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Pope Gregory VII

Pope Gregory VII

Gregory VII, né Hildebrand (c. 1020/1025 – May 25, 1085), was elevated to the papacy on April 22, 1073, and remained pope until his death. One of the great reforming popes, Gregory is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, which pitted him against emperor Henry IV.

Early life

He was born in obscurity in Sovana, a small town of Tuscany where his house can still be seen. He was sent to Rome at an early age for his education; an uncle of his being abbot of the convent of St. Mary on the Aventine. His instructors appear to have included Pope Gregory VI. But when the emperor Henry III deposed Gregory VI and exiled him to Germany, Hildebrand went with him. As he himself afterwards admitted, he had no wish to cross the Alps. But his residence in Germany was of great educational value, and significant for his later official activity. In Cologne he was able to pursue his studies. He returned to Rome with Pope Leo IX. Under him, Hildebrand first began work in the ecclesiastical service, becoming a subdeacon and steward in the Roman Church. He acted as a legate in France, where he had to deal with the question of Berengar of Tours, whose views on the Eucharist had caused controversy. On the death of Leo IX he was sent by the Romans as their envoy to the German court, to conduct the negotiations with regard to his successor. The emperor pronounced in favour of Pope Victor II who again employed Hildebrand as his legate to France. When Pope Stephen X was elected, without previous consultation with the German court, Hildebrand and Bishop Anselm of Lucca were sent to Germany to secure a belated recognition, and he succeeded in gaining the consent of the empress Agnes de Poitou. Stephen, however, died before his return, and, by the hasty elevation of Bishop Johannes of Velletri, the Roman aristocracy made a last attempt to recover their lost influence on the appointment to the papal throne: a proceeding which was dangerous to the Church as it implied a renewal of the disastrous patrician régime. That the crisis was overcome was essentially the work of Hildebrand. Against Pope Benedict X, the aristocratic nominee, he supported a rival pope in the person of Pope Nicholas II whose tenure was distinguished by events which exercised a strong influence on the policy of the Curia during the next two decades: the rapprochement with the Normans in the south of Italy, and the alliance with the democratic and, subsequently, anti-German movement of the Patarenes in the north. It was also under this pontificate that the law was enacted which transferred the papal election to the College of Cardinals, thus withdrawing it from the nobility and people of Rome and diminishing German influence on the election. When Nicholas II died and was succeeded by Pope Alexander II, Hildebrand loomed larger in the eyes of his contemporaries as the soul of Curial policy. The general political conditions, especially in Germany, were at that time very favourable to the Curia, but to use them with the wisdom actually shown was nevertheless a great achievement, and the position of Alexander at the end of his pontificate was a brilliant justification of Hildebrandine statecraft.

Election to the Papacy

Pope Alexander IIOn the death of Alexander II (April 21, 1073), Hildebrand became pope and took the name of Gregory VII. The mode of his election was highly criticized by his opponents. Many of the charges brought may have been expressions of personal dislike, liable to suspicion from the very fact that they were not raised to attack his promotion till several years later; but it is clear from his own account of the circumstances of his election that it was conducted in a very irregular fashion, and that the forms prescribed by the law of 1059 were not observed. However, what ultimately turned the tide in favor of validity of Gregory's election was the fact that near universal acclaim of the populus Romanus was undeniable. In this sense, his election hearkened back to the earliest centuries of the Church of Rome, regardless of later canonical legislation. Gregory's earliest pontifical letters clearly acknowledge this fact, and thus, helped defuse any doubt about his election as immensely popular. On May 22 he received sacerdotal ordination, and on June 30 episcopal consecration. The focus of the ecclesiastico-political projects of Gregory VII is to be found in his relationship with Germany. Since the death of Henry III the strength of the German monarchy had been seriously weakened, and his son Henry IV had to contend with great internal difficulties. This state of affairs was of material assistance to the pope. His advantage was still further accentuated by the fact that in 1073 Henry was only twenty-three and inexperienced. In the two following years Henry was forced by the Saxon rebellion to come to amicable terms with the pope at any cost. Consequently in May 1074 he did penance at Nuremberg in the presence of the papal legates to atone for his continued friendship with the members of his council who had been banned by Gregory, took an oath of obedience, and promised his support in the work of reforming the Church. This attitude, however, which at first won him the confidence of the pope, was abandoned as soon as he defeated the Saxons by his victory at the Battle of Hohenburg (June 9, 1075). He now tried to reassert his rights as the sovereign of northern Italy without delay. He sent Count Eberhard to Lombardy to combat the Patarenes; nominated the cleric Tedaldo to the archbishopric of Milan, thus settling a prolonged and contentious question; and finally tried to establish relations with the Norman duke, Robert Guiscard. Gregory VII replied with a rough letter, dated December 8, in which, among other charges, he accused the German king of breaching his word and with his continued support of the excommunicated councillors; while at the same time he sent a verbal message suggesting that the enormous crimes which would be laid to his account rendered him liable, not only to the ban of the church, but to the deprivation of his crown. Gregory did this at a time when he himself was confronted by a reckless opponent in the person of Cencius, who on Christmas-night surprised him in church and carried him off as a prisoner, though on the following day Gregory was released.

Conflict with the Emperor

The reprimands of the pope, couched as they were in such an unprecedented form, infuriated Henry and his court, and their answer was the hastily convened national council in Worms, Germany, which met on January 24 1076. In the higher ranks of the German clergy Gregory had many enemies, and a Roman cardinal, Hugo Candidus, once on intimate terms with him but now his opponent, had hurried to Germany for the occasion and appeared at Worms. All the accusations with regard to the pope that Candidus could come up with were well received by the assembly, which committed itself to the resolution that Gregory had forfeited the papacy. In one document full of accusations, the bishops renounced their allegiance. In another King Henry pronounced him deposed, and the Romans were required to choose a new pope [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/henry4-to-g7a.html]. The council sent two bishops to Italy, and they procured a similar act of deposition from the Lombard bishops in the synod of Piacenza. Roland of Parma informed the pope of these decisions, and he was fortunate enough to gain an opportunity for speech in the synod, which had just assembled in the Lateran church, and he delivered his message there announcing the dethronement. For the moment the members were frightened, but soon such a storm of indignation was aroused that it was only due to the moderation of Gregory himself that the envoy was not murdered. On the following day the pope pronounced the sentence of excommunication against the German king with all due solemnity, divested him of his royal dignity and absolved his subjects from the oaths they had sworn to him. This sentence purported to eject the king from the church and to strip him of his crown. Whether it would produce this effect, or whether it would remain an idle threat, depended not so much on Gregory as on Henry's subjects, and, above all, on the German princes. Contemporary evidence suggests that the excommunication of the king made a profound impression both in Germany and Italy. Thirty years before, Henry III had deposed three popes, and thereby rendered an acknowledged service to the church. When Henry IV tried to copy this procedure he was less successful, as he lacked the support of the people. In Germany there was a rapid and general revulsion of feeling in favour of Gregory, and the princes took the opportunity to carry out their anti-regal policy under the cloak of respect for the papal decision. When at Whitsun the king proposed to discuss the measures to be taken against Gregory in a council of his nobles, only a few made their appearance; the Saxons snatched at the golden opportunity for renewing their rebellion, and the anti-royalist party grew in strength from month to month.

To Canossa

The situation now became extremely critical for Henry. As a result of the agitation, which was zealously fostered by the papal legate Bishop Altmann of Passau, the princes met in October at Tribur to elect a new German king, and Henry, who was stationed at Oppenheim on the left bank of the Rhine, was only saved from the loss of his throne by the failure of the assembled princes to agree on the question of his successor. Their dissension, however, merely induced them to postpone the verdict. Henry, they declared, must make reparation to the pope and pledge himself to obedience; and they decided that, if, on the anniversary of his excommunication, he still lay under the ban, the throne should be considered vacant. At the same time they decided to invite Gregory to Augsburg to decide the conflict. These arrangements showed Henry the course to be pursued. It was imperative, under any circumstances and at any price, to secure his absolution from Gregory before the period named, otherwise he could scarcely foil his opponents in their intention to pursue their attack against him and justify their measures by an appeal to his excommunication. At first he attempted to attain his ends by an embassy, but when Gregory rejected his overtures he took the celebrated step of going to Italy in person. The pope had already left Rome, and had intimated to the German princes that he would expect their escort for his journey on January 8 in Mantua. But this escort had not appeared when he received the news of the king's arrival. Henry, who had traveled through Burgundy, had been greeted with enthusiasm by the Lombards, but resisted the temptation to employ force against Gregory. He chose instead the unexpected course of forcing the pope to grant him absolution by doing penance before him at Canossa, where he had taken refuge. This event soon became legendary. The reconciliation was only effected after prolonged negotiations and definite pledges on the part of the king, and it was with reluctance that Gregory at length gave way, for, if he gave his absolution, the diet of princes in Augsburg, in which he might reasonably hope to act as arbitrator, would either become useless, or, if it met at all, would change completely in character. It was impossible, however, to deny the penitent re-entrance into the church, and his religious obligations overrode his political interests. The removal of the ban did not imply a genuine reconciliation, and no basis was gained for a settlement of the great questions at issue: notably that of investiture. A new conflict was inevitable from the very fact that Henry IV naturally considered the sentence of deposition repealed along with that of excommunication; while Gregory on the other hand was intent on reserving his freedom of action and gave no hint on the subject at Canossa.

Second excommunication of Henry

That the excommunication of Henry IV was simply a pretext, not a motive, for the opposition of the rebellious German nobles is transparent. Not only did they persist in their policy after his absolution, but they took the more decided step of setting up a rival king in the person of Duke Rudolph of Swabia (Forchheim, March 1077). At the election the papal legates present observed the appearance of neutrality, and Gregory himself sought to maintain this attitude during the following years. His task was made easier in that the two parties were of fairly equal strength, each trying to gain the upper hand by getting the pope on their side. But the result of his non-committal policy was that he largely lost the confidence of both parties. Finally he decided for Rudolph of Swabia after his victory at Flarchheim (January 27, 1080). Under pressure from the Saxons, and misinformed as to the significance of this battle, Gregory abandoned his waiting policy and again pronounced the excommunication and deposition of King Henry (March 7, 1080). But the papal censure now proved a very different thing from the papal censure four years before. It was widely felt to be an injustice, and people began to ask whether an excommunication pronounced on frivolous grounds was entitled to respect. To make matters worse, Rudolph of Swabia died on October 16 of the same year. A new claimant, Hermann of Luxembourg, was put forward in August 1081, but his personality was not suitable for a leader of the Gregorian party in Germany, and the power of Henry IV was at its peak. The king, now more experienced, took up the struggle with great vigour. He refused to acknowledge the ban on the ground of its illegality. A council had been summoned at Brixen, and on June 16 it pronounced Gregory deposed and nominated the archbishop Guibert of Ravenna as his successor. In 1081 Henry opened the conflict against Gregory in Italy. The latter had now become less powerful, and thirteen cardinals deserted him. Rome surrendered to the German king, and Guibert of Ravenna enthroned as Clement III (March 24, 1084). Henry was crowned emperor by his rival, while Gregory himself had to flee from Rome in the company of his Norman "vassal," Robert Guiscard.

Papal policy to the rest of Europe

The relationship of Gregory to other European states was strongly influenced by his German policy; as Germany, by taking up most of his powers, often forced him to show to other rulers the very moderation which he withheld from the German king. The attitude of the Normans brought him a rude awakening. The great concessions made to them under Nicholas II were not only powerless to stem their advance into central Italy but failed to secure even the expected protection for the papacy. When Gregory was hard pressed by Henry IV, Robert Guiscard left him to his fate, and only interfered when he himself was threatened with German arms. Then, on the capture of Rome, he abandoned the city to his troops, and the popular indignation evoked by his act brought about Gregory's exile. In the case of several countries, Gregory tried to establish a claim of sovereignty on the part of the Papacy, and to secure the recognition of its self-asserted rights of possession. On the ground of "immemorial usage"; Corsica and Sardinia were assumed to belong to the Roman Church. Spain and Hungary were also claimed as her property, and an attempt was made to induce the king of Denmark to hold his realm as a fief from the pope. Philip I of France, by his practice of simony and the violence of his proceedings against the Church, provoked a threat of summary measures; and excommunication, deposition and the interdict appeared to be imminent in 1074. Gregory, however, refrained from translating his threats into actions, although the attitude of the king showed no change, for he wished to avoid a dispersion of his strength in the conflict soon to break out in Germany. In England, William the Conqueror also derived benefits from this state of affairs. He felt himself so safe that he interfered autocratically with the management of the church, forbade the bishops to visit Rome, made appointments to bishoprics and abbeys, and showed little anxiety when the pope lectured him on the different principles which he had as to the relationship of spiritual and temporal powers, or when he prohibited him from commerce or commanded him to acknowledge himself a vassal of the apostolic chair. Gregory had no power to compel the English king to an alteration in his ecclesiastical policy, so he chose to ignore what he could not approve, and even considered it advisable to assure him of his particular affection. Gregory, in fact, established some sort of relations with every country in Christendom; though these relations did not invariably realize the ecclesiastico-political hopes connected with them. His correspondence extended to Poland, Russia and Bohemia. He wrote in friendly terms to the Saracen king of Mauretania in north Africa, and unsuccessfully tried to bring Armenia into closer contact with Rome. He was particularly concerned with the East. The schism between Rome and the Byzantine Empire was a severe blow to him, and he worked hard to restore the former amicable relationship. Gregory successfully tried to get in touch with the emperor Michael VII. When the news of the Arab attacks on the Christians in the East filtered through to Rome, and the political embarrassments of the Byzantine emperor increased, he conceived the project of a great military expedition and exhorted the faithful to participate in recovering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In his treatment of ecclesiastical policy and ecclesiastical reform, Gregory did not stand alone, but found powerful support: in England Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury stood closest to him; in France his champion was Bishop Hugo of Dié, who afterwards became archbishop of Lyons.

Internal policy and reforms

His life-work was based on his conviction that the Church was founded by God and entrusted with the task of embracing all mankind in a single society in which divine will is the only law; that, in her capacity as a divine institution, she is supreme over all human structures, especially the secular state; and that the pope, in his role as head of the Church, is the vice-regent of God on earth, so that disobedience to him implies disobedience to God: or, in other words, a defection from Christianity. But any attempt to interpret this in terms of action would have bound the Church to annihilate not merely a single state, but all states. Thus Gregory, as a politician wanting to achieve some result, was driven in practice to adopt a different standpoint. He acknowledged the existence of the state as a dispensation of Providence, described the coexistence of church and state as a divine ordinance, and emphasized the necessity of union between the sacerdotium and the imperium. But at no period would he have dreamed of putting the two powers on an equal footing; the superiority of church to state was to him a fact which admitted of no discussion and which he had never doubted. He wished to see all important matters of dispute referred to Rome; appeals were to be addressed to himself; the centralization of ecclesiastical government in Rome naturally involved a curtailment of the powers of bishops. Since these refused to submit voluntarily and tried to assert their traditional independence, his papacy is full of struggles against the higher ranks of the clergy. This battle for the foundation of papal supremacy is connected with his championship of compulsory celibacy among the clergy and his attack on simony. Gregory VII did not introduce the celibacy of the priesthood into the Church, but he took up the struggle with greater energy than his predecessors. In 1074 he published an encyclical, absolving the people from their obedience to bishops who allowed married priests. The next year he enjoined them to take action against married priests, and deprived these clerics of their revenues. Both the campaign against priestly marriage and that against simony provoked widespread resistance. He died an exile in Salerno;his most famous verbal testament has come down to us as one of the most genuinely pious remarks of any pope: Amavi iustiam et odivi iniquitatem; propterea, morior in exilio = I have loved Justice and hated iniquity; therefore, I [now] die in exile. The Romans and a number of his most trusted helpers had renounced him, and the faithful band in Germany had shrunk to small numbers. Curiously for more than 900 years, the people of Salerno have zealously guarded Gregory's mortal remains and refused to permit him to be taken back for burial in St. Peter's, the traditional resting place of an overwhelming number of popes. Today, his beautiful sarcophagus lies in perpetual testament to his struggles and sanctify in the cathedral church of Salerno, Italy. Gregory 07 Gregory 07 Category:Investiture Controversy Gregory 07 Gregory 07 Gregory 07 Gregory 07 ko:교황 그레고리오 7세 ja:グレゴリウス7世 (ローマ教皇)

May 25

May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). There are 220 days remaining.

Events


- 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo back from the Moors.
- 1420 - Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ.
- 1521 - The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw.
- 1659 - Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth.
- 1787 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates convene a Constitutional Convention to write a new Constitution for the United States. George Washington presides.
- 1810 - In the May Revolution, armed citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Viceroy during the Semana de Mayo.
- 1865 - In Mobile, Alabama, 300 are killed when an ordnance depot explodes.
- 1895 - Playwright, poet and novelist Oscar Wilde is convicted of "commiting acts of gross indecency with other male persons" and sentenced to serve two years in prison.
- 1895 - The Republic of Taiwan is formed, with Tang Ching-sung as the president.
- 1914 - The United Kingdom's House of Commons passes Home Rule Act for devolution in Ireland.
- 1925 - Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.
- 1925 - The National Forensics League of the U.S. is founded.
- 1926 - Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the Paris-based government-in-exile of Ukrainian People's Republic.
- 1935 - In a span of 45 minutes at the Big Ten meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jesse Owens sets or ties four track and field world records.
- 1935 - Babe Ruth hits his 714th and last home run at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, setting a baseball record that will stand for 39 years.
- 1938 - Spanish Civil War: Bombing of Alicante, 313 deads.
- 1940 - World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk begins.
- 1946 - The parliament of Transjordan makes Abdullah I of Jordan their king.
- 1953 - Nuclear testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test.
- 1955 - Kanchenjunga, third highest peak in the world is scaled successfully for the first time.
- 1961 - Apollo program: U.S. president John F. Kennedy announces before a special joint session of Congress his goal to initiate a project to put a "man on the moon" before the end of the decade.
- 1963 - In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Organisation of African Unity is established.
- 1966 - Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches.
- 1965 - Muhammad Ali knocks out Sonny Liston in the first minute of the first round of a boxing match.
- 1967 - Celtic_F.C. become the first British team to reach a European_Cup final and also to win it, beating Inter_Milan 2-1 in normal time.
- 1968 - In St. Louis, Missouri, US Vice-President Hubert Humphrey and US Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall dedicate the Gateway Arch as part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
- 1973 - Mike Oldfield releases Tubular Bells.
- 1977 - Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) opens a limited run in theaters before expanding to become the highest grossing movie to date.
- 1979 - American Airlines Flight 191: In Chicago, Illinois, a DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport killing 271 on board and two people on the ground.
- 1979 - The movie Alien opens in theaters.
- 1981 - In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
- 1982 - HMS Coventry is sunk during the Falklands War.
- 1985 - Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people.
- 1988 - The Berulsemann was born.
- 1988 - Professional Wrestler Josh Wallen is born.
- 1995 - The Bosnian Serb Army kills 72 youngsters in the Bosnian city of Tuzla.
- 1997 - A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koromah.
- 1997 - Strom Thurmond becomes the longest-serving member in the history of the United States Senate, at 41 years and 10 months.
- 1999 - The two officers scapegoated after the 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor, Rear Admiral Kimmel and Lieutenant General Short were exonerated (posthumously) by the US Senate of all charges of dereliction of duty.
- 2001 - 32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer, of Boulder, Colorado, becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
- 2001 - 64-year-old Sherman Bull, of New Canaan, Connecticut, becomes the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
- 2002 - China Airlines Flight 611: A Boeing 747-200 breaks apart in mid-air and plunges into the Taiwan Strait killing 225 people.
- 2002 - A train crash in Tenga, Mozambique kills 197 people.
- 2003 - Néstor Kirchner becomes President of Argentina after defeating Carlos Menem. He is the first elected President since the December 2001 economic crisis.
- 2004 - The theatrical version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is released on DVD.
- 2004 - Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup.
- 2005 - Liverpool win the UEFA Champions League after beating AC Milan in the final.

Births


- 1048 - Emperor Shenzong of China (d. 1085)
- 1334 - Emperor Suko of Japan (d. 1398)
- 1458 - Mahmud Begada, Sultan of Gujarat (d. 1511)
- 1606 - Charles Garnier, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1649)
- 1661 - Claude Buffier, French philosopher and historian (d. 1737)
- 1713 - John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Prime Minister of Great Britain (d. 1792)
- 1725 - Samuel Ward, American politician (d. 1776)
- 1803 - Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, English novelist and playwright (d. 1873)
- 1803 - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and philosopher (d. 1882)
- 1820 - Anne Brontë, English writer (d. 1849)
- 1845 - Lip Pike, baseball player (d.1883)
- 1860 - James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist (d. 1944)
- 1865 - John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1955)
- 1865 - Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
- 1877 - Billy Murray, American singer (d. 1954)
- 1879 - Lord Beaverbrook, English publisher (d. 1964)
- 1880 - Jean Alexandre Barré, French neurologist (d. 1967)
- 1882 - Marie Doro, American actress (d. 1956)
- 1887 - Francesco Forgione, Italian priest (d. 1968)
- 1888 - Miles Malleson, English actor (d. 1969)
- 1889 - Igor Sikorsky, Russian inventor (d. 1972)
- 1912 - Princess Dukhye of Korea (d. 1989)
- 1913 - Richard Dimbleby, British journalist and broadcaster (d. 1965)
- 1918 - Claude Akins, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1921 - Jack Steinberger, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1922 - Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (d. 1984)
- 1924 - István Nyers, Hungarian footballer (d. 2005)
- 1925 - Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet (d. 1974)
- 1925 - Jeanne Crain, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1926 - Miles Davis, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1991)
- 1927 - Robert Ludlum, writer (d. 2001)
- 1929 - Beverly Sills, American soprano
- 1931 - Georgi Grechko, cosmonaut
- 1932 - John Gregory Dunne, American writer (d. 2003)
- 1935 - Cookie Gilchrist, American football player
- 1936 - Tom T. Hall, American singer and songwriter
- 1936 - Vladimir ("Wally""Walter") Fekula, American banker, raconteur
- [[1938]] - [[Raymond Carver, American writer (d. 1988)
- 1939 - Dixie Carter, American actress
- 1939 - Ian McKellen, English actor
- 1943 - Jessi Colter, American singer
- 1944 - Frank Oz, English-born puppeteer and director
- 1949 - Jamaica Kincaid, Antiguan-born novelist
- 1953 - Daniel Passarella, Argentine football player
- 1956 - Sugar Minott, Jamaican singer
- 1958 - Paul Weller, British musician
- 1963 - Mike Myers, Canadian actor and comedian
- 1965 - Simon Fowler, English singer (Ocean Colour Scene)
- 1966 - McLoud, Swiss composer, musician, and multimedia artist
- 1967 - Poppy Z. Brite, American author
- 1968 - Kendall Gill, American basketball player
- 1969 - Anne Heche, American actress
- 1970 - Jamie Kennedy, American actor
- 1971 - Sonya Smith, American actress
- 1974 - Monica Keena, American actress
- 1975 - Lauryn Hill, American singer
- 1976 - Miguel Tejada, Dominican Major League Baseball player
- 1976 - Jonny Wilkinson, English rugby player
- 1977 - Pat Burrell, baseball player
- 1978 - Brian Urlacher, American football player
- 1979 - Carlos Bocanegra, American soccer player
- 1984 - Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir, Miss Iceland, crowned Miss World in 2005.

Deaths


- 709 - Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne
- 735 - Bede, English historian and monk
- 967 - Murakami, Emperor of Japan (b. 926)
- 992 - Mieszko I of Poland
- 1085 - Pope Gregory VII
- 1261 - Pope Alexander IV
- 1452 - John Stafford, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1555 - Gemma Frisius, Dutch mathematician and cartographer (b. 1508)
- 1555 - Henry II of Navarre (b. 1503)
- 1595 - Valens Acidalius, German critic and poet (b. 1567)
- 1632 - Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1572)
- 1667 - Gustaf Bonde, Swedish statesman (b. 1620)
- 1681 - Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish playwright (b. 1600)
- 1693 - Marie-Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne, comtesse de la Fayette, French writer (b. 1634)
- 1741 - Daniel Ernst Jablonski, German theologian (b. 1660)
- 1786 - Peter III of Portugal, consort of Queen Maria I of Portugal (b. 1717)
- 1789 - Anders Dahl, Swedish botanist (b. 1751)
- 1797 - John Griffin Whitwell, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, British field marshal (b. 1719)
- 1805 - William Paley, English philosopher (b. 1743)
- 1848 - Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German writer (b. 1797)
- 1849 - Benjamin d'Urban, British general and colonial administrator (b. 1777)
- 1912 - Austin Lane Crothers, American politician (b. 1860)
- 1930 - Randall Thomas Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1848)
- 1934 - Gustav Holst, English composer (b. 1874)
- 1935 - Sir Frank Watson Dyson, English Astronomer Royal (b. 1868)
- 1940 - Joe De Grasse, American film director (b. 1873)
- 1951 - Paula von Preradovic, Croatian-born writer (b. 1887)
- 1965 - Sonny Boy Williamson, American singer, songwriter, and musician (b. 1899)
- 1977 - Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian writer (b. 1904)
- 1986 - Chester Bowles, American politician (b. 1901)
- 1988 - Ernst Ruska, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- 1994 - Sonny Sharrock, American jazz guitarist (b. 1940)
- 1996 - Brad Nowell, American singer and guitarist (Sublime) (b. 1968)
- 2003 - Jeremy Michael Ward, American musician (The Mars Volta) (drug overdose)
- 2004 - Roger W. Straus, Jr., American publisher (b. 1917)
- 2005 - Sunil Dutt, Indian actor and politician (b. 1929)
- 2005 - Graham Kennedy, Australian television personality (b. 1934)
- 2005 - Ruth Laredo, American pianist (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances


- Commemoration of the Venerable Bede (Anglican)
- Argentina - Day of May Revolution/National Day (1810)
- Chad, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe - African Freedom/Unity Day
- Jordan - National Day/Arab Renaissance Day (1946)
- Libya, Sudan - Sudan National Day/May Revolution Day (1969)
- United States - Memorial Day/Decoration Day, a legal holiday (1868)
- Virginia - Confederate Memorial Day (1868)
- Lebanon, Liberation Day (1999)
- Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - Day of Youth
- Ancient Latvia - Urbanas Diena observed
- Towel Day, in memory of Douglas Adams, is observed

External links


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Pope

:This entry is about the Catholic Pontiff. For other uses of the word, see Pope (disambiguation). The pope is the Patriarch of the West and Bishop of Rome, and leader of the Catholic Church. The office of the pope is called the Papacy; his ecclesiastical jurisdiction is called the Holy See (Sancta Sedes). Early bishops of Rome were designated vicar (representative) of Peter; for later popes the more authoritative vicar of Christ was substituted; this designation was first used by the Roman Synod of AD 495 to refer to Pope Gelasius I, an originator of papal supremacy among the patriarchs. The first Patriarch of Rome to bear the title of "Pope" was Pope Boniface III in 607, the first Bishop of Rome to assume the title of "universal Bishop" by decree of Emperor Phocas. Previous Patriarchs of Rome are called "Popes" by courtesy. In addition to his service in this spiritual role, the pope is also head of state of the independent sovereign State of the Vatican City, a city-state and nation entirely enclaved by the city of Rome. Prior to 1870, the pope's temporal authority extended over a large area of central Italy, the territory of the Papal States that was formally known as the "Patrimony of St Peter". Although the document on which the territorial powers of the Pontificate was based — the so-called Donation of Constantine — was proved a forgery in the 15th century, the papacy retained sovereign authority over the Papal States until the Italian Unification of 1870; a final political settlement with the Italian government was not reached until the Lateran Treaties of 1929. The current pope is Benedict XVI (born Joseph Ratzinger), who was elected at the age of 78 on 19 April 2005. He succeeds the late John Paul II, who was elected at the age of 58 in 1978. Pope Benedict XVI is the second non-Italian to be elected to the pontificate since Adrian VI, who was pope briefly in 1522-23 — John Paul II was the first — and is the first German to take the seat since the eleventh century (unless Adrian VI, who lived in Holland but came from German ancestors before Holland was separated from Germany, is counted as German rather than Dutch).

Office and nature

In canon law, the Catholic Pope is referred to as the Roman Pontiff (Pontifex Romanus). He is styled "Your Holiness" (Sanctitas Vestra) and is frequently referred to as the Holy Father. The title "Pope" is an informal one meaning "papa"; the formal title of the pope is "Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City, Servant of the Servants of God". This full title is rarely used. The pope's signature is usually in the format "NN. PP. x" (e.g., Pope Paul VI signed his name as "Paulus PP. VI"), the "PP." standing for Papa ("Pope") (or, according to unofficial sources, Pater Patrum, "Father of Fathers"), and his name is frequently accompanied in inscriptions by the abbreviation "Pont. Max." or "P.M." (abbreviation of the ancient title Pontifex Maximus, literally "Greatest Bridge-maker", but usually translated "Supreme Pontiff"). The signature of Papal bulls is customarily NN. Episcopus Ecclesia Catholicae ("NN. Bishop of the Catholic Church"), while the heading is NN. Episcopus Servus Servorum Dei ("NN. Bishop and Servant of the Servants of God"), the latter title dating to the time of Pope Gregory I the Great. Other titles used in some official capacity include Summus Pontifex ("Highest Pontiff"), Sanctissimus Pater and Beatissimus Pater ("Most Holy Father" and "Most Blessed Father"), Sanctissimus Dominus Noster ("Our Most Holy Lord"), and, in the Medieval period, Dominus Apostolicus ("Apostolic Lord"). This title, however, was not abandoned altogether: the pope is still refered to as "Dominum Apostolicum" in the Latin version of the Litany of the Saints, a solemn Catholic prayer, and in some translations of it. Medieval period]] The pope's official seat is the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, and his official residence is the Palace of the Vatican. He also possesses a summer palace at Castel Gandolfo (situated on the site of the ancient city-state Alba Longa). Historically the official residence of the pope was the Lateran Palace, donated by the Roman Emperor Constantinus I. The former Papal summer palace, the Quirinal Palace, has subsequently been the official residence of the Kings of Italy and President of the Italian Republic. It is the pope's ecclesiastical jurisdiction (the Holy See) and not his secular jurisdiction (Vatican City) which conducts international relations; for hundreds of years, the pope's court (the Roman Curia) has functioned as the government of the Catholic Church. The name "Holy See" (also "Apostolic See") is in ecclesiastical terminology the ordinary jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome (including the Roman Curia); the pope's various honours, powers, and privileges within the Catholic Church and the international community derive from his Episcopate of Rome in lineal succession from the Apostle St. Peter (see Apostolic Succession). Consequently Rome has traditionally occupied a central position in the Catholic Church, although this is not necessarily so. The pope derives his Pontificate from being Bishop of Rome but is not required to live there; according to the Latin formula ubi Papa, ibi Curia, wherever the pope resides is the central government of the Church, provided that the pope is Bishop of Rome. As such, between 1309 and 1378 the popes lived in Avignon (the Avignon Papacy), a period often called the Babylonian Captivity in allusion to the Biblical exile of Israel. Catholic tradition maintains that the institution of the Pontificate can be found in the Bible, and cites certain key passages in support of this contention. Chief among these passages is Matthew 16: 18 – 19, wherein Jesus Christ says to St. Peter: :"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Other important passages include Luke 22: 31 – 32, John 1: 42, and John 21: 15 – 17.

Regalia and insignia

John 21: 15 – 17 Main article: Papal regalia and insignia.
- The "triregnum" also called the "tiara" or "triple crown"; recent popes have not, however, worn the triregnum though it remains the symbol of the papacy and has not been abolished. In liturgical ceremonies popes wear an episcopal mitre (an erect cloth hat).
- Staff topped by a crucifix, a custom established before the 13th century.
- The pallium (a circular band of fabric about two inches wide, worn over the chasuble about the neck, breast and shoulders and having two twelve-inch-long pendants hanging down in front and behind, ornamented with six small, black crosses distributed about the breast, back, shoulders, and pendants).
- The "Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven", the image of two keys, one gold and one silver. The silver key symbolises the power to bind and loose on Earth, and the gold key the power to bind and loose in Heaven.
- The Fisherman's Ring, a gold ring decorated with a depiction of St. Peter in a boat casting his net, with the name of the reigning pope around it.
- The umbracullum (better known in the Italian form ombrellino) is a canopy or umbrella (consisting of alternating red and gold stripes).
- One of the most familiar (and now discontinued) trappings of the Papacy was the sedia gestatoria, a mobile throne carried by twelve footmen (palafrenieri) in red uniforms, accompanied by two attendants bearing flabella (fans made of white ostrich-feathers). The use of the sedia gestatoria and of the flabella was discontinued by Pope John Paul II, with the former being replaced by the so-called Popemobile. In heraldry, each pope has his own Papal Coat of Arms. Though unique for each pope, the arms are always surmounted by the aforementioned two keys in saltire (i.e., crossed over one another so as to form an X) behind the escutcheon (one key silver and one key gold, tied with a red cord), and above them a silver triregnum with three gold crowns and red infulae, or the red strips of fabric hanging from the back over the shoulders when worn ("two keys in saltire or and argent, interlacing in the rings or, beneath a tiara argent, crowned or"). The flag most frequently associated with the pope is the yellow and white flag of Vatican City, with the arms of the Holy See ("Gules, two keys in saltire or and argent, interlacing in the rings or, beneath a tiara argent, crowned or") on the right hand side in the white half of the flag. This flag was first adopted in 1808, whereas the previous flag had been red and gold, the traditional colours of the Pontificate.

Status and authority

1808, 2005.]] The status and authority of the pope in the Catholic Church was dogmatically defined by the First Vatican Council in its Dogmatic Constitution of the Church of Christ (July 18, 1870). The first chapter of this document is entitled "On the institution of the apostolic primacy in blessed Peter", and states that (s.1) "according to the Gospel evidence, a primacy of jurisdiction over the whole church of God was immediately and directly promised to the blessed apostle Peter and conferred on him by Christ the Lord" and that (s.6) "if anyone says that blessed Peter the apostle was not appointed by Christ the Lord as prince of all the apostles and visible head of the whole church militant; or that it was a primacy of honour only and not one of true and proper jurisdiction that he directly and immediately received from our Lord Jesus Christ Himself: let him be anathema." The Dogmatic Constitution's second chapter, "On the permanence of the primacy of blessed Peter in the Roman pontiffs", states that (s.1) "that which our Lord Jesus Christ [...] established in the blessed apostle Peter [...] must of necessity remain forever, by Christ's authority, in the church which, founded as it is upon a rock, will stand firm until the end of time," that (s.3) "whoever succeeds to the chair of Peter obtains by the institution of Christ Himself, the primacy of Peter over the whole church", and that (s.5) "if anyone says that it is not by the institution of Christ the Lord Himself (that is to say, by divine law) that blessed Peter should have perpetual successors in the primacy over the whole church; or that the Roman pontiff is not the successor of blessed Peter in this primacy: let him be anathema." The Dogmatic Constitution's third chapter, "On the power and character of the primacy of the Roman pontiff," states that (s.1) "the definition of the ecumenical council of Florence, which must be believed by all faithful Christians, namely that the apostolic see and the Roman pontiff hold a world-wide primacy, and that the Roman pontiff is the successor of blessed Peter, the prince of the apostles, true vicar of Christ, head of the whole church and father and teacher of all Christian people," that (s.2) "by divine ordinance, the Roman church possesses a pre-eminence of ordinary power over every other church, and that the jurisdictional power of the Roman pontiff is both episcopal and immediate" and that "clergy and faithful, of whatever rite and dignity, both singly and collectively, are bound to submit to this power by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience, and this not only in matters concerning faith and morals, but also in those which regard the discipline and government of the church throughout the world." The powers of the pope are defined by the Dogmatic Constitution (ch.3, s.8) such that "he is the supreme judge of the faithful, and that in all cases which fall under ecclesiastical jurisdiction recourse may be had to his judgement" and that "the sentence of the apostolic see (than which there is no higher authority) is not subject to revision by anyone, nor may anyone lawfully pass judgement thereupon" (can. 331 defines the power of the pope as "supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power in the Church, and he can always freely exercise this power"). It also dogmatically defined (ch.4, s.9) the doctrine of Papal infallibility, sc. such that :when the Roman Pontiff speaks ex cathedra, that is, when in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole church, he possesses, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, that infallibility which the divine Redeemer willed His church to enjoy in defining doctrine concerning faith or morals. Therefore, such definitions of the Roman pontiff are of themselves, and not by the consent of the church, irreformable. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that "it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every creature to be united to the Roman Pontiff" (Pope Boniface VIII). This teaching is often summarized by the phrase "extra Ecclesiam nulla salus" (outside the Church exists no salvation), which has been reaffirmed by many popes throughout the centuries. Blessed John XXIII said: "Into this fold of Jesus Christ no man may enter unless he be led by the Sovereign Pontiff, and only if they be united to him can men be saved." Pope Paul VI also said: "Those outside the Church do not possess the Holy Spirit. The Catholic Church alone is the Body of Christ... and if separated from the Body of Christ he is not one of His members, nor is he fed by His Spirit." However, this dogma has been misinterpreted by both Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Many popes stressed that those who are invincibly ignorant of the Catholic religion can still obtain salvation. Pope Pius IX stated in his encyclical Quanto conficiamur moeror (1868): "We all know that those who are afflicted with invincible ignorance with regard to our holy religion, if they carefully keep the precepts of the natural law that have been written by God in the hearts of all men, if they are prepared to obey God, and if they lead a virtuous and dutiful life, can attain eternal life by the power of divine light and grace." Pope John Paul II wrote in his encyclical Redemptoris Missio: "But it is clear that today, as in the past, many people do not have an opportunity to come to know or accept the Gospel revelation or to enter the Church.... For such people, salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally a part of the Church but enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation. This grace comes from Christ; it is the result of his sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy Spirit. It enables each person to attain salvation through his or her free cooperation." The pope has many powers which he exercises. He can appoint bishops to dioceses, erect and suppress dioceses, appoint prefects to the Roman dicasteries, approve or veto their acts, modify the Liturgy and issue liturgical laws, revise the Code of Canon Law, canonize and beatify individuals, approve and suppress religious orders, impose canonical sanctions, act as a judge and hear cases, issue encyclicals, and issue infallible statements on matters pertaining to faith and morals which, according to the Church, must be believed by all Catholics. Most of these functions are performed by and through the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia, with the pope simply approving their actions prior to becoming official. While approval is generally granted, it is at the pope's discretion. See Donation of Constantine for discussion of the broader authority the papacy has argued the Catholic Church possesses in affairs of state.

Political role

Though the progressive Christianisation of the Roman Empire in the fourth century did not confer upon bishops civil authority within the state, the gradual withdrawal of imperial authority during the 5th century left the pope the senior Imperial civilian official in Rome, as bishops were increasingly directing civil affairs in other cities of the Western Empire. This status as a secular and civil leader was vividly displayed by Pope Leo I's confrontation with Attila in 452 and was substantially increased in 754, when the Frankish ruler Pippin the Younger donated to the pope a strip of territory which formed the core of the so-called Papal States (properly the Patrimony of St. Peter). In 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish ruler Charlemagne as Roman Emperor, a major step toward establishing what later became known as the Holy Roman Empire; from that date it became the pope's prerogative to crown the Emperor or any monarch with affiliations with the church until the crowning of Napoleon. As has been hitherto mentioned, the pope's sovereignty over the Papal States ended in 1870 with their annexation by Italy. In addition to the pope's position as a territorial ruler and foremost prince bishop of Christianity (especially prominent with the Renaissance popes like Pope Alexander VI, an ambitious if spectacularly corrupt politico, and Pope Julius II, a formidable general and statesman) and as the spiritual head of the Holy Roman Empire (especially prominent during periods of contention with the Emperors, such as during the Pontificates of Pope Gregory VII and Pope Alexander III), the pope also possessed a degree of political and temporal authority in his capacity as Supreme Pontiff. Some of the most striking examples of Papal political authority are the Bull Laudabiliter in 1155 (authorising Henry II of England to invade Ireland), the Bull Inter Caeteras in 1493 (leading to the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, which divided the world into areas of Spanish and Portuguese rule) the Bull Regnans in Excelsis in 1570 (excommunicating Elizabeth I of England and purporting to release all her subjects from their allegiance to her), the Bull Inter Gravissimas in 1582 (establishing the Gregorian Calendar).

Death, abdication, and election

Death

The current regulations regarding a papal interregnum — i.e., a sede vacante ("vacant seat") — were promulgated by John Paul II in his 1996 document Universi Dominici Gregis. During the "Reading Festival", the Sacred College of Cardinals, composed of the pope's principal advisors and assistants, is collectively responsible for the government of the Church and of the Vatican itself, under the direction of the Cardinal Chamberlain; however, canon law specifically forbids the Cardinals from introducing any innovation in the government of the Church during the vacancy of the Holy See. Any decision that needs the assent of the pope has to wait until a new pope has been elected and takes office. It has long been claimed that a pope's death is officially determined by the Cardinal Chamberlain by gently tapping the late pope's head thrice with a silver hammer and calling his birth name three times, though this is disputed and has never been confirmed by the Vatican; there is general agreement that even if this procedure ever actually occurred, it was likely not employed upon the death of John Paul II. A doctor may or may not have already determined that the pope had passed away prior to this point. The Cardinal Chamberlain then retrieves the Fisherman's Ring. Usually the ring is on the pope's right hand. But in the case of Paul VI, he had stopped wearing the ring during the last years of his reign. In other cases the ring might have been removed for medical reasons. The Chamberlain cuts the ring in two in the presence of the Cardinals. The deceased pope's seals are defaced, to keep them from ever being used again, and his personal apartment is sealed. The body then lies in state for a number of days before being interred in the crypt of a leading church or cathedral; the popes of the 20th century were all interred in St. Peter's Basilica. A nine-day period of mourning (novem dialis) follows after the interment of the late pope.

Abdication

The Code of Canon Law [http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P16.HTM 332 §2] states, If it happens that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone. It was widely reported in June and July 2002 that Pope John Paul II firmly refuted the speculation of his resignation using Canon 332, in a letter to the Milan daily newspaper Corriere della Sera. Nevertheless, 332 §2 gave rise to speculation that either:
- Pope John Paul II would have resigned as his health failed, or
- a properly manifested legal instrument had already been drawn up that put into effect his resignation in the event of his incapacity to perform his duties. Pope John Paul II did not resign. He died on 2 April 2005 after suffering from many diseases and was buried on 8 April 2005. [http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=Pope+Dead&btnG=Search+News Articles on the death of John Paul II] After his death it was reported that in his last will and testament he had considered abdicating in 2000 as he neared his 80th birthday. However the language of that passage of the will is not clear and others have interpreted it differently.

Election

The pope was originally chosen by those senior clergymen resident in and near Rome. In 1059, the electorate was restricted to the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, and the individual votes of all Cardinal Electors were made equal in 1179. Pope Urban VI, elected 1378, was the last pope who was not already a cardinal at the time of his election. Canon law requires that if a layman or non-bishop is elected, he receives episcopal consecration from the Dean of the College of Cardinals before assuming the Pontificate. Under present canon law, the pope is elected by the cardinal electors, comprising those cardinals who are under the age of 80. The Second Council of Lyons was convened on May 7, 1274, to regulate the election of the pope. This Council decreed that the cardinal electors must meet within ten days of the pope's death, and that they must remain in seclusion until a pope has been elected; this was prompted by the three-year Sede Vacante following the death of Pope Clement IV in 1268. By the mid-Sixteenth century, the electoral process had more or less evolved into its present form, allowing for alteration in the time between the death of the pope and the meeting of the cardinal electors. Traditionally the vote was conducted by acclamation, by selection (by committee), or by plenary vote. Acclamation was the simplest procedure, consisting entirely of a voice vote, and was last used in 1621. Pope John Paul II abolished vote by acclamation and by selection by committee, and henceforth all popes will be elected by full vote of the Sacred College of Cardinals by ballot. The election of the pope almost always takes place in the Sistine Chapel, in a meeting called a "conclave" (so called because the cardinal electors are theoretically locked in, cum clavi, until they elect a new pope). Three cardinals are chosen by lot to collect the votes of absent cardinal electors (by reason of illness), three are chosen by lot to count the votes, and three are chosen by lot to review the count of the votes. The ballots are distributed and each cardinal elector writes the name of his choice on it and pledges aloud that he is voting for "one whom under God I think ought to be elected" before folding and depositing his vote on a plate atop a large chalice placed on the altar. The plate is then used to drop the ballot into the chalice, making it difficult for any elector to insert multiple ballots. Before being read, the number of ballots are counted while still folded; if the total number of ballots does not match the number of electors, the ballots are burned unopened and a new vote is held. Assuming the number of ballots matches the number of electors, each ballot is then read aloud by the presiding Cardinal, who pierces the ballot with a needle and thread, stringing all the ballots together and tying the ends of the thread to ensure accuracy and honesty. Balloting continues until a pope is elected by a two-thirds majority (since the promulgation of Universi Dominici Gregis the rules allow for a simple majority after a deadlock of twelve days). conclave following his coronation, a tradition which has now been discontinued.]] One of the most famous aspects of the papal election process is the means by which the results of a ballot are announced to the world. Once the ballots are counted and bound together, they are burned in a special oven erected in the Sistine Chapel, with the smoke escaping through a small chimney visible from St Peter's Square. The ballots from an unsuccessful vote are burned along with a chemical compound in order to produce black smoke, or fumata nera. (Traditionally wet straw was used to help create the black smoke, but a number of "false alarms" in past conclaves have brought about this concession to modern chemistry.) When a vote is successful, the ballots are burned alone, sending white smoke (fumata bianca) through the chimney and announcing to the world the election of a new pope. At the end of the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, church bells were also rung to signal that a new pope had been chosen. The Dean of the College of Cardinals then asks the successfully elected Cardinal two solemn questions. First he asks, "Do you freely accept your election?" If he replies with the word "Accepto," his reign as pope begins at that instant, not at the coronation ceremony several days afterward. The Dean then asks, "By what name shall you be called?" The new pope then announces the regnal name he has chosen for himself. The new pope is led through the "Door of Tears" to a dressing room in which three sets of white Papal vestments ("immantatio") await: small, medium, and large. Donning the appropriate vestments and re-emerging into the Sistine Chapel, the new pope is given the "Fisherman's Ring" by the Cardinal Camerlengo, whom he either reconfirms or reappoints. The pope then assumes a place of honor as the rest of the Cardinals wait in turn to offer their first "obedience" ("adoratio"), and to receive his blessing. The senior Cardinal Deacon then announces from a balcony over St. Peter's Square the following proclamation: Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum! Habemus Papam! ("I announce to you a great joy! We have a pope!"). He then announces the new pope's Christian name along with the new name he has adopted as his regnal name. Until 1978, the pope's election was followed in a few days by a procession in great pomp and circumstance from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter's Basilica, with the newly-elected pope borne in the sedia gestatoria. There the pope was crowned with the triregnum and he gave his first blessing as pope, the famous Urbi et Orbi ("to the City [Rome] and to the World"). Another famed part of the coronation was the lighting of a torch which would flare brightly and promptly extinguish, with the admonition Sic transit gloria mundi ("Thus fades worldly glory"). Traditionally, the new pope takes the Papal oath (the so-called "Oath against modernism") at his coronation, but Popes John Paul I, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI have all refused to do so. The Latin term sede vacante ("vacant seat") refers to a papal interregnum, the period between the death of the pope and the election of his successor. From this term is derived the name Sedevacantist, which designates a category of dissident, schismatic Catholics who maintain that there is no canonically and legitimately elected pope, and that there is therefore a Sede Vacante; one of the most common reasons for holding this belief is the idea that the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and especially the replacement of the Tridentine Mass with the Novus Ordo Missae are heretical, and that, per the dogma of Papal infallibility (see above), it is impossible for a valid pope to have done these things.

Objections to the Papacy

The pope's position as Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church is dogmatic and therefore not open to debate or dispute within the Catholic Church; the First Vatican Council anathematised all who dispute the pope's primacy of honour and of jurisdiction (it is lawful to discuss the precise nature of that primacy, provided that such discussion does not violate the terms of the Council's Dogmatic Constitution). However, the pope's authority is not undisputed outside the Catholic Church; these objections differ from denomination to denomination, but can roughly be outlined as (1.) objections to the extent of the primacy of the pope; and (2.) objections to the institution of the Papacy itself. anathema Some non-Catholic Christian communities, such as the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion, accept the doctrine of Apostolic Succession, and therefore accept (to varying extents) the papal claims to primacy of honour. However, these churches generally deny that the pope is the successor to St. Peter in any unique sense not true of any other bishop, or that St. Peter was ever bishop of Rome at all. The primacy is therefore regarded as a consequence of the pope's position as bishop of the original capital city of the Roman Empire, a definition explicitly spelled out in the 28th canon of the Council of Chalcedon. In any event, these churches see no foundation at all to papal claims of universal jurisdiction. Because none of them recognise the First Vatican Council as ecumenical, they regard its definitions concerning jurisdiction and infallibility (and anathematisation of those who do not accept them) as invalid. Other non-Catholic Christian denominations do not accept the doctrine of Apostolic Succession, or do not understand it in hierarchical terms, and therefore do not accept the claim that the pope is heir either to Petrine primacy of honour or to Petrine primacy of jurisdiction or they reject both claims of honor or jurisdiction as unscriptural. The Papacy's complex relationship with the Roman and Byzantine Empires, and other secular states, and the Papacy's territorial claims in Italy, are another focal point of these objections; as is the monarchical character of the office of pope. In Western Christianity, these objections — and the vehement rhetoric they have at times been cast in — both contributed to, and are products of, the Protestant Reformation. These denominations vary from simply not accepting the pope's authority as legitimate and valid, to believing that the pope is the Antichrist or one of the beasts spoken of in the Book of Revelation. These denominations tend to be more heterogeneous amongst themselves than the aforementioned hierarchical churches, and their views regarding the Papacy and its institutional legitimacy (or lack thereof) vary considerably. Some objectors to the papacy use empirical arguments, pointing to the corrupt characters of some of the holders of that office. For instance, some argue that claimed successors to St. Peter, like Alexander VI and Callixtus III from the Borgia family, were so corrupt as to be unfit to wield power to bind and loose on Earth or in Heaven. An omniscient and omnibenevolent God, some argue, would not have given those people the powers claimed for them by the Catholic Church. Defenders of the papacy argue that the Bible shows God as willingly giving privileges even to corrupt men (citing examples like some of the kings of Israel, the apostle Judas Iscariot, and even St. Peter after he denied Jesus). They also argue that not even the worst of the corrupt popes used the office to try to rip the doctrine of the Church from its apostolic roots, and that this is evidence that the office is divinely protected. Some objectors to the papacy occasionally refer to the Catholic Church and its members by the pejorative term papist to point up what they believe to be an inappropriate focus of attention on the office and an improper attribution of certain divine favors ex officio.

Other Popes

An antipope is a person who claims the Pontificate without being canonically and properly elected to it. The existence of an antipope is usually due either to doctrinal controversy within the Church, or to confusion as to who is the legitimate pope at the time (see Papal Schism). "The Black Pope" is a derogatory name given to the Superior General of the Society of Jesus due to the Jesuits' practice of wearing black cassocks (compared to the pope's always wearing white robes), and to the order's specific allegiance to the Roman pontiff. The heads of the Coptic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church of Alexandria are also called "popes" for historical reasons, the former being called "Coptic Pope" or "Pope of Alexandria" and the latter called "Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa"; the parallel construction "Pope of Rome" is frequently used in the Eastern churches. In Islam, the former office of Caliph held similar meaning, as the leader of all Muslims, subordinate only to the prophet Muhammad.

See also


- Chronological list of popes
- Pope Benedict XVI
- List of 10 longest-reigning Popes
- List of 10 shortest-reigning Popes
- List of ages of popes
- Vestment
- Immaculate Conception
- Assumption
- Ecumenical Council
- College of Bishops
- Pontifical University
- Caesaropapism
- History of the Papacy
- Investiture Controversy
- African popes
- List of French popes
- Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy
- Pope Joan
- Prophecy of the popes
- Regnal name
- Papal Slippers
- Papal Coronation
- Papal Inauguration
- List of sexually active popes

External links


- [http://www.vatican.va/ The Holy See]
- [http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_INDEX.HTM Code of Canon Law] – Vatican site
- [http://www.dailycatholic.org/history/20ecume3.htm The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ], Fourth Session of the First Vatican Council
- [http://web.globalserve.net/~bumblebee/ecclesia/patriarchs.htm Eastern Church Defends Petrine Primacy and the Papacy]
- [http://thepopeblog.blogspot.com/ The Pope Blog] – Unofficial weblog about the pope
- [http://popetribute.com/ Pope Tribute] – A tribute to the pope, present and past
- [http://www.papst-benedikt.be Pope Benedict XVI and other Popes] (germ.)
- [http://www.geocities.com/hashanayobel/papalinfo.htm Papal information] News about ongoing Papal Events
- [http://www.punditguy.com/2005/04/german_pope.html Pope Election News Roundup]
- [http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/benedictxvi/ Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez announcing Habemus Papam (We have a Pope!)] (Windows Media Player Video).
- [http://www.americancatholic.org/news/BenedictXVI/ American Catholic - Pope Benedict XVI Starts His Papacy]
- [http://www.guardian.co.uk/pope/story/0,12272,1452750,00.html Swiss Watchers - article about the Papal Guards in THE GUARDIAN]
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- Category:Ecclesiastical titles als:Papst ko:교황 ms:Paus (Katholik) ja:ローマ教皇 simple:Pope th:พระสันตะปาปา

1073

Events


- Cardinal Hildebrand elevated to papacy as Pope Gregory VII, succeeding Pope Alexander II
- Emperor Shirakawa ascends the throne of Japan
- Rabbi Yitchaki Alfassi finishes writing the Rif, an important work of Jewish law.
- John IX bar Shushan ends term as Syrian Patriarch of Antioch
- Beginning of Sviatoslav II's reign as ruler of Kievan Rus
- Seljuk Turks conquer Ankara

Births


- David the Builder, King of Georgia
- Margrave Leopold III of Austria

Deaths


- April 21 - Pope Alexander II
- June 15 - Emperor Go-Sanjō of Japan (b. 1034) Category:1073 ko:1073년

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry IV (November 11, 1050 – August 7, 1106) was King of Germany from 1056 and Emperor from 1084, until his abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty. Henry was the eldest son of the Emperor Henry III, by his second wife Agnes de Poitou, and was probably born at the royal palace at Goslar. His christening was delayed until the following Easter so that Abbot Hugh of Cluny could be one of his godparents. But even before that, at his Christmas court Henry III induced the attending nobles to promise to be faithful to his son. Three years later, still anxious to ensure the succession, Henry III had a larger assembly of nobles elect the young Henry as his successor, and then, on July 17, 1054, had him crowned as king by Archbishop Herman of Cologne. Thus when Henry III unexpectedly died in 1056, the accession of the 6-year-old Henry IV was not opposed. The dowager Empress Agnes acted as regent. Henry's reign was marked by efforts to consolidate Imperial power. In reality, however, it was a careful balancing act between maintaining the loyalty of the nobility and the support of the pope. Henry jeopardized both when, in 1075, his insistence on the right of a secular ruler to invest, i.e., to place in office, members of the clergy, especially bishops, began the conflict known as the Investiture Controversy. In the same year he defeated a rebellion of Saxons in the First Battle of Langensalza. Pope Gregory VII excommunicated Henry on February 22, 1076. Gregory, on his way to a diet at Augsburg, and hearing that Henry was approaching, took refuge in the castle of Canossa (near Reggio Emilia), belonging to Matilda, Countess of Tuscany. Henry's intent, however, was to perform the penance required to lift his excommunication, and ensure his continued rule. He stood for three days, January 25 to January 27, 1077, outside the gate at Canossa in the snow, begging the pope to rescind the sentence (popularly portrayed as without shoes, taking no food or shelter, and wearing a hairshirt). The Pope lifted the excommunication, imposing a vow to comply with certain conditions, which Henry soon violated. In his last years Henry faced rebellions from his eldest son and his wife. He died at Liège in 1106, "like one falling asleep", after nine days of illness. He was interred next to his father at Speyer.

Marriages

In 1055 Henry was betrothed to Bertha of Maurienne, daughter of Count Otto of Savoy. They were married in June 1066. In 1068 he attempted to divorce her, but was unable and Bertha was restored as Empress a year later. She died on December 27, 1086 and was buried at the cathedral of Speyer. Their children were: # Agnes of Germany (born 1072/1073), married Frederick I von Staufen, Duke of Swabia. # Conrad (February 12 1074-July 27 1101) # Adelaide, died in infancy # Henry, died in infancy # Henry (1086) In 1089 Henry married Eupraxia of Kiev, the only daughter of Vsevolod I, Prince of Kiev, and sister to his son Vladimir Monomakh (Russian: Владимир Мономах) (1053 -- May 19, 1125), prince of Kievan Rus. She assumed the name "Adelaide" upon her coronation. In 1094 she joined a rebellion against him, accusing Henry of holding her prisoner; of forcing her to participate in orgies; and attempting a black mass on her naked body.

Sources


- Robinson, I.S. Henry IV of Germany 1056-1106, 2000 Henry IV