Recently, Pope Benedict XVI was in our country and throngs of people turned out to see him. I couldn’t help but wonder if an appearance by Jesus Christ himself would receive such fan-fare. All the pope-worship was a bit disturbing to me.
A couple of interesting items on the papacy:
The word ‘pope’ comes from the Latin ‘papa’ which means ‘father’. The title was first given to Gregory I by emperor Phocas in the year 605. He did this to spite the bishop of Constantinople (who excommunicated him for setting up the assassination of his predecessor). Gregory refused the title, but his successor Boniface III (607) assumed the title, and this has been the designation of the ‘head bishop of Rome’ ever since.
Claims of the papacy:
1). "The pope takes the place of Jesus Christ on earth… he is the supreme judge of heaven and earth, the judge of all, being judged by no one, God himself on earth" –The New York Catechism
2). "The pope holds upon this earth the place of God Almighty" - Leo XIII, The Reunion of Christendom
3). "The Roman Church holds that the pope, as the vicar of Christ on earth is the ruler of the world, supreme not only over the Roman Church itself, but over all kings, presidents and civil rulers, indeed over all peoples and nations" – Loraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism
What does the BIBLE have to say about this? Find out tomorrow.
Mark
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