Posted on 02/17/2020 11:41:06 AM PST by CharlesOConnell
It's fine for the Orthodox Churches to seek for the Head of State to be their 13th Apostle, a role in the East since Constantine (Arian heretic). This Pope's secret sponsorship of married clergy is another point of triangulation, showing that he seeks "Ecumenical" re-union with the Reformation and Orthodoxy while giving away the store.
Another point of reference is the Nepotosm of hereditary priesthood. I attend an Eastern Rite Catholic congregation with married priests. I see a 7 year old son of a priest behind the stasis, not during the consecration, reserved as it is for Priests and Deacons, but I do see the priest's son behind the stasis during other parts of the Divine Liturgy. I know that the parent Father earned his position by merit. I would have to see the results of multiple generations of clerical service to judge the results firsthand.
The mentality of nepotism is all too familiar in certain employment contexts. The hiring authorities may tend to figure that relatives will be more reliable, whereas, experience away from this context suggests that it is often unwise to go into business with relatives, because of the tendency to trim corners. I worked in the world's largest industrial bakery in which a relative held the beer of a section boss as he drove a company vehicle--a company beer of the larger conglomerate holding entity. I was to see this boss so intoxicated as to be surprised that he could walk, as he came in from a route drive. Upper management were fully aware, but it was not merely the underlings who had to put up with princes, top management could do nothing about the nepotistic abuse.
I wonder if we could see the rise of a "Christian brahmin" class of hereditary priests owing to the inexorable drive to "liberalize" clerical sexual norms.
Paul Rahe noted, in a section of his “American Catholicism’s Pact With the Devil” regarding the Latin Church’s freedom from nepotism in a non-hereditary priesthood.
“Given that the Church in the West made clerical celibacy one of its principal practices (whether it was honored in the breach or not), the hereditary principle could play no role in its governance. Inevitably, it resorted to elections. Monks elected abbots, the canons of cathedrals elected bishops, the college of cardinals elected the Pope.”
I know of only scant historical precedents, but they are serious.
Israel’s penultimate judge Eli neglected to punish his sons Hophni and Phineas for taking better portions of the sacrifice than allowed them, and for sexual abuse of Temple serving women; the loss of the Ark of the Covenant on the day of father and sons’ deaths, make be imputed as a consequnce. That Samuel was apparently was personally unpunished for his sons’ crimes of suborning justice, nevertheless fails to obviate the consequence of their crime, in the context of an hereditary priesthood, punishing the whole nation by the loss of the institution of the Judges itself and the rise of the kings.
More recently, a “Little House on the Prairie” book detailing the lives of 1870s North Dakota Pentecostals (the people mentioned in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich as the most devout zeks), complains of systematic injustices in the hereditary Russian Orthodox priesthood. In Kristin Lavransdatter, the town priest Sira Eirik has an hereditary office; his grandson, Bentein Priestson, murders Kristin’s adopted brother Arne.
Author needs to learn history...the Papacy was a prize controlled by several powerful families, the Borgias being one of them. The "hereditary principle" most definitely "played a role"...the descent just wasn't "father to son".
You know, he COULD abdicate, turn the papacy back to Benedict and run for Secretary General of the United Nations instead.
(Politics seems to suit Frank better than prayer)
There were 4 Popes ( non hereditary) that came from the wealthy financial banking Medici family of Florence. The Medici financed St. Paul’s Bascilica in Rome. The Medici Family is known for the development of the Piano and the development of the Opera.
This Pope is just another name for a socialist, being that he is from Latin America. I betcha the cardinals are tired of this Pope that is striving to change the church in Latin America with the priests marrying. The Pope is becoming more of the New World Order. With all the changes he wants to do.
There were 2 Popes from the Borgia family. The Borgia family was a corrupt family, known for sin and immorality.
You’ve basically proven my point(s). Hereditary transmission of power happened in the Catholic church in spite of celibacy. It just happened by means of the extended family rather than “father to son”.
two more families (Italian) Piccolomini 2 Popes and della Provero 2 Popes. nephews of the first, I just tried to find out whom was the Popes and family connections.
I was familiar with the Borgias and Medicis but only knew that there had been other families, but no names. Thanks for the info.
I assume he's vested as an altar server, presumably in stikharion in the color of the day?
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