Pope

Pope, head of the Roman Catholic church and head of state of Vatican City. The pope is the bishop of Rome, successor in a long line that Roman Catholics believe began with St. Peter, the first bishop of Rome. Basing their authority upon Peter and, ultimately, upon the words of Jesus of Nazareth, the popes, as early as Clement I (c. 92–101), claimed paramount authority over all Christians and primacy over all other bishops. In succeeding centuries, the popes would maintain and extend their claim to absolute spiritual authority and eventually, to political authority as well. But over the centuries, the content and extent of papal authority, power, and prestige, spiritual and political, has varied considerably and was contested almost from the outset. The early church had been governed loosely and informally as a community of believers and bishops who were the equals of each other. The memory of that tradition persisted in Eastern Orthodoxy and when the capital of the Roman empire was moved east to Constantinople in the fourth century, the ground was laid for a contest between east and west for supreme authority over Christendom. That contest, begun in the fourth century, culminated in 1054 during the papacy of Leo IX in a complete schism, or break, between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The pope eventually faced two greater challenges to his claims in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century and the rise of nationalism beginning in the Renaissance. The one effectively put an end to the pope's hitherto unchallenged spiritual authority among Western Christians and the other put an end to his once considerable political power. At the height of political power under Pope Innocent III (1198–1216) the popes claimed to have the power to elevate and depose monarchs as well as bishops and cardinals and the Holy See included considerable territories and drew upon revenues from throughout Europe. The rise of nationalism and the loss of church property and income eventually reduced the pope's domain. The Papal States, founded in 756 and at one time quite extensive, were all part of Italy by 1870, and what was left to the pope, Vatican City, was eventually created an independent state by the Lateran Treaty of 1929. While the modern papacy is vastly reduced politically, the popes continue to enjoy and exercise considerable political influence and prestige. As a head of state, the pope sends ambassadors, or nuncios, throughout the world to represent the position and policies of the papacy on a wide range of issues affecting Roman Catholics.

The history of the papacy is a story of popes who were great administrators, visionaries, saints, jurists, and politicians. Among them, too, were diplomats and scholars, discerning patrons of arts and letters, sensualists, weaklings, and scoundrels. The fall of Rome and the subsequent power vacuum ushered in a centuries' long period of lawlessness in the West known as the Dark Ages. For most of that period, the popes took a leading role in the struggle to restore order and civilized life to the West. Pope Gregory I, the Great (590–604) defended Italy from barbarian attack and imposed a measure of enduring order upon the chaos. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the pope's influence declined but was restored by a powerful reform movement. Pope Gregory VII (1073–85) established the pope's authority over clerics and kings and ushered in the greatest years of papal power and prestige. Decline set in with the capture of Pope Boniface VIII by troops of the French King Philip IV in 1303. The pope had become just one more of the many players in the ruthless game of politics. From 1309 to 1377 the popes resided in Avignon, France, and the result was the Great Schism in the western church that lasted from 1378 to 1417, a period in which rival popes claimed to be Peter's true heir and successor. The period raised fundamental questions about the papacy and church governance. In the centuries that followed the popes rapidly lost ground to the Reformation and nationalism.

Wealth and power had corrupted the ecclesiastical bureaucracy and hierarchy and many popes, among them Borgias and Medicis, led lives that scandalized pious Christians, particularly those who lived outside of Italy. But among these Renaissance popes were outstanding men, like Pope SixtusIV (1471–84), a patron of arts and letters, and Pope Julius II (1503–13), patron of Raphael and Michelangelo. But the popes were not to recover lost ground. Despite the internal reforms and the work of the Counter-Reformation, through the 1700s and 1800s the popes were clearly taking a rear guard action, supporting politically conservative forces, and widely perceived as reactionary. Ideologically, the popes retrenched. They claimed infallibility in matters of faith and morals and there have since, for the most part, appeared departures from orthodoxy and the influences of modern thought.

The pope is elected for life. Upon his death, a conclave, or gathering, of cardinals is called to convene within 20 days. Voting is usually by ballot and for a man to be declared pope he must win a 2/3 majority plus one vote. A woman may not be pope. After a man is elected and accepts, a coronation ceremony is held. The current pope, John Paul II, was elected in 1978. He is the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI (1522–23). John Paul II is Polish; Pope Adrian II was Dutch. The pope receives an annual salary and, in the course of discharging his many duties and responsibilities, leads a busy, demanding, and relatively spartan life absorbed in administrative, theological, ceremonial, and political matters bearing on the lives of Roman Catholics throughout the world.

See also: Roman Catholic Church.