What is the position of the pope in christianity?

Question

What I mean is that is he infallible ?What is the difference between him and a priest?And why is he not liked as much as the last pope?If these questions affend anyone I am sorry I was just wondering.

Answer 1

He is the Vicar of Rome, meaning that he is the earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church. His present position bears far more power than that of the average priest. The current Pope has not been around as much as his predecessor, and people haven't really had as much time to warm up to him. To say that the Pope is "infallible" is meant only when he speaks "ex-cathedra" or is speaking directly on church matters. In his personal, non-religious dealings, he is considered fallible, and a man like any other.

Answer 2

The Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Half of all Christians are Catholic, and about one of every six people on Earth is Catholic. It is the largest single religion in the world.

The Pope is a priest in much the same way that the CEO of a major company is an employee of the company.

As for infallibility -- there is a lot of misinformation about that. If you are actually infallible -- then whatever you say is the truth. The Pope does not claim to be infallible -- but rather on certain topics, he claims to speak infallibly. There are only two or three times when the Pope has ever claimed to speak infallibly on a topic. The first time was to declare that he could, in fact, claim to speak infallibly (a dubious claim at best). The second time was the real reason for this -- to declare that Mary was conceived without original sin (this is a Catholic concept that the Protestants reject). This is known as The Immaculate Conception (many Protestants mistakenly think that this refers to Virgin Birth -- it does not).

Finally -- the reason that he is not as loved as the last Pope is partly due to their differences in personality. If they were military leaders, you would think of John Paul as the guy who inspired the troops while Benedict was the brilliant tactician (Eisenhower versus Patton).

There is also the fact that John Paul is one of a small number of people responsible for the fall of Communism, while Benedict was a member of the Hitler Youth Movement as a child (granted he was forced into it).

Answer 3

I think if you check you will find that "Papal Infallibility" was declared in 1870. If that was so, was the Pope who declared that infallible?

The Pope was elected as the Head (on earth) of the Roman Catholic Church, as the Bishop of Rome. To be elected, usually they have been a priest, a bishop, and a cardinal (in that order) though, technically, anyone could be elected Pope [probably the only qualifications would be 1) male & 2) Roman Catholic]

Why is the current one not "liked" as much as the last one? Probably because the last one was liked more. Was he as well liked near the beginning of his pontificate? Or was he liked more because of curtailment of Communism, etc., etc.?

Beyond Roman Catholicism, the Popes' position in Christianity is that they, generally, are acknowledged as head of the Roman Catholic Church. The Eastern Orthodox Churches and the many denominations have varying views of the Popes, past and present. Some believe the pope is a spiritual leader; others, to the other extreme, consider the Popes as being leaders of a false church. Times have changed; leaders have changed; but some people are stuck in the pre-Vatican II era.

Answer 4

The pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church. As such, it has been a tradition to say that in matters of doctrine, the Pope's word is infallible, much like that of the Latter Day Saints' Prophet Hinckley. Catholicism is NOT a "cult" as some of your answerers have stated. It is, in fact, the trunk of the tree known as "christianinty" when the religion first started EVERYONE was "Catholic" - the work itself means "universal". It was not until the Great Scism and then the Reformation that the other Christian religions happened. The current Pope is of a completely different temperment than JonPaul II. The term is a title, and the man in the title changes. The pope is a priest, and a Bishop. He is the Ultimate Earthly Authority in the RC church. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Christianity is a large religion encompassing many traditions, some of which tend to discount each other even as being Christians--as you can see from others' responses.

The Pope is the spiritual head of one of these traditions, the Roman Catholic Church, which is the largest single denomination (though not the largest broad tradition) in Christianity and in fact the largest single organized sect in any religion in the world. The Pope is a priest, but he is the supreme priest of the Roman Catholic Church. This pope, Benedict XVI, is less popular than his predecessor, John Paul II, even though both are ideologically similar conservatives, because John Paul was an unusually charismatic leader.

For other Christian traditions, such as Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism, or the Coptic and Assyrian churches, the pope is not a religious leader.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

Pope Benedict is not as charismatic as Pope John Paul II. I also think many people grew up with Pope John Paul II and understood that he really stood for something in this world in his stands against abortion, homosexuality, (even though some went behind his back) , Communism, Euthanasia, women priests, married priests. He was always staunch Roman Catholic. You really knew where you stood in this world as a Catholic with him. The Popes position in this world is to testify to the truth of certain teachings of the Church. Jesus said "The gates of Hell shall not prevail over her" so we can only take this to mean that the Church will not teach false doctrine. The person himself is able to sin in personal ways but is infallible due to the action of the Holy Spirit when it comes to teachings. This is important in this world because at the time of Scripture there was no such thing as Invitro-fertilization and there was no such thing as Stem Cell research and all of the new technologies we have today. Who figures this out as to whether it's right or wrong? Just an individual person? (that's why we have so many different views today) or did Jesus leave somebody to lead us like Moses and then Joshua after him and on down the line?

What's with the IMO stuff? Do people really think because they put something like that in an answer it is then all of a sudden not offensive ? ---guess again.

Answer 7

The Pope is the leader of the Roman Catholic church. He is purportedly the vicar and successor of Peter, appointed by Christ to lead the church. He has the title of Pope (literally "father") by virtue of his being the bishop of Rome. Bishops ("overseers") are the primary leaders of the churches in their assigned dioceses (regions). Priests are their deputies assigned to smaller areas called "parishes", or affiliated with special clerical orders. The Pope acts as a bishop among bishops, limiting their autonomy in specific ways.

According to the decree of the controversial First Vatican Council of 1870, the Pope is infallible ONLY when making a solemn proclamation of doctrine regarding faith or morality. This has only been done twice since then (the doctrines of the sinless Conception of Mary and the Assumption of Mary into heaven after death). Every other proclamation is debatable under the right circumstances.

Pope Benedict is not as popular as John Paul simply because his diplomatic skills are poorer. In his previous post as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the "Inquisition"), he was the doctrinal enforcer who disciplined theologians why strayed too far out of his perceived doctrinal guidelines. After his election, his occasional pronouncements have included a reaffirmation of the old idea that there is no salvation outside of the Roman Catholic church. He appears to favor a "small, pure" notion of church. And the unfortunate quotations regarding Islam have not mended his reputation for exclusion and isolation. Essentially, his faith is head-centered whereas John Paul's was heart-centered. Perhaps Benedict will learn the fine art of making friends in time.

Answer 8

The Pope is infallible only on certain matters, and only when speaking "ex cathedra." The Pope has only spoken once(?), and it was on the position of Mary, Jesus' mother.

The Pope is a priest who has been promoted several times. He is still a priest.

Catholicism is not a cult, as has been indicated earlier. If it were Christianity would not have lasted about 1450 years until the reformation.

Answer 9

The Pope is infallible when talking about morals and doctrine.

That does not mean that all Popes are perfect in every way, there have been some bad Popes over the years.

Popes are elected from the ranks of the Cardinals, below Cardinals you have Bishops and then Priests.

It is a succession.

Good Luck and God Bless!

Answer 10

He's only infallible in the Catholic sense. If the pope told a Protestant to do something, the Protestant would kindly refuse, im sure.
He is, effectively, the Bishop of Rome, and the current pope (bennedict) isn't as well-liked as the previous (john paul) because john paul had such a long and positively influential reign as pope, and thus far all benedict has managed to do is piss off Muslims.