Not Cletus.
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."
Hope it is Cardinal Ratzinger but he chooses "Pope Maximus." That would telegraph to the dissenters it is time to get out of Dodge. A good Roman martyr's name of the 2nd century would do wonders for the Church in oppressed countries.
Frank
Pope John Paul Jones
Christ used quite different language when he was speaking in metaphors - as in the parables.
"Don't give up the sheep!"
As I said, you miss the metaphor.. could be dogma..
Perhaps in these troubled times we need a new Pope Urban.
By the way the word translated as "church" means people or a group of people basically a meeting of people not a building.. then AND now.. A synagouge can be a building a church cannot.. biblically speaking..
I sure hope whoever is the new Pope doesn't choose the name Lemonjello or orangejello.
Is your Greek font missing iota subscipts? I would expect 'epi' to take the dative in that phrase.
Pope Boniface X
Not Cletus.
Somebody suggested "Ahnarope" in a thread last week . . . . .
Lando 
Want more? Jonh Paul II was Archbishop of Krakow, elevated to Cardinal.
Here is how the riddle "De labore Solis" becomes more clear.
De labore Solis may be also an allusion to the place where LABOR (i.e. work, paper, book) ABOUT THE SUN , a monumetal discovery of Nicolaus Copernicus/ Nikolaj Kopernik was made. "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" Heliocentic theory changed the world.
Also, Gloria olivae may also mean a converted Jew, someone linked to Jews or helping Jews reach the apex in some field. Or, someone from Latin America (Spain's glory)
I think Pope Larry would be a cool name.
I have to agree.
"Pope Larry Hank I" has a ring to it as well.
I thought that's what we were going to name our first child, after we moved to Vermont.
Oops, wasn't supposed to mention that............
The Catholic church had a history of opposing America and democracy.
There was a reason why America literally hated the CAtholic church up until even the 1930's for the most part.
It was because the church opposed America.
Under later Pope's things began to change and Pope John Paul II fought hard for democracy.
But, the sting of the early opposition still lingers in some minds.
In fact, much of the early push for a strict sepration of church and state was largely an anti-Catholic fear of the Vatican taking over America.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.