The word pope means father. In ancient Greek it was a child’s term of affection for the father of the family, but was borrowed by later Latin as an honorific. Both Greek-speaking Eastern and Latin-speaking Western Catholics then applied it to priests, bishops and patriarchs as heads of their spiritual families. Today, priests of the Orthodox Churches of Greece, Russia and Serbia still call their parish priest pope.
Gradually, however, Latin Christianity began to restrict its usage. At the beginning of the 3rd century, papa was a term of respect for clergy in high positions. By the 5th century, it was applied particularly to the Bishop of Rome, without excluding other usages. After the 8th century, however, as far the West was concerned the title was exclusively used of the Bishop of Rome. Indeed, the great reforming Pope, Gregory VII (1073-1085), officially restricted its use to the Bishop of Rome.
As the Council of Florence affirmed in 1439, defined as a matter of faith by the First Vatican Council in 1870, and endorsed by the Second Vatican Council in 1964, Jesus Christ conferred the position of primacy in the church upon Peter alone. In solemnly defining the Petrine primacy, the First Vatican Council cited the three classical New Testament texts long associated with it: John 1:42, John 21:15 ff., and, above all, Matthew 16:18 ff. The council understood these texts, along with Luke 22:32, to signify that Christ himself constituted Saint Peter as prince of the apostles and visible head of the church, possessed of a primacy of jurisdiction that was to pass down in perpetuity to his papal successors, along with the authority to pronounce infallibly on matters of faith or morals.
The importance of Peter in the Church Christ established is also affirmed by the more numerous mentions of this apostle in the New Testament and the evident authority of Peter on those occasions. At the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), it was Peter who decided what was to be done with Gentile converts and states that choice as a matter of firm policy. Indeed, it was to Peter that God revealed that the gentiles were to be evangelized, even though it would be Paul who would become their most-fervent apostle.
Throughout history many of the Popes have been holy men. Indeed, of the 264 Popes up to Pope John Paul II, 81 are recognized as saints and 9 as blesseds. Included among these are the first 41 Popes. Of the first 32 popes, those who reigned during the age of Roman persecution (which ended in 312), fully 28 were martyrs.
Read MoreThe existence of antipopes is one of the most unusual features of Church history. The first to be declared Pope, but be considered invalidly elected at the time or by history was St. Hippolytus, who disagreed with the Pope of the day but was later reconciled and died for the faith. Most antipopes have come about due to the intrigues of cardinals, secular princes or Roman nobility.
Read MoreAn office or bureau of the Holy See, such as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Refers to the unique ministry of St. Peter as the Chief Apostle among the apostles. His successors as Bishop of Rome inherit his ministry to be the principle of unity among the bishops and thus for the whole Church and to guard and confirm the faith of his brother bishops and thus of the Church.
The legal weight and binding authority of the decisions of the Roman Curia comes from the will of the Supreme Pontiff. Canon 60 of the 198 Code of Canon Law states: The Supreme Pontiff conducts the business of the universal Church by means of the Roman Curia, which fulfills its duty in his name and by his authority.
The 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ considered as a group. Also, their successors, the bishops of the Catholic Church, considered as a group.
The arena of conscience, such as revealed to a confessor in the Sacrament of Penance, to a spiritual director or any other situation where there is an expectation of complete confidence from the clergy. The Church provides canonical sanctions for the violation of the internal Forum (automatic excommunication in the case of a priest revealing the contents of a confession identifiable with a particular penitent.) External Forum concerns matters of Church governance and of public record, marriage and its validity, for example.
Those to whom Our Lord committed his prophetic office are said to have a Magisterium, from the Latin word for teacher, Magister. This office was given to the apostles, who committed it to their successors, the bishops. Each bishop is the Magister for his own diocese. The entire body of the bishops, acting in union with the Pope, are official Teachers to the whole Church; that is, they have a Universal Magisterium. Peter, however, was given the charism to teach even his fellow apostles. Thus, the Papal Magisterium is itself a Universal Magisterium. Furthermore, only the Successor of Peter has a personal charism of infallibility which protects him from error in teaching and defining the faith. The same is true of the Magisterium of the College of Bishops collectively, as in an Ecumenical Council.
