The Papacy Essays - Election Of The Pope, Christian Humanists

The Papacy The Papacy Did you know the Pope is not referred to by only one title? He is also referred to as such titles as: the bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, supreme pontiff of the universal church, primate of Italy, patriarch of the West, sovereign of the State of Vatican City, and servant of the servants of God. The Pope is believed to be the successor of Saint Peter. The Pope, being the supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church, holds the position of the papacy. The Papacy is an official position of the Church, which presently is held by Pope John Paul II. The election of a Pope is a very special process. A new Pope can only be elected when the previous has passed. When the previous Pope dies, the Cardinal Camerlango must verify the death of the pontiff. The Cardinal calls the Popes name three times and without response from the Pope he is pronounced dead. He must then authorize a death certificate and make the event public. The event is made public by notifying the Cardinal Vicar for the Diocese of Rome. He then would arrange for the papal seal to be broken. After this he must prepare for the Papal funeral and the nine days of mourning which follow. After fifteen to twenty days of sermons the Cardinal Electors enter the Conclave to choose which Cardinal will be the next Pope. The Cardinals first must take an oath when entering the Conclave. The oath states that they will follow the rules given by the Pope and will be secret about the voting and deliberations. The penalty for breaking the oath given in the Conclave is immediate and automatic excommunication. The Cardinals are seated around the walls of the Sistine Chapel, then they are given a ballot of paper. After they have placed a name on their ballot they proceed to turn the ballots in, one by one. The Cardinal Camerlango and his three assistants then count the votes. After they are counted the ballots are all burned together to give off smoke. This smoke is white if a new Pope has been elected, and black if not. For one to be elected Pope, any Cardinal must receive more than two-thirds of the votes. Once the Cardinal has received the votes, the Dean of the College of Cardinals asks him to accept his election. If he accepts he is then asked what name he wishes to be called; the Cardinal then becomes the Pontifex Maximus, the Holy Roman Pontiff. He is then pledged obedience to by the other Cardinals. Then the new is then given his Pontifical clericals. The Dean of the College of Cardinals then walks out on the main balcony of the chapel and declares to the world: We have a Pope. The new appointed Pope then steps out on the balcony and delivers his Apostolic Blessing to the World. Before the Cardinals return home the Pope receives a formal ceremony and inauguration. At this ceremony the woollen pallium is bestowed upon him. When Pope John Paul I became Pope he abolished the tradition of Papal Coronation. During this the Pope would be carried around Saint Peters Square on the Papal Throne. The Pope is the highest power of the church. As the highest power he issues doctrinal statements, summons council, appoints bishops, establishes dioceses and settles legal questions. The Curia assists the Pope; it is composed of three different groups. The first group is made up of congregation, the second is made of tribunals and the third is made of offices, councils, and secretariats. The current Pope today is Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul II was born in Wadowice, Poland. He was born Karol Wojtyla on May 18, 1920. He was born to a working-class family. His father died in World War II and his mother when he was nine. He became a student at Jagiellonian University in Krakow in 1938. He studied literature and philology. During World War II Karol was a member of an underground theatrical group. This group performed anti-Nazi plays, and also helped Polish Jews escape persecution. After World War II he studied in a seminary in Krakow and was