The Vatican I defintion of the pope is way different than the Pre 1054 understanding of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome.
The Orthodox church regards the Bishop of Rome as heretical for this reason.
As for top down, as I've said I AGREE with the pope using top down. jo kus was saying that almost never happens in the Catholic church, that they are self managed on the local level, That's why I brought it up, I wasn't weighing in against the pope doing so.
Dear x5452,
First, I notice that you glossed over our agreement that the pope isn't sinless.
Second, you seemed to state that the pope excommunicating an apostate priest was an example of the top-down nature of the Catholic Church. Definitions from Vatican I aside, I'm just pointing out that patriarchs generally have the authority to excommunicate apostate priests. Don't Orthodox Patriarchs have the capacity to excommunicate apostate priests?
Thus, the pope's action, in this case, wasn't an excercise of papal authority, as defined at the First Vatican Council, or at any other time, but rather was the action of a patriarch. In that case, it doesn't represent a difference between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
sitetest
Show me the bull of that. I think you are referring to the two patriarchs, Constantinople and Rome, excommunicating each other, in 1054. But those bulls have been lifted during the 20th century, and were ONLY applied to those two specific men. Your polemics are incorrect, the Orthodox do not consider Benedict XVI a heretic...
Regards