Pope John XXIII

The Pope is the head of the Church: he represents the ultimate religious authority. However, as a Bishop of Rome, the Pope is also in command of certain secular affairs, including some military aspects. Certainly, the Pope is a link between the earthly and the divine realms. Problems arise when the imperfect world the Pope physically lives in interferes with his heavenly objectives. Taking Pope Gregory I as an example, I am going to look at his letters to analyze how he reconciled his political and spiritual goals, whether he valued one category over the other, and how he justified it.

This was agreed on the 20th July through the Concordat agreement between state and Vatican. Their actions in the end, regarding the Church, proved to be effective indeed for he obtained his ultimate goal – eliminate political opposition – by granting something that didn’t carry substantial drawbacks itself.

The essence of the contribution made by Pope John XXIII was his calling together of the Second Vatican Council that aimed to address modernisation of the Catholic Church,

Pope John XXIII was know as the ‘peoples pope’ because of his warm and friendly nature that people could relate to. He contributed socially, liturgically and politically to Christianity especially in the Catholic church. Pope John XXIII was an advocate of Christian unity, social justice, human rights and the promotion of world peace. Through his work with the Vatican II, Ecumenism, interfaith and his encyclicals as well as his initiative with world leaders he set a new task for Church and a new perception for the papacy. This in turn had a huge impact on the development and expression of Christianity worldwide

Pope John XXIII played a vital role in shaping Christianity as we know it today. He contributed socially, politically and liturgically and was a major influence in the establishment of ecumenism and interfaith dialogue between other churches and religions. He advocated Christian unity, social justice, human rights and the promotion of world peace, and his openness to all people led to him obtaining the name “Good Pope John”.

In the 11th Century, Pope Urban II called the Christians to battle, stating that they should go “carry aid promptly” to their “brethren who live in the east” as they were being attacked by the Turks and Arabs (Pope Urban II). Pope Urban II went on to say that they must “destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends” or else the Christians would be more “widely attacked.” He ended his speech by declaring that “Christ commands” (Pope Urban II) that the people go and assist their Christian brothers. If they did not go and take up this call to arms, they risked the disapproval of the Lord. After the Pope’s speech calling the Christian people to action, many went to the aid of their fellow Christians.

On May 18, 1920, in a small Polish town just outside of Wadowice, a child was born to Karol Wojtyla (1879-1941, and Emilia Kaczorosks (1884-1929). His name was Karol Jozef Wojtyla. Little did his parents know that one day their child was destined not only to become a priest and a bishop, but the 264th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, and only the second non-Italian pope.

For over a period of seven hundred plus years, from Gregory the Great’s papacy to Boniface VIII’s papacy, the world experienced many influential popes, whose accomplishments changed the course of history. Many of these popes become known for both their positive accomplishments, which brought prosperity to their people, and for their failures, which in many cases led to their own death. Throughout the given time period, Pope Nicholas II, Pope Gregory VII, Pope Innocent III, and Pope Gregory IX, were all influential popes whose accomplishments are what they are most remembered for. First, Pope Nicholas II decreed that the College of Cardinals would obtain authority to choose the pope. The College of Cardinals was made up of a group of Roman Church officials who were in charge of electing the pope, which was put in place to prevent kings from selecting popes.

The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II as it is often called, was an Ecumenical Council, (which means it affected the worldwide Christian community) of the Roman Catholic Church. It began on October 11, 1962 under, Pope John XXIII with over two thousand attendants (Hollis 23). The council ended on December 8, 1965, with Pope Paul VI presiding over the council due to the death of Pope John XXIII in 1963. The council consisted of four different sessions convening in the fall of the four years during which the council took place. Topics discussed and debated throughout the council were issues concerning the church, the liturgy, revelation and scripture, and the clergy.

As time constantly presses forward and the earth continues to revolve, the world will never stop progressing and adapting to better suit the needs of mankind. The evolution of religion has greatly enhanced the quality of life for humanity by providing individuals with a strong belief system that is now the foundation of many peoples’ core values. One universal religion that has undergone extensive amounts of reform is Christianity. In particular, the Catholic church is well-known for the development of their famous ecumenical council meetings that help determine the future of the church. Numerous Councils have been conducted throughout the course of history, but none more significant than the most recent, the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II. The Catholic church was operating as if it was still the medieval period and desperately needed to be modernized. As a result, every Roman Catholic Church official was gathered to meet and devise a plan for how to introduce the church to the modern world. Consequently, the following will reveal the Second Vatican Council and the ramifications of the agenda, history and theology evolution, significant texts, and new developments.

Pope John Paul II like any other religious authority was an opponent of war and denounced it on any such chance he could. During the time period of his reign many wars and massacres took place, and Pope John Paul did everything he could to prevent or shorten these wars such as speaking to the political leaders involved, or saying words of courage and reform to the people. Pope John Paul also played an important role in the fall of communism in his native Poland. Through his words of prayer to the people, his pilgrimages of peace, and the establishment of solidarity John Paul was able to end communism in Poland for good. For this His Holiness also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. John Paul did the same countries such as: Paraguay, Haiti and Chile which were under dictators at the time. One of the most admirable qualities about Pope John Paul II was his love and respect for all other religions. It was often talked about his relations with leaders of all other religions and the religions itself. There were three things that most people say Pope John Paul II loved the most. The first thing was the Eucharist. Many say that once his holiness saw the Eucharist he would get derailed from whatever he was doing and go into deep prayer for several hours, and there was nothing anyone could

Pope Leo X was a leader during the Renaissance and had many accomplishments during his time as pope. He had a few issues with money and power, but he was still an important figure in Renaissance

Pope Gregory VII also known Hildebrand was born in 1025 near Sovana, Italy. He was one of the greatest popes of the medieval church. He was in office from 1073-1085. He was brought into office by Pope Paul X. He was the first pope to overthrow a crowned ruler. Gregory brought animated his religious beliefs while he was in office.

Success of the Council of Trent in the years 1545-1563 in Tackling the Problems Confronting the Catholic Church

Pope John Paul the Second It was recently this year that the Catholic world had lost its leader,