[Dr. Eckleburg]

I've been wondering about this lately..say (worst case scenario, I know) that the Pope came out next Sunday and spoke ex-cathedra: "God has shown me that we must leave this earthly life now. It is time to drink the bitter koolaid." ANd then he turns and walks back into the Vatican.

What would RCCs do? Just how much faith do they have in their pope, infallibility, traditions, doctrines, etc., really? Would they do as he said or would they walk/run away? Just HOW MUCH FAITH DO they have in Rome.

Very good question. And RCs apparently have answered that question...

"The Pope ... is the bishop of Rome and the Vicar of Christ on earth. He is the visible head of the whole Catholic Church ... Who was the first Pope? St. Peter, who was made Pope by Jesus Christ Himself ... Did Peter's authority die with him? No, it was handed down to a man named Linus, and after he died, it was handed down to another, and so on, during the past 2000 years ... Does Jesus require us to follow the Pope in matters of religion? Yes, because obedience and loyalty to the Pope are among the chief requirements of the Lord's plan for unity in His church" - (A Catechism for Adults, by William Cogan, 1975 ed., pp. 55,56).

"Obedience and loyalty to the pope."

Not to Christ. Not to God's word. Not to the God-given Christian conscience. Not to the truth.

"To the pope."

Therefore when JPII kissed the Koran (which is certainly a "matter of religion,") the rest of the Roman Catholic church is supposed to do likewise.

Satanic.

[Natural Law]

"Therefore when JPII kissed the Koran..."

Recycling day already? Does this mean the other confabulations, repeated lies, fabrications, and distortions are going to follow soon. I can't wait for the Pope is a Nazi fairy tale, or that old mediatrix hit, or even the photo shopped images......its a walk down memory lane. What ever you do, don't forget that old Rowanda religious war joke.....its a knee slapper.

[mas cerveza por favor]

obedience and loyalty to the Pope are among the chief requirements of the Lord's plan for unity in His church

Obedience to the pope means following his licit instructions not copying his every move. Obedience to the pope does not trump obedience to Catholic orthodoxy or Tradition.

Therefore when JPII kissed the Koran (which is certainly a "matter of religion,") the rest of the Roman Catholic church is supposed to do likewise.

Lies.

[metmom]

Funny that Catholics main criticism of Protestants is that each is his own pope.

Well, even if that were a problem, it couldn't get much worse than this ....

Having one pope for everyone is no guarantee that error isn't creeping in. It just means that lots of people get lead astray all at once.