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30 votes
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Has a pope ever been corrected publicly by a non-cleric in the presence of cardinals because of the unclear wording of a papal document?

It has happened to the present Pope. Dr. Anca-Maria Cernea, Doctor at the Center for Diagnosis and Treatment-Victor Babes and President of the Association of Catholic Doctors of Bucharest (Romania) ...
Andrew Leach's user avatar
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24 votes
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What does "see" in "the Holy See" mean?

"See" comes from the Latin word sedes, which means "seat" or "chair". "Holy See" is Sedes Apostolica (lit. "Apostolic Chair") in Latin. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) gives this etymology for ...
Geremia's user avatar
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20 votes

What does "see" in "the Holy See" mean?

What does “see” in “The Holy See” mean? Each bishop and archbishop has the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of an episcopal see. The Roman Pontiff (Pope) has complete jurisdiction of the Holy See, also ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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18 votes
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How do Catholics respond to the Roman Catholic Church being referred to as the sea beast?

How do Catholics respond to the Roman Catholic Church being referred to as the sea beast? Prophecy is, more than not, only understood only after the events predicted come to pass. Thus, Catholics ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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12 votes
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How did the doctrine of the pope having "supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls" originate?

Paragraph 937 of the Catechism is part of an "In Brief" section that occurs at the end of every topic of the Catechism. The "In Brief" sections are intended to summarize the ...
Matt Gutting's user avatar
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11 votes

How do Catholics respond to the Roman Catholic Church being referred to as the sea beast?

In supplement to Ken Graham’s very well put together criticism, I would like to point out perhaps the most fatal flaw in your argument, namely that the Vatican (or Rome, as we can put it) doesn’t sit ...
Luke Hill's user avatar
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10 votes
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What happens if the Pope is automatically excommunicated?

As the article here states (linked in the comments), the short answer is that the current legislation of the Church (i.e. the Canon Law) does not foresee such situation to occur. Perhaps it does not ...
luchonacho's user avatar
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10 votes

Was Peter ever in Rome?

Biblical The only Biblical information we have that Peter might have been in Rome is the cryptic reference in 1 Peter 5:13, "She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, ...
Dottard's user avatar
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10 votes
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When the Pope says "We commend to the Lord the souls..." what does it mean exactly? It it a symbolic gesture, a prayer, something else?

Commend: To entrust or commit to the care of someone else. Thus: "We entrust and commit these souls unto the Lord's care / keeping / mercy." Speaking as a non-Catholic, the Pope most ...
Matthew's user avatar
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9 votes

Why didn't Protestants unite with the Orthodox against Papal primacy after the Reformation?

Because the Eastern Orthodox churches didn't want it. For example, Martin Luther did correspond with Patriach Jeremiah II of Constantinople on the Augsburg Confession, see the Desire for Unity section ...
GratefulDisciple's user avatar
8 votes
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When did a "formal act of correction" of a pope's statement happen in the past?

The Doctor of the Church St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) collected 40 cases—from Pope St. Peter to Pope Innocent VIII (reigned 1484-1492)—of where a pope or anti-pope was said to have erred in faith ...
Geremia's user avatar
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8 votes

How long can the Catholic Church be without a pope?

You would have the succession, since the Pope would be the valid successor to his predecessor. So there is no break in succession. But the Church would be limping, as it were, until its proper order ...
Sola Gratia's user avatar
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8 votes

When Pope Francis dies, is Pope Benedict automatically the 'new' leader for a short period?

No, because Benedict XVI is an emeritus bishop of Rome, not a coadjutor bishop of Rome. As the Canon Law says, when a bishop retires from office, he becomes an emeritus bishop: Can. 402 §1. A bishop ...
luchonacho's user avatar
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8 votes
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Do any denominations teach that the Pope is an antichrist?

Answering from an American Reformed perspective: The Westminster Confession of Faith (along with its accompanying Larger and Shorter Catechisms) is, to varying degrees, the "official" ...
EliteHuskarl's user avatar
7 votes
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When and how can a pope revoke the decrees of an ecumenical council?

Faith and Morals/Discipline Gregory X, to avoid a repetition of the too lengthy vacancies of the papal see, caused it to be decided that the cardinals should not leave the conclave till the pope ...
Sola Gratia's user avatar
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7 votes
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What does "people of good will" mean in Encyclicals?

This use is generally a reference to the Greater Doxology which goes, in its second verse, "et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis": "And peace on Earth to the people of good will." This is a ...
Wtrmute's user avatar
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7 votes
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Is the Pope Emeritus infallible?

No, a retired pope is not infallible because that guarantee is not a personal quality; it is attached to the office that he no longer holds. This is true in terms of the pope’s extraordinary teaching ...
Grasper's user avatar
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7 votes
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Last married pope?

Popes who were legally married either as Pope or before they became clergy and were in fact widowed at the time of their election as Supreme Pontiff are as follows: St. Peter (30/33-64/67) ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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7 votes

Did the early church believe that St. Peter was the first pope?

It appears that the official use of the title of Pope (as given to Bishops of Rome) and confined to the successors of Peter, did not come into effect till the reign of Pope Gregory VII (1073-85). The ...
Lesley's user avatar
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7 votes
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Can a Patron Saint formally declared as such by a pope be replaced?

Can a Patron Saint formally declared as such by a pope be replaced? Generally speaking Patron Saints are rarely declared as such by Rome (Pope). When a pope decides to appoint a saint to the patronage ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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6 votes
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Has there ever been an Eastern Catholic Pope (Post-Schism)?

There are really only two requirements for becoming pope: being male and being baptized into the Catholic Church. Canon 332 § 1 of the 1983 Code simply states that one already a bishop (nb: not ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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6 votes

On what basis do Popes choose their papal name?

William Portier, chair of Catholic theology at the University of Dayton, expounded upon how popes choose their papal name in an interview with CTV News. First off, Catholics recognize Jesus renaming ...
Thunderforge's user avatar
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6 votes
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Has a pope ever visited Macau?

Has a pope ever visited Macau? The short answer is no. Macau is under Chinese administration. No pope has ever visted China or it's specially administrated regions such as Macau. The reason is quite ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
  • 74.5k
6 votes

When Pope Francis dies, is Pope Benedict automatically the 'new' leader for a short period?

No. He could be re-elected, though, for example: Pope St. Marcellinus, who was deposed for having offered incense to idols out of fear but later recanted and was re-elected pope.
Geremia's user avatar
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6 votes
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How did Pope Urban II justify the first Crusade?

It is true that in the Ten Commandments we read that it is not permitted to kill. But we do have a duty to protect ourselves and our neighbors in times of war or persecution. The helpless needed to be ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
  • 74.5k
6 votes

What happens if the Pope is automatically excommunicated?

A Pope is not subject to canon law Can. 1404 The First See is judged by no one. Canonist Charles Augustine, O.S.B., D.D., comments on the 1917 Code's equivalent canon (can. 1556) in his A ...
Geremia's user avatar
  • 41.5k
6 votes

Who was the first person ordered executed by a Roman Catholic pope?

The first person formally condemned to death by the papacy was Arnold of Brescia (c. 1090 – June 1155), an Italian canon regular from Lombardy. He called on the Church to renounce property ownership ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
  • 74.5k
6 votes

Last married pope?

You mention both marriage and celibacy in your question. Since "celibate" means abstaining from marriage and sexual relations: The last documented pope who was married was Pope Honorius IV (1285–1287)...
Codosaur's user avatar
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6 votes
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Does the Catholic Church have a contingency plan for the case that the pope and all cardinals are dead?

Does the Catholic Church have a contingency plan for the case that the pope and all cardinals are dead? There is no known official contingency plan for the Catholic Church in the case that if God ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
  • 74.5k
6 votes

Did the early church believe that St. Peter was the first pope?

Points for consideration. (1.) The vast majority of modern Roman Catholic historians acknowledge that there was no monarchical episcopate (a single ruling bishop rather than a plurality of elders) in ...
Benjamin's user avatar
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