[scaught]

alright. the current pope is an old dude. hes probably on his last leg. its time for some succession planning.

what is the popes job? could i be a pope? would i need to move up the ladder from minister to bishop to cardinal etc?

obviously the perks are great. i think you can nominate people for sainthood. you get a fancy pope-mobile which are usually benz's, people will go silent as stone when you raise your hand. lots of people will kiss your ring.

so ya. whats the deal with the pope?

[ManOfSteal]

Originally posted by scaught:
obviously the perks are great.

Don't forget the obvious perk of: You cannot die.

And yes, the car...the infamous car...

[dreilly1]

The deal is the Cardinals vote for the pope, although Larry Walker does not get a vote since he became a Cardinal after the trading deadline.

Seriously, the Cardinals are appointed by the Pope, and they are eligible to vote as long as they are under some age (65 or 70 or something like that).

Since this Pope has been around for so long, all the cardinals who were not appointed by him are too old to vote. So as far as job qualifications go, you need to be someone who is just like the current pope, since you need to be selected by all the people who were appointed by him (and probably share his views, or else they wouldn't have been appointed...).

[scaught]

Originally posted by manofsteal:
Don't forget the obvious perk of: You cannot die.

And yes, the car...the infamous car...

i dont know about the CANNOT part. hes not the first pope or anything.

i realize this thread is starting kinda silly, but i would like to know seriously the popes role in a religious/churchly sense.

[storer]

Originally posted by scaught:
would i need to move up the ladder from minister to bishop to cardinal etc?

Yep, sure would. Just finished studying it! bloody catholic education...! They even send nuns and priests around the schools occasionally to try and recruit people.

[Captain Obvious]

No, you can't right now. Not now and not unless you become a Roman Catholic priest.
And its church politics. The College of Cardinals does the papal elections and they usually choose one of their own. There are no political parties but there are factions within the college with varying degrees of conservatism and agendas. The one with the most influence or the one that can gather the largest number of members to get his person elected will win. As a result you will never see in your lifetime an American pope. The next one will be from Eastern or Central Europe.

[Chuckmcd]

Originally posted by scaught:
i dont know about the CANNOT part. hes not the first pope or anything.

i realize this thread is starting kinda silly, but i would like to know seriously the popes role in a religious/churchly sense.

I'm not catholic, so feel free to correct me.. but my understanding ,in Catholic doctrine, the Pope is God's represntative. In Christian doctrine the apostles had a special authority, becuase Jesus gave it to them, that didn't transfer to the next line of believers. The Catholics say that the Pope still has that sort of authority because it's been passed from the first to the next to the next, etc...

Essentially, this gives the Pope the power to direct the church in whatever way he would chose to do so... since he, in theory, has the direct apostalic authority that Christ granted the the apostles in the New Testament. That authority, in a lesser way, is passed down from the Pope to the cardinals, bishops... preist.

If you more familiar with protestant doctrine this may sound strange. Most protestant denominations hold to the "preisthood" of the believer... essentially, Jesus is out high preist and there is no one believer lower than another in his access to Christ. Catholic doctrine is different in that the Pope is the closest, and essentially CANNOT be wrong on any doctrinal issue... the orders come down from there, and the average catholic lay-person is definitively below the pope, or even his/her preist in their ability to access God.

does thaty answer your question?

Like I said, I'm not Catholic so feel free to correct me.

[Doc Juansinn]

I love that photo of the Popemobile. It looks like either a vertical hearse or the Pope doing some kind of Houdini escape trick in a vat filling up with water.

Originally posted by dreilly1:
The deal is the Cardinals vote for the pope, although Larry Walker does not get a vote since he became a Cardinal after the trading deadline.

Hmm... it wasn't that funny, yet I laughed quite a bit. Good job.

[MacGorilla]

Even though I'm not Catholic or even christian, I admire and respect the Pope. I'll be sad to see him go.

[Secret__Police]

Your job as Pope is to mumble incoherently

[JohnSmith68]

the laity are throwing beanbags at a target and it looks as though the pope has been dunked. he doesn't look very excited about it, but it's an ancient catholic tradition.

[york28]

Ths Pope is a respectable guy, although I do not agree with some of his/the churches' views. But that belongs in a different forum.

[TheBadgerHunter]

Originally posted by Chuckmcd:
I'm not catholic, so feel free to correct me.. but my understanding ,in Catholic doctrine, the Pope is God's represntative. In Christian doctrine the apostles had a special authority, becuase Jesus gave it to them, that didn't transfer to the next line of believers. The Catholics say that the Pope still has that sort of authority because it's been passed from the first to the next to the next, etc...

Essentially, this gives the Pope the power to direct the church in whatever way he would chose to do so... since he, in theory, has the direct apostalic authority that Christ granted the the apostles in the New Testament. That authority, in a lesser way, is passed down from the Pope to the cardinals, bishops... preist.

If you more familiar with protestant doctrine this may sound strange. Most protestant denominations hold to the "preisthood" of the believer... essentially, Jesus is out high preist and there is no one believer lower than another in his access to Christ. Catholic doctrine is different in that the Pope is the closest, and essentially CANNOT be wrong on any doctrinal issue... the orders come down from there, and the average catholic lay-person is definitively below the pope, or even his/her preist in their ability to access God.

does thaty answer your question?

Like I said, I'm not Catholic so feel free to correct me.

I'd just add that catholics believe that Jesus appointed Paul as the first pope. Not quite sure how the line of succession follows from there but thats how it got from jesus to the first pope.

No, I'm not catholic so I'm not very familiar with the intricacies.

[Chuckmcd]

Originally posted by TheBadgerHunter:
I'd just add that catholics believe that Jesus appointed Paul as the first pope. Not quite sure how the line of succession follows from there but thats how it got from jesus to the first pope.

No, I'm not catholic so I'm not very familiar with the intricacies.

I thought it was Peter.

[Sven G]

2010 (circa): Nuntio vobis gaudium magnum, habemus Papam: Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum Scaughtum Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Scaughtus qui sibi nomen imposuit Scaughtus I (or whateverus)!

Would this be enough?

[Arkham_c]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1178910.stm

College of Cardinals
Members: 184
Voters: 135
Average age of voters: 71
Voters appointed by John Paul II: 93%


http://slate.msn.com/id/2089815/

It's pretty tough to become Pope. Not as tough as becoming a Saint (performing a miracle being the clincher), but almost. You have to get over 130 people to agree that AMONGST THEMSELVES, you're the best candidate.

[d4nth3m4n]

pope on a rope?

[dreilly1]

Obligatory Jesus Christ Superstore link:

http://www.jesuschristsuperstore.net...es/lfpope.html

[TheBadgerHunter]

Can a non-catholic become a saint? What kind of miracle we talkin bout? Other qualifications?

[Arkham_c]

Originally posted by TheBadgerHunter:
Can a non-catholic become a saint? What kind of miracle we talkin bout? Other qualifications?

http://www.sju.edu/campus_ministry/N...er/CNL416.html

The first step in becoming a saint is the "Prejuridical Phase." Financial support is procured and documentation of historical facts and divine favors is begun. Those supporting the canonization petition the local bishop officially to initiate the "Ordinary Process." Tradition once held that a person must be dead fifty years before this process could begin. Today, no time constraint is provided, but a five year wait is typical.

During the next phase, the "Informative Phase," the local bishop determines whether or not there is merit in the case. He establishes a tribunal to determine whether or not the deceased has become an object of public veneration since his or her death.

The "Judgement of Orthodoxy" follows, during which time officials collect and scrutinize the writings of the deceased. Most "causes" that are blocked are held up at this point. Oftentimes, this blockage occurs because officials find questionable content in the written material they study. Promoters of the cause are permitted to try to disprove the findings of the investigators.

The fourth phase on the road to sainthood is the "Roman Phase." Once records from the local bishop are forwarded to Rome, a "postulator" (often a priest) is assigned to represent the cause of the petitioners. A canon lawyer is also assigned to the case. The lawyer presents a case arguing that the cause justifies continued investigation.

Also at this time, the Promoter of the Faith or "Devil’s Advocate" poses objections to the case. Presentations by the lawyer and the Promoter of the Faith may be made back and forth over a period of several months to many years. The resulting decision is sent to the pope who, unless he finds fault with the cause before him, states a "Decree of Introduction."

The "Historical Section" follows. During this phase, Vatican officials research the historical accuracy of the facts of the life of the deceased. At some point around this time, the body of the deceased is exhumed for identification by the local bishop. If the bishop discovers that the deceased is not actually buried at a particular site, the cause continues, but grave-side devotions must cease. The discovery of a body without corruption (as in the case of John Nuemann who was never embalmed) may help the cause by increasing devotion and interest. The Roman Catholic Church, however, does not recognize incorruptibility as a sure sign of sanctity.

Miracles are key to the process of declaring sainthood. All miracles must be shown to be acts of God performed through the intercession of the deceased. Usually, two miracles are needed before beatification, although often martyrs are beatified without such evidence. At this time, the pope and cardinals agree that the deceased shall be venerated and called "Blessed" (as in the case of Blessed Katharine Drexel of Philadelphia, PA). Sometimes, because of controversial questions or political complications, the pope may advance or postpone a beatification. For example, when Pope John Paul II visited South America some years ago, both Argentina and Chile had persons they wanted beatified. It would have been difficult politically for the Pope to beatify a candidate from only one country. After beatification, two additional miracles are needed before the "Blessed" is officially canonized and declared a saint at St. Peter’s Basilica.