But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:43-45)
They will protest that the pope is a servant - the kind of humble servant that for centuries had a protocol of bowing before and kissing the popes foot, found as early as the sixth and eighth centuries, respectively, which took after the practice given to rulers of this world.
The veneration shown in the kissing of a person's hand or the hem of his garment is accentuated in the kissing of the feet. This is probably implied by the phrase of Isaias (49:23): "Kings...shall lick up the dust of Thy feet." Under the influence, no doubt, of the ceremonial of king-worship, as manifested in the cultus of the Roman emperors, this particular mark of veneration came to prevail at an early date among the usages of the papal court
At the election of Leo IV (847) the custom of so kissing the pope's foot was spoken of as an ancient one... Innocent III explains that this ceremony indicates "the very great reverence due to the Supreme Pontiff as the Vicar of Him whose feet" were kissed by the woman who was a sinner. - Catholic Encyclopedia>Kiss; http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08663a.htm
Dictatus papae [1075] That of the pope alone all princes shall kiss the feet.
And that also like an autocratic secular ruler,
That a sentence passed by him may be retracted by no one; and that he himself, alone of all, may retract it. That he himself may be judged by no one. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/g7-dictpap.asp
Yet nowhere do we see any believer bowing before another believer in such obeisance (which enemies will do: Rv. 3:9) as despite positional differences and even sometimes that of holiness and power, the worldly master/servant dichotomy is censured by Christ, "But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren." (Matthew 23:8) Thus Peter, as you know, refused to let even a pious lost man bow down to him. (Acts 10:25-26) And Paul did not kiss the feet of those who "seemed to be pillars."
Likewise there is also something against making broad their phylacteries, and enlarging the borders of their garments. (Matthew 23:5)
But the more secular power Rome gained, then the more she acted like the rulers of this world.
As Peter was given a new name so does the new Supreme Pontiff become known by another. After the election he extends his first blessing to the people -- a Benediction which was not given in the open for years until Pope Pius XI established the custom. The Coronation, one of the most magnificent of Vatican Ceremonies, takes place shortly after the election. With the Pope carried high in a golden chair and attended by brilliantly attired chamberlains and soldiers, the Coronation Mass is an unrivaled spectacle of beauty, dignity, and ancient pageantry. At the Coronation, in the midst of the pomp and splendor, a master of ceremonies recites in Latin: "Holy Father, thus does the glory of the world pass away."
As the first Cardinal Deacon places the three-crowned Tiara on the head of the Pope, he says: "Receive the three-crowned Tiara, and know that thou are the Father of Princes and Kings, the Pastor of the earth, and Vicar of Jesus Christ, to Whom be honor and glory forever. Amen." The CORONATION of Pope Pius XII took place on the balcony of St. Peter's in March 1939. (From the book "The Vatican and Holy Year" by Stephen S. Fenichell & Phillip Andrews -- 1950 edition. http://www.users.qwest.net/~slrorer/ReunionOfChristendom.htm)
Boniface VIII: “It is I who am Caesar; the Sovereign Pontiff is the only King of the Romans”, as he rode thru the city, carrying sword, globe and sceptre. (”Rome and its story”, p. 241 , by Welbore St. Clair Baddeley, Lina Duff Gordon)