I would have to say that Roman Catholicism never did claim "complete temporal autority for the pope." Your source to the contrary, please? And please don't offer Unam Sanctam. It doesn't claim complete temporal authority. Such temporal authority as it does claim is by way of pastoral spiritual authority. We can debate its merits, but the first step is accurately to portray its claims. No pope ever claimed complete temporal authority. Claiming that popes did so is too close to Chickian propaganda for comfort.
And please, don't excuse Jack Chick by saying that his Catholic victims are to blame for his lies. Jack Chick (whoever he is or was) has no excuse whatsoever for his vile calumnies. Whatever sins and errors Catholics are guilty of, they do not excuse the dishonest excrement that Chick comics purvey. It's like saying that a rape victim is to blame for her being raped. And I mean that. Jack Chick comics are a form of intellectual/spiritual rape.
I'm sure you didn't mean to excuse him (or them or whoever produces this filth) and I don't mean to be offensive to you, whom I respect very much, here. I do however feel rather strongly about liars like the producers of Jack Chick comics. There are no words for my contempt for them.
As do I. I have nothing but loathing and contempt for him too. I do not excuse him. Instead, what I meant by that was that claims like Unam Sanctum (if I understood it correctly; I'll read the rest your arguments later) lent plausibility to Jack Chick's ludicrous claims. That doesn't say that that man - and others like him - aren't misrepresenting the Catholic faith. He certainly is, and he will be called to account for it. It does mean, however, that there were things that intemperate Popes and others have said in the past may have helped lent credence.
It's like saying that a rape victim is to blame for her being raped. And I mean that. Jack Chick comics are a form of intellectual/spiritual rape.
Actually, that's a very good example. The blame for rape lies solely on the rapist, and nothing a young woman does mitigates that blame. But, only a naive girl would walk alone down a deserted street at night dressed in a mini-skirt and a revealing blouse. None of those things change the fact that the rapist is the one who bears sole responsibility for his actions - but a girl would be stupid to act so irresponsibly.
My argument is not that anything the Catholics say justifies the over-the-top distortions of Jack Chick. My argument is that, if I understand Unam Sanctum correctly (and I will re-read it tonite, and your arguments), the statements contained therein were dumb and lent credence to a man who should have none whatsoever.
"I would have to say that Roman Catholicism never did claim "complete temporal autority for the pope.""
The Dictatus Papae? :)