2007-10-07 08:48:05 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
You mean other than being taken care of for the rest of his life and getting whatever he wants?
The Pope is considered the Vicar of Christ and has supreme and universal primacy over the Catholic Church.
When the Pope makes an official decree (ex cathedra) and as long as it does not contradict the Bible (Example: He can't claim Christ is not the son of God), the Pope is considered infallible and preserved from even the possibility of error.
Popes very rarely exercise this authority and some Popes are very reluctant and almost unwilling to invoke infallibility. For example:
Pope John XXIII once said: "I'm never infallible. A Pope is only infallible when he speaks ex cathedra, and I never speak ex cathedra."
Since 1870 infallibility has only been invoked once and that was in 1950, when Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary.
2007-10-07 09:01:07 · answer #1 · answered by Stedway 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The Pope has the privilege of:
+ Serving faithfully in the role that the Holy Spirit has chosen for him
+ Serving the servants of Christ
+ Knowing that everything he says will be dissected to the nth degree to figure out what he really means and can anything be turned into a scandal
+ Trying to hold a family of over one billion people from every culture in the world together in faith, hope, and love
+ Resisting both the ultra-liberal and ultra-conservative Catholics that would split the Church into little pieces
+ Trying to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to national leaders who do not listen and who would trample human rights, human dignity, and justice
+ Trying to encourage the rich people of the world to share some of their God-given riches with the poor people of the world
These are just a few of the privileges I could think of off the top of my head. I am sure there are a lot more.
With love in Christ.
2007-10-07 22:24:18 · answer #2 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He received of the Lord, to teach all men infallibly the faith and morals that Christ revealed and that the pope protects.
2007-10-07 15:52:11 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Each Pope and each non Catholic Pastor for that matter, will have to answer to God for what he taught.
A very heavy responsibility.
Pastor Art
2007-10-07 15:58:31 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Room and board. Other than that it is all responsibility, not privilege.
2007-10-07 15:51:14 · answer #5 · answered by PaulCyp 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋