying popes must choose a new name, but a tradition more than 1,000 years old cannot be ignored. Popes declare their choice right after being elected.
POPE STANISLAS?
The first pope known to have changed his name was John II in 533. He was previously called Mercury but thought the Christian pontiff should not have the name of a pagan Roman god.
This became more common after an 18-year-old with another name from pagan times, Octavian, was chosen in a rigged election in 955 and decided to take the name John XII. A man named Peter opted for Sergius IV in 1009 out of respect for the first pope.
Popes who bore the name Pius made it synonymous with deep conservativism.
Pius IX (1846-1878) rejected democracy, Pius X (1903-1914) denounced modern liberal politics and Pius XI (1922-1939) ran the Church in an autocratic way, Pham said. Under Pius XII (1939-1958), the Church cracked down on liberal theologians.
Cardinal Angelo Roncalli reportedly spent the evening before his election as John XXIII in 1958 thumbing through a list of popes to check what earlier Johns had done.
When Albino Luciani was elected in 1978, he took the first double name in papal history, John Paul I, to show he wanted to combine John XXIII's reforms with the more traditional stand of his immediate predecessor, Paul VI (1963-1978).
When John Paul I died 33 days later, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Poland honored him by taking the name John Paul II. "It is said that he considered something more Slavic, like Stanislas, but then thought the better of it," Pham said.
The next pope could be tempted to call himself John Paul III. But if Wojtyla goes down in history as John Paul the Great, as his supporters want, a successor taking his name could risk being known as John Paul the Lesser.
PUNTERS PICKS
Without knowing the identity of the next pope, it is hard to guess which name he will pick -- but that hasn't stopped Dublin bookmakers Paddy Power from opening betting on it.
A surprise choice -- Benedict -- leads the pack ahead of John Paul and John, mostly because someone has placed an unusually large bet on it, company spokesman Paddy Power said.
The choice of Benedict could signal a subtle shift to more moderate policies, judging from the way the Benedict XV turned away from Pius X's rigorous anti-modern stand, Pham said.
"We were surprised because we thought John Paul or John would certainly be on top," said Power, who had no explanation for Benedict's popularity.
"There seems to be some connection between Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger and the name Benedict," he said, referring to the former Paris archbishop deemed too old to be in the race.
"The same person who put a big bet on Lustiger also bet big on Benedict."
After John Paul, George would logically be next ;)
Actually, there has never been a Pope George before....
Not in the original Greek. Matthew 16:18: kai epi tauth th petra . It's sort of a double emphasis - tauth th means "this very same" - it's intensive. It wasn't "the".
Followed, of course, by Pope Ringo.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1351430/posts
Read this then, for some thinking on a Saturday night.
Pope Dubya?
Pope Bob
"The same person who put a big bet on Lustiger also bet big on Benedict."
The Glory of the Olive
Thank you
The Glory of the Olive. The Order of St. Benedict has said this Pope will come from their order. It is interesting that Jesus gave his apocalyptic prophecy about the end of time from the Mount of Olives. This Pope will reign during the beginning of the tribulation Jesus spoke of. The 111th prophesy is "Gloria Olivae" (The Glory of the Olive). The Order of Saint Benedict has claimed that this pope will come from their ranks. Saint Benedict himself prophesied that before the end of the world his Order, known also as the Olivetans, will triumphantly lead the Catholic Church in its fight against evil.
What's truly intriguing is that John Paul II was ...
The Labor of the Son. JOHN PAUL II. 1978-Present. John Paul II is the most travelled Pope in history. He has circled the globe numerous times, preaching to huge audiences everywhere he goes. Even though he was once shot, he has not seemed to slow down. He has recently written a book which has enjoyed a large circulation. Like the sun which never ceases to labor and provides light daily, this Pope has been incessant. John Paul II was born on May 18, 1920. On that date in the morning there was a near total eclipse of the sun over Europe. TProphecy - The 110th Pope is "De Labore Solis" (Of the Solar Eclipse, or, From the Toil of the Sun). The corresponding pope is John Paul II (1978-present). John Paul II was born on May 8, 1920 during an eclipse of the sun. Like the sun he came out of the East (Poland). Like the sun he has visited countries all around the globe while doing his work (he is the most-traveled pope in history).
John Paul II was born on the day of an eclipse and his funeral was also on the day of an eclipse. Normally, I pay little heed to these prophecies but this is beyond coincidence.
Gloria Olivae might also represent an olive branch. This pope would bring peace to the most troubled parts of the world - the Middle East? Worth weighing once we know who has been chosen.
< Font Face=Symbol > put your greek text here.< /font >. Be sure to leave the space between "font" and "face" in the command or it won't work. You can supercopy your text from another website that uses the Symbol typeface (e.g. greekbible.com).
To make it work instead of showing up like it does here, just close up the spaces between the brackets and the HTML commands.
Just for fun, I think I'd like "Pope Dwayne."
For heaven's sake, if you don't want to read about the conclave, go click on something else.
A good number of folks on FR don't remember any other pope, and this story is of some historical interest (as well as being of pretty serious interest to those of us who are Catholic.)
I grant you there's a dearth of hard news due to the cardinals' (commendable) decision not to gossip to the press. But nobody is making you read this.
Peter the Roman ?
you say that you are a protestant....what are you protesting and why. The Catholic Church existed, without your help for more than 1500 years....along came "reformers" who thought they knew better than Christ, how to form a church......congratulations,, you now have more than 20,000 different protestant denominations, all of whom think they have it right. THEY DON'T
It was a metaphor.. the meaning is lost by some perceiving it to be literal.. bastardizing the metaphor to a different very convenient meaning..
;-)
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(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
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