questions for the Popegreenspun.com : LUSENET : Catholic : One Thread |
Who was the first Pope?How do you become a Pope?
Can any person become a Pope?
Can any plain man become a Pope?
Why can't a women become a Pope?
-- lLacey And Martha (clark@ida.net), January 06, 1998
Can the Pope retire or quit his position? , if so, has any Pope done this? Thank You
-- Stan Pierzga (stanpz@ptd.net), January 08, 1998.
A Pope cannot retire his post. As an individual, everyone retains free will and thus is of course free to choose to do practically any action. But the post is for life and I do not know of any Pope who has conceded the position. I do know that various political leaders and kings over time have wanted to be both political rulers of a country and absolute leaders of the faith, which is what led to the creation of the Church of England (one of many schismatic events from the Roman Catholic Church). This is why the Church of England is barely in existence today. When you merge political power with absolute power you eventually will lose popular support, unless you act with force. A Pope of the RCC also faces the problem of how to operate an institution (the Vatican) with both political and religious recognition. In general the problem is solved by remaining submissive to God, not pursuing earthly powers, and focusing on the mission of the Church so as to remain an instrument of Christ throughout one's existence as a Pope.
-- Colin Gallagher (gallagc@efn.org), January 20, 1998.
I'll try and answer some of those other questions: The first pope is always seen to be St. Peter, the Apostle. Of course he was not called pope then( pope= papa= father)One becomes Pope today by being elected by the College of Cardnials. At the death of a pope all the worlds cardinals converge in the Vatican and are virtually locked in until they come to a decison.
Any man who has recieved alll the appropriate sacrraments can become a pope. At one time you didn't even need to be a preist to get elected. The man who became Pope Innocent the III was a very sucessful man, kinda like mayor of Rome when he was elected pope. He was only a deacon at that time...so in three days time he was ordained priest then on to pope...He was one of the greatest popes of the medieval period.
Today of course, the next pope is a man who is probably wearing the red of the Cardinal. One of the men who walk in to vote on the next pope will emerge as the next pontiff...much to his personal sorrow.
A woman cannot become pope because a woman cannot be a priest.Don't get me started on this one....grrrrr
-- Connie Ostlund (sorka@teleport.com), January 26, 1998.
A woman cannot become a Pope because of the actions of Jesus whiule establishing the early Church. In the early Church Jesus had twelve male desciples and told Peter that he would be the rock that his Church was built on. It is because of these early actions that we have continued the practice just as we continue the practice of taking the Eucharistic feast and taking the body and blood of Christ Jesus. Many non-Catholics have gone away from these practices and have also gone away from other practices that we as Catholics hold to be very important for our salvation. Obviously, having a male Pope does not directly affect my own salvation but straying from Jesus's teachings in one area can lead to straying in other areas as well. Jesus set up the Church the way he intended it to be and we as His followers believe he set it up correctly.
-- Parker Stuckey (pms9797@labs.tamu.edu), September 01, 1998.
referring to the answer sent by collin gallagher i have to correct it somewhat: here is a list of popes who resigned or were forced to resign:PONTIAN SILVERIUS JOHN XVIII BENEDICT IX GREGORY IX
does anyone know of any other pope who has resigned?
thank you.
-- ENRIQUE ORTIZ (eaortiz@yahoo.com), February 25, 1999.
dear colin: after my mail was sent i noticed that i had given the wrong number to pope Gregory. the correct number is Gregory XII.i took these names from the book DICTIONAIRE DU FOYER CATHOLIQUE. there must be an english translation.
-- ENRIQUE ORTIZ (eaortiz@yahoo.com), February 25, 1999.
Actually, there's an interesting legend that surfaces, every now and again, which says that, in the Middle Ages, a woman disguised as a man was elected Pope. Apparently, the deception wasn't discovered until after she died, when the body was being washed for burial.Here's a link, if anyone's interested: http://www.popejoan.com/pjinterv.html
The link is to an interview with the author of a novel based on the legend.
When I first read of this legend, awhile back, the tale ended with "and that is why, when a new Pope is elected, a representative of the College of Cardinals ritually checks under the new pontiff's robe, in order to ensure that he is, indeed, a man"
-- Larry (nindalf@erols.com), March 23, 2000.
"Interesting," Larry???
Oy, vay.
JFG
-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), March 23, 2000.
Go back to the original scripts you will find that the church set up by Jesus did not intent to have its priests celebrate.....they did have wives till it became a family thing, one priest to his son etc....so i believe that all the child molesting that seems to be acceptable to our great church....is the cause of not having followed the original word of jesus....so give woman a break on the "cant be pope thing!!!!!!!" i feel justified in saying this as i wrote to the pope on his stand on this topic and he didnt bother responding. this is apart from the fact that these matters have been left in the hands of the church to deal with for years...and they did nothing except give the priests new children to molest. I dont feel that my God would want such people as his public face...DO YOU????? Connie i think you would make a great Pope. Dont think any woman would stand by and allow children to be molested in the name of God!!! What sort of sicko would??? Or is he just to busy to care about the kids. Sorry yes i am blunt and passionate to see such behavior STOP!!!!
-- sophie faerie (the_purple_faerie@hotmail.com), June 03, 2002.
Sophie writes:"Dont think any woman would stand by and allow children to be molested in the name of God!!! What sort of sicko would???"
Here's implicit denial of the reality that women can be afflicted with pedophilia. What a sexist statement!
Sophie, please take you bigotry somewhere else. If you have an honest question in your post, try to ask it without all the anti-Catholic rhetoric. It's pointless for us to answer you if you simply feel the need to post hate-speech.
Enjoy,
Mateo
-- (MattElFeo@netscape.net), June 03, 2002.
SophieYour Quote:
"Or is he just to busy to care about the kids."
Seems to me that you are totally unaware of the LOAD the POPE has to bear. You are totally unaware of the massive responsibilities the Pope has to bear. It is the local priests and Bishops who have failed at their GOD given jobs. Not the POPE himself. All he does is give out the orders to his Cardinals and Bishops and they are in turn are responsible to be sure moral teachings are being done. If they do not maintain order then it becomes their responsibilty to answer to the Law. If you really took the timeand looked at things from an unbiased view you would see the real story of what is actually happening and take the newspapers stories as unbiased truths only. They do not report all of the facts and never will either.
-- Fred Bishop (FCB@heartland.com), June 03, 2002.
Sophie,You said: "Dont think any woman would stand by and allow children to be molested in the name of God!!! What sort of sicko would???"
Are you not aware of how often we read about a father or step-father that abuses his own (step-)children while the mother looks the other way? In order to keep her husband/boyfriend, she sacrifices her children. Please think about what you post here.
-- Glenn (glenn@excite.com), June 03, 2002.
Well, Sophie,I met a girl years ago who told me of the fact that her 15 year old son was being molested by her ex-husbands girlfriend for sexual favors. Now who are women to single out men as molestors?
-- Fred Bishop (FCB@heartland.com), June 03, 2002.
sophie,how can you say that about the pope? it's like you're accusing Jesus himself. put yourself in his position and try to see it through his eyes. it's not like he's sitting back and playing cards all day. he has to hold himself responsible for everything going on in the church. he is still human you know. he only has two hands. you don't expect him to supervise all the priests and cardinals of the world, do you? i've never met him, but i can still empathize with him. i can imagine his broken heart, disappointment, and shame. if i were him, i don't think that i can look jesus in the face and show him what is happening in the church.
-- van vu (pUr3_bRat@hotmail.com), June 05, 2002.
What are the duties of pope? How can Pope forgives sins? Does he has a right to forgive? Is it not a sin? Is there any biblical proof, that we must worship Mary - Is it not a wrong teaching?Hello Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
My name is Pilla Srinivas. I born on August 03, 1976. I live in India, am Seventh-day Adventist Christian, good-looking and single.
God is good all the times. Please pray for me and my family. If you have prayer request...contact me....
My Postal Address:
Pilla Srinivas, Jilellamudi Vari Lane, Eastern Street, Eluru-534001, Andhra Pradesh-India.
Email:
srinivaspilla@netscape.net
-- Pilla Srinivas ( Sabbath Teachings ) (pilla_srinivas@msn.com), July 24, 2002.
OOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooo, Pillllllla.I can't wait to meet you -- a GOOD-LOOKING, SINGLE guy!
And an Adventist too! What more could a girl want?
They tell me I'm cute, too!
-- Olive Oyl (Thimble@Theatre.com), July 25, 2002.
im with sophie on this one... well on most of it. I agree that women can be just a bad as men, but i also think that if god has to be responsible for everything like people say, then he should take responsibilty for the people elected to become priest and cardinals. do not let 'him' off the hook simply because you think he has enough responsibilty as it is. if the bible is really true then i think if you create something, then you are held responsible for all of it... just like being a parent.
-- holly fay (hollyfay31@hotmail.com), October 03, 2003.
how is a pope relieved of this positon?
-- Theodor gervais (bk baller3k4@aol.com), November 13, 2003.
Usually by his death. Or, rarely, by his voluntary stepping down due to his inability to fulfill the duties of the office due to failing health.
-- (PaulCyp@cox.net), November 13, 2003.
First off let me say that I am not Catholic but I do want to addess the comment from the woman saying the Pope should be to blame for the Catholic Church scandal. First off, I think the Catholic church is getting an obviously bad rap due to the fact that no one of any faith can really justify child molestation. I think the Pope looks genuine when he said how pained he was about the situation. This man is frail and has Parkinson's and I think he needs to be lifted up in prayer, not scapegoated. Someone correct me know if it is not true to my memory that your Pope made an extremely strong statement about the scandal. Also, most priests do not molest boys and I think the percentage is no higher than the general population, and to also be honest the Catholic faith is certainly not the only one where these abuses occurred- just has the deepest pockets.Also, I am a woman and let me tell you I know many nuns who say the worst abuse and cruelty they ever received was from fellow nuns- women! And some of these nuns were especially cruel to children and the mentally retarded. Look back in history- some of the cruelest monarchs were indeed female. Yes, I think we are the nicer and more maternal sex :) but there have been some mean female mamma jammas throughout history so don't use that to Pope bash.
-- Kenzie Martin (lilkenzie@yahoo.com), December 05, 2003.
>>Also, most priests do not molest boys and I think the percentage is no higher than the general population...The problem isn't the percentage of molesters among priests, but the likelihood that a child will turn in his priest (compared to the likelihood he will turn in a neighbor), AND the likelihood that bishops will expel the priests (versus what secular society does with its pedophiles).
Obedience to Authority, a hallmark of organized religion (not just Catholicism), is the reason why many children were reluctant to speak out when they were violated.
Even when pedophiles are identified, bishops did not because they cared more about the institution than the people it served - more about the shepherd than about the sheep.
Churches are fine, blind faith is not.
-- Spencer (gromitfoster@yahoo.com), January 19, 2004.
Who told you this, Spencer? Are you sure of what you're saying?____________________
-- eugene c. chavez (loschavez@pacbell.net), January 19, 2004.
Hi, i has recently been searching for peoples views on the question that follows, i would be very happy to hear anyones thoughts or opinions."If Christains believed women were equal to men, a woman could become Pope"
Do you agree?
-- Oli Oakes (ollieoakes@hotmail.com), January 22, 2004.