About Pope

The List of Popes

2009-06-25T08:56:16Z

Here are listed all popes, from the first pope St. Peter to the current pope Benedict XVI. Several changes have been made in the list during the 20th century. For a long time Antipope Christopher was considered as a legitimate pope. Pope-elect Stephen was considered legitimate under the name Stephen II until the 1961 edition when he was erased from the list. A number of modern lists still include this "first Pope Stephen II".

Replacing a Pope

2009-09-22T15:22:14Z

The world changed dramatically on Saturday, April 2, 2005, at 9:37 p.m. Rome time. John Paul II, the second-longest serving pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church died after a lengthy illness.Hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Some visitors to the Vatican were startled by the powerful emotions that the popular pope’s death brought to the growing crowd drawn from around the world. Some dropped to their knees on the cobblestones in the square and sobbed so violently they could not be comforted by anyone; others seemed stunned as they began their cycle of grief at the loss. Pope John Paul II had been an extraordinary presence, and his absence was overwhelming.

Papal Infallibility

2004-11-11T12:44:38Z

The word "infallibility" itself means “incapability of error or deception”. One of catholic theology dogmas is that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when he solemnly declares or promulgates to the Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals as being contained in divine revelation, or at least being intimately connected to divine revelation (papal infallibility). Papal infallibility, as taught by the Catholic Church, is generally misunderstood by those outside the Church. Some imagine Catholics believe the pope cannot sin, while others think the pope relies on some sort of magic or amulet when an infallible definition is due.