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First, we call the Pope, Holy Father because he is like a father, presiding over the children of God. Why did you call your dad father? That would be blasphemous, right? We do not follow the pope, we follow Jesus. The Pope is just a leader, like the President.
Dear catholic123, If the Pope is just a leader, like the President, where (to where) is he leading his flock of a billion or more souls of Roman Catholic "faithful"?
What does the Pope of Rome (try to) make of himself?
Pope Leo X (1513-1521 AD) said: "The entire world knows how profitable this fable of Christ has been to us and ours."
Moreri (Roman theologian):
"To make war against the pope is to make war against God, seeing that the pope is God and God is the pope."
Nicolaus de Tudeschis, in "Commentaria" (lvi.34): "The pope can do all things God can do."
"We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty." Pope Leo XIII: (June 20, 1894; Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XII: Benziger Brothers, "Reunion of Christendom", p. 304)
"The pope is not only representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ Himself, hidden under the veil of the flesh. Does the pope speak? It is Jesus Christ Himself Who speaks". -- Pope (St.) Pius X
Not to be outdone, Pope Pius XI declared:
"You know that I am the Holy Father, the representative of God on earth, the Vicar of Christ, which means that I am God on earth." (Butler, Vatican I, Vol. I: also, Scriptural Truths for Roman Catholics: Dr. B. Brewer, Mission to Catholics, Int.).
"Lest anyone think that things have changed from those triumphal days of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, they have only to read the words uttered recently by Cardinal John O'Connor of New York:
"The Holy Father is the true successor of Christ on earth." (Sermon, St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, March 1987)
and until he ritual was terminated by Pope John Paul I, when the triple crown was placed on the head of a new pope at his "coronation" the officiating cardinal proclaimed:
"Receive the tiara adorned with three crowns, and know that thou art the Father of Princes and Kings, Ruler of the World; the Vicar of Our Saviour Jesus Christ ... (vicar, n., a substitute)
the ritual changed; the words remain"
(Rev. Fr. Marc Auer; pp. 12-13: The Myth of Papal Infallibility. Copyright 1990, The Cenacle, Buffalo, NY: Liberty, TN: The St. John of Kronstadt Press.).
God save us all from every error and every sin, and from the deceptiveness and craftiness of men, wherein they lie in wait to deceive: whether they be Protestant or Roman Catholic; or those who would cause any schisms within the Orthodox Church: and God protect us and prevent us from either believing or teaching any heresies. Lord have mercy: AMEN. In July 15, 2011 AD Scott R. Harrington
Erie PA
We do not pray to Mary, that is wrong, we pray through her. Thats why we always ask for "Mary's *intercession*. So she can lift up our prayers to heaven, and make them more beautiful. We confess our sins to a priest because he is representative of God.
"Since he would not always be with the Church visibly, Christ gave this power to other men so the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time (Matt. 28:20), would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations. He gave his power to the apostles, and it was a power that could be passed on to their successors and agents, since the apostles wouldn’t always be on earth either, but people would still be sinning.
God had sent Jesus to forgive sins, but after his resurrection Jesus told the apostles, "‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’" (John 20:21–23). (This is one of only two times we are told that God breathed on man, the other being in Genesis 2:7, when he made man a living soul. It emphasizes how important the establishment of the sacrament of penance was.)"
That is a quote taken from Catholic.com. If you disagree, ask them.
Dear catholic123, If the Pope is just a leader, like the President, where (to where) is he leading his flock of a billion or more souls of Roman Catholic "faithful"?
What does the Pope of Rome (try to) make of himself?
Pope Leo X (1513-1521 AD) said: "The entire world knows how profitable this fable of Christ has been to us and ours."
Moreri (Roman theologian):
"To make war against the pope is to make war against God, seeing that the pope is God and God is the pope."
Nicolaus de Tudeschis, in "Commentaria" (lvi.34): "The pope can do all things God can do."
"We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty." Pope Leo XIII: (June 20, 1894; Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XII: Benziger Brothers, "Reunion of Christendom", p. 304)
"The pope is not only representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ Himself, hidden under the veil of the flesh. Does the pope speak? It is Jesus Christ Himself Who speaks". -- Pope (St.) Pius X
Not to be outdone, Pope Pius XI declared:
"You know that I am the Holy Father, the representative of God on earth, the Vicar of Christ, which means that I am God on earth." (Butler, Vatican I, Vol. I: also, Scriptural Truths for Roman Catholics: Dr. B. Brewer, Mission to Catholics, Int.).
"Lest anyone think that things have changed from those triumphal days of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, they have only to read the words uttered recently by Cardinal John O'Connor of New York:
"The Holy Father is the true successor of Christ on earth." (Sermon, St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, March 1987)
and until he ritual was terminated by Pope John Paul I, when the triple crown was placed on the head of a new pope at his "coronation" the officiating cardinal proclaimed:
"Receive the tiara adorned with three crowns, and know that thou art the Father of Princes and Kings, Ruler of the World; the Vicar of Our Saviour Jesus Christ ... (vicar, n., a substitute)
the ritual changed; the words remain"
(Rev. Fr. Marc Auer; pp. 12-13: The Myth of Papal Infallibility. Copyright 1990, The Cenacle, Buffalo, NY: Liberty, TN: The St. John of Kronstadt Press.).
God save us all from every error and every sin, and from the deceptiveness and craftiness of men, wherein they lie in wait to deceive: whether they be Protestant or Roman Catholic; or those who would cause any schisms within the Orthodox Church: and God protect us and prevent us from either believing or teaching any heresies. Lord have mercy: AMEN. In July 15, 2011 AD Scott R. Harrington
Erie PA
We do not pray to Mary, that is wrong, we pray through her. Thats why we always ask for "Mary's *intercession*. So she can lift up our prayers to heaven, and make them more beautiful. We confess our sins to a priest because he is representative of God.
"Since he would not always be with the Church visibly, Christ gave this power to other men so the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time (Matt. 28:20), would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations. He gave his power to the apostles, and it was a power that could be passed on to their successors and agents, since the apostles wouldn’t always be on earth either, but people would still be sinning.
God had sent Jesus to forgive sins, but after his resurrection Jesus told the apostles, "‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’" (John 20:21–23). (This is one of only two times we are told that God breathed on man, the other being in Genesis 2:7, when he made man a living soul. It emphasizes how important the establishment of the sacrament of penance was.)"
That is a quote taken from Catholic.com. If you disagree, ask them.