Why is there a German Pope in Italy? Im german!?

Question

And also a Polish Pope?

Answer 1

There is a Pope who is the head of State of a country called Vatican City which is located in Italy, but not part of the country of Italy. Technically, when the Pope leaves the boarders of Vatican City, he is on foreign soil. As head of State, he is now a member of the country of Vatican City. If a pope holds a passport, his would be issued by the Vatican like about 300 others who live there. The Pope is Head of the Roman Catholic Church. His heritage is German, but now he is Vatican. A new pope is elected after the death of a Pope in a conclave. Cardinals under the age of 80 gather and vote in secrecy until a new Pope is decided upon. Technically, any Roman Catholic who has been baptized, made his first communion and first confession and has been confirmed, is eligible to be placed on the ballet. Also, any priest or Bishop can so be elected Pope should the cardinals feel this would be proper. Joseph Cardinal Rattzinger was elected Pope by the Cardinals of the world following the death of Pope John Paul II. He was one of many who were considered to be on the short list of candidates. The next Pope after the death of Pope Benedict XVI could be Italian, African, Latin or from any other country in the world. Once elected, he too becomes a citizen of Vatican City. Popes need not be Italian, however that had become the tradition for hundreds of years. The election of Karol Cardinal Wojtyla from Poland in 1978 who took the name John Paul II was a break with tradition and shocked the world in a very pleasant manner.

Answer 2

The Pope is the leader of the largest single denomination within Christianity, Roman Catholicism, with a history that is longer then most of the modern countries of the world. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the church became much more political, in the sense that it was the only thing that kept western Europe "united" after the fall of Rome. To this day, this system that was pioneered by many catholic Popes to insure the the "unity" of Europe after the fall of Rome, has made religion something that can easily cross national boundries. There are Catholics in almost every European country, and country on the American continents. In order to become Pope, you must be Catholic and chosen by the Cardinals, and since Catholicism is everywhere, that means that people from many different countries have the chance to take up the mantle "first" held by St. Peter.

And he is in Vatican City, not Italy. It is a small nation within the heart of Rome itself. As to why he is there, the Vatican has been the traditional cite of the Papacy throughout the Catholic Church's history. Even when the Papacy had been moved to Avignon, many Catholics still looked to Rome. It is tradition that keeps him in Rome, and a strong one at that. The Papacy will probably remain in Rome for a very long time, although the person in residence may not be from Italy, or possibly, even from Europe.

Answer 3

Ben16 was not the first German Pope. The Pope is the Pope of the whole church and not just the Italian.

Answer 4

I'd like to point out that there have been a lot of german popes in the past (in the middle ages).In fact, germany comes second (after italy and before france) in the number of popes each country has had.

Answer 5

All Roman Catholics are not Italian. Why should the pope have to be? You might want to do some background info on how people become popes...usually they start out as priests, then move up to bishops, eventually become cardinals, and most of them have becme pretty prominent in Vatican City long before they're elected pope.

However, maybe you can write the pope and ask him to move to Germany so that he's not living in a foreign country.

Answer 6

The Pope lives in Vatican City, which, while surrounded by Italian territory, is a sovereign state and thus not part of Italy. The Church has usually chosen Italian Popes for reasons of tradition, but surely a German Pope is no stranger than one from Poland? In coming years, most church watchers anticipate that Popes from Africa and Latin America will become routine.

Answer 7

The earthly headquarters of the Roman Catholic church is in Rome. hmm, Rome...Roman...coincidence? So there's where the Pope stays, since he's the leader of the church. As for why the Pope is German, who knows. The cardinals elected him Pope, so he's Pope. I guess his being German isn't their fault.

Answer 8

Actually Vatican City is its own country and not part of Italy. http://www.vatican.va/vatican_city_state/index.htm

All Popes reside at the Vatican. The rent is reasonable for men selected by the Holy Spirit to succeed the Apostle Peter as the earthly leader of the Church.

With love in Christ.

Answer 9

Because all of the Pope's reside in Italy, regardless of nationality?

Answer 10

All the world's catholics are not italian. there will never be another italian pope. after benny 14 they will all be hispanic, the vatican will become a museum, and the church will move its headquarters to latin american. also get ready for married popes, gays popes, woman popes.