Catholicism 101

The Papal Question

February 28, 2022
James Pritchett
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Catholics love having long lists of titles for things, our Lord and our Lady being the best examples. Try looking up litanies for either and you’ll see what I mean.

One figure that caused me confusion before my conversion, however, was the Pope. He can be referred to in different contexts as: Pope, Holy Father, Bishop of Rome, and the list goes on. What do these titles mean and how do they indicate his position within the Church?

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To put it simply, the Pope is the supreme head of the Catholic Church. To put it in a more nuanced way, he is the head of the college of bishops all across the world. Ok, now we have a definition for the Pope, but why do we have a Pope at all?

Scripture records that Christ Himself created the office to be passed down. Our Lord told St. Peter that “on this rock (Peter) I will build my church,” and that He would give him “the keys to the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 16:18-19). In a purely logical sense as well, every successful organization, especially one with well over a billion members, requires a singular figure to lead it. If the Pope, then, does exist, what exactly does he do?

The Catechism says that the Pope – “the successor of St. Peter” –  along with the bishops in communion with him, govern the Church (CCC 816). The role of the Pope is to lead, guide, and direct the Church in matters of faith and morals. As the Lord told St. Peter, “Feed my sheep” (Jn 21:17), so too the Pope exercises leadership over the Christian people. If the Pope’s role is to be the leader of the people of God, then how is he supposed to do that practically?

The answer lies in the two titles of “Bishop of Rome” and “Holy Father.” On the most basic level, the Pope is the bishop of the diocese of Rome and performs the same functions that any other bishop does (e.g. appoint priests, give talks, kiss babies, etc.) On the other hand, he has some abilities that no other bishop has (e.g. make infallible statements, convene an eccumenical council, wear special slippers, etc.) In short, the Pope does similar work to other bishops, until he needs to intervene on events that affect the whole Church. One of these distinctives is the actual title of “Pope,” so what does it actually mean?

The term itself comes from the Greek word “papas,” meaning essentially, father; this ties into the title “Holy Father” as well. We call all priests, and especially the Pope, “father,” because as St. Paul says, “I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (1 Cor. 4:15). Since St. Paul likened the Church to a kind of family, it is natural that the one in authority over that family should be called its father. How does a figure of this much significance actually get there?

It’s important to note that no one actually gets himself appointed Pope – rather, he is placed in the position by the will of God. This said, there is no “official” way that Popes are chosen. The current mode of selecting the next Pope is an election by the College of Cardinals (various clergy who have been selected by the current pope to select his successor). This system, however, began to develop starting in the 8th century and many previous Popes had been selected by direct appointment from the reigning Pope. Even if all of this about the Pope is true, why should anyone care?

Simply put, you should care because Christ cared. It is the means by which Our Lord has chosen to keep His Church unified. A Church without a Pope is a body without a head. There is no better evidence for this than to simply look at the state of Protestant and Eastern Orthodox divisions. Just as Jesus said that a house stood “because it had been founded on the rock,” (Mt. 7:25) so too the unity of our Church stands because it has been founded upon the rock, Peter and his successors.

Featured Image Courtesy of Catholic Church England and Wales via Flickr

James Pritchett
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