Pope

The history of the papacy is a major factor in history, especially the Middle Ages.

The Pope has been the head of the Roman Catholic Church for over 1600 years. The Eastern orthodox churches reject his claims to primacy. Even more vigorously the Protestant Reformation reject the Papacy and theology of the Roman Catholic Church. As a secular leaders the Popes controlled Rome and the Papal States in central Italy until 1870, and especially in the 16th century were notable patrons of the arts, turning St. Peter's Church in Rome into an architectural wonder, especially notable for the artwork in its Sistine Chapel.

Since 1929 the Pope controls only the small Vatican city-state (located inside Rome), but has diplomatic relations with most nations. The Pope's power comes from his appointment of all the bishops in the Catholic Church, and from his ability (since 1870) to proclaim a theological doctrine infallibly. The history of the Popes is interwoven with the history of the Catholic Church and the history of Europe. In terms of personalities and morality, the 262 Popes were saints and sinners who ranged very widely indeed.In recent centuries most have been holy men and in recent decades they have been linguists able to speak to Catholics in many languages. In recent centuries most Popes have been scions of Italian nobility; notable exceptions are Pope John Paul II (1978-2005) the first Polish Pope, and Benedict XVI (2005- ) the first German since 1523.

Traditions

Catholic tradition argues that Christ told Peter to found a church, and that he built one in Rome, that all Popes descend from him, and the bishop of Rome has divine authority to rule over the Church. Protestants say the Biblical texts are too short and obscure to bear the weight of an elaborate infrastructure that was erected many centuries after Christ, and that the Papacy interferes with the direct relationship between Christ and the sinner. Indeed, the history of the Reformation is the history of the rejection of the Papacy, while the history of the Counter-Reformation is the history of its reform and partial restoration to power using moral authority, diplomacy, and orders such as the Jesuits.

Biblical texts

Catholics emphasize that Jesus told Simon Peter:

thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.

Peter (and Paul) did found a church in Rome in 42 A.D. and served as the bishop for 25 years until 67 A.D. when he was martyred. However, as Duffy points out, "wherever we turn, the solid outlines of the Petrine succession at Rome seem to blur and dissolve." That is, the primacy of the bishop of Rome in the Western Roman Empire was not established for several centuries, and even then was rejected by eastern bishops who formed the Eastern Orthodox Church under the leadership of the Patriarch of Constantinople.

1815 to 1914

Pius VII (1800-23) was stripped of powers by Napoleon but made a striking comeback after Napoleon;s fall in 1815. Pius VII was a deeply religious Benedictine, and a theologian; he lived simply and avoided nepotism. His unusually able Secretary of State Cardinal Consalvi won the restoration to the Pope of most of the territories in Italy which Napoleon had seized. He reinvigorated numerous monastic orders and helped create new societies for men and women, especially those engaged in teaching and missionary work. Most important was the restoration of the Jesuits in 1814; they had been suppressed in most countries. They grew larger and even more influential in the 19th century. After 1800 the Papacy became the center of conservatism in Europe in reaction against the liberalism of the French Revolution and its admirers. The Papacy recognized that throughout Europe millions of peasants and poor folk were devoted to the saints and traditions of the Church; the Popes responded energetically by promoting new Marian devotions (such as the rosary). Rome had fallen into disrepair and Pius VII began the restoration of the city's artistic glories, an enterprise that continues into the 21st century.

References

• Duffy, Eamon. Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes, (3rd ed 2006), 496pp; Yale University Press; heavily illustrated history by leading Catholic scholar
• Brown, Peter. The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity 200-1000 AD (2002), 640pp
• Ralph J. Capio; "The Papacy: A Case Study in Organizational Longevity," Journal of European Studies, Vol. 26, 1996. online edition
• Catholic Encyclopedia, "The Pope" (1913) online edition
• Owen Chadwick. A History of the Popes, 1830-1914. (1998), 616pp; a standard recent history. online edition,
• H. Daniel-Rops. The Church in the Eighteenth Century (1964)
• H. Daniel-Rops. The Church in an Age of Revolution (1965).
• E. E. Y. Hales. Revolution and Papacy, 1769-1846, (1960)
• Kelly, J.N.D. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes (1988). 349pp; scholarly short biographies; online edition
• Mullett, Michael A. The Catholic Reformation, (1999), online edition
• New Catholic 'Encyclopedia (1967)
• Pastor, Ludwig. History of the Popes From the Close of the Middle Ages, (1894-1930), 16 vol, older Catholic history online from books.google.com
• Ullmann, Walter. A Short History of the Papacy in the Middle Ages, (2002), 393pp, online edition