Jose Canseco tweeted 9:03 Monday morning “What all does a Pope do?” Canseco asks an important question, and I don’t think he’s the only one who ponders for what purpose the pontificate exists. With Pope Benedict XVI’s recent retirement announcement, I thought this would be a good time to educate readers on who the pope is, how the office came to be and what exactly papal infallibility is all about. You can use this information to wow friends when the topic of cut-throat Vatican politics comes up, or you can just tuck it away for future use in crossword puzzles.
We will start with the basics in a very brief overview of church hierarchy. The pope is, technically speaking, a bishop. Bishops are the highest authoritative figure in their diocese, e.g. Bishop Robert Morlino is in charge of the priests and other religious figures in the Diocese of Madison. Bishops are also in charge of ensuring Church doctrine is correctly taught and carried out and administer sacraments such as Confirmation and Holy Orders (the sacrament that creates a priest). The next step up from bishop is archbishop, who is in charge of a particularly large diocese, called an archdiocese. Higher than the archbishop is the cardinal, all of whom together make up the College of Cardinals, which elects the pope’s successor. Cardinals can also concurrently hold the office of archbishop, (e.g. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who is also the Archbishop of New York). Finally, the highest rank of bishop is the Bishop of Rome, the pope. The pope is the recognized head of the Roman Catholic Church, and together with the College of Cardinals he enforces doctrine on a church-wide scale. Due to his place in the line of apostolic succession and therefore his special connection to God through the Holy Spirit, his is the final—earthly—word on Catholic faith and morals.
At this point you might be wondering, “What is the big deal with Rome? Wasn’t Jesus from Nazareth? Shouldn’t the Bishop of Nazareth be the head honcho?” Good point. Let’s explore what happened. Flash yourself back to the district of Caesarea Philippi the year of Jesus’ death. Jesus and his disciples are walking, and he asks them some questions about his reputation. They respond with all the different theories people have about who he is. He then asks what the disciples themselves think about him. Peter boldly states, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” This is the answer Jesus wants to hear, because he then promises Peter that the Church will be built upon him, and that he will be given “the keys to the kingdom of heaven.”
Peter’s receiving of the keys is symbolic of his authority over the other disciples, and after Jesus’ death he is seen as the leader of the Church in its beginning stages. Now, Peter also eventually became the Bishop of Rome, and here astute readers will connect the dots. Peter was the leader of the Church, and also the Bishop of Rome. His successor takes on this same position. Those who recognized the Bishop of Rome’s authority in this manner prevailed over most other variations of Christianity and made up what would become mainstream Roman Catholicism.
Now that we have a general idea of Church hierarchy and its beginnings, we can turn to the other aspect of the papal office that most people have heard about—the pope’s infallibility. Official papal infallibility is actually a relatively recent development in Church history. It became a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church by means of the First Vatican Council, which lasted from 1869-’70 (and which is related to the Second Vatican Council only in terms of location). The council outlined that to teach infallibly the pope must be speaking specifically as the Bishop of Rome (i.e. the supreme pastor of the Church), addressing the whole Catholic Church, and touching on either faith or morals. Faith and morals cover a wide range of topics, but it should be noted that the pope’s infallible authority stays within the subject matter of Catholicism. A second way that an infallible statement may be made is when it is put forth by the Magisterium, the teaching body of the Catholic Church. The Magisterium is composed of the pope in communion with all the bishops. The Magisterium sees its fullest expression in ecumenical councils (e.g. the Council of Trent, Vatican I, Vatican II and so on). If the Magisterium proclaims doctrine that has to do with either faith or morals, that doctrine is considered infallible. So the pope is, in essence, a teacher who is in charge of the entire Roman Catholic Church.
I hope this article has shed some light on the papal office and will help you understand the upcoming developments in Vatican City. The pope is an important figure for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, since his decisions and doctrines affect the lives of people we know (or even perhaps our own lives). I urge you to pay attention to these developments, and read up on the cardinals, one of whom will be the next pope. Business Insider has a great, and brief, article profiling the likely successors. Finally, I would love to keep covering Catholicism in this column. But if you have any questions about religion or a specific faith you would like me to cover next week, please email The Daily Cardinal and I’ll try my best to make it the subject of my column.
Tyler opines weekly on religious subjects and is always open to suggestions for his column. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
