Pope Paul Vi And John Paul II

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.

church should rest with a church council and not the pope and that the church was

The third section dissects the formation of the New Testament with more historical context and views of other writings defined as Gnostic writing. Bruce explains the spoken words of the apostles carried as much authority as their written words and gives an in depth explanation how the Gospels and Pauline writings were viewed by the Church Fathers. The rest of the section demonstrates the Church Fathers and their views of what was to be considered scripture and the councils that affirmed the inspired scripture.

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,

During the first Vatican the catechism was used as a primary source of educating Catholics of Christian faith and doctrines of the church. The catechism consisted of teachings particularly of

Karol Józef Wojtyła, famously known as Pope John Paul II, was the Bishop of Rome and the pope of the Roman Catholic Church from October 1978 until his death on April 2005. As a pope, John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in more than four centuries and the first Polish pope of the Roman Catholic Church. His papacy lasted for 27 years, which is to this day the second longest in history (Blakemore, 2017). He was also one of the most polarizing figures during the late twentieth century. Meanwhile, Pope John Paul II was more than just a pope because he had a different style of papal leadership, diplomacy, and a high charisma unlike his previous predecessors such as Pope Pius XII and Pope Paul VI (Scott, summer of 2000). Pope John Paul II transformed his influence as a pope to a worldwide office and used it to preach more than a billion of people across the globe. According to Scheller, Schaffer, Kurlantzick, Kulman, and Stille (2005), the pope was “a trained actor and philosopher who understood the power of word and symbol and wielded both with precision, whether in meetings with heads of state or before teeming crowds of the faithful (first paragraph).” John Paul II also believed that the church can have a much bigger impact by having world communications from different countries and he delivered the gospel by travelling around different parts of the world. The late pope was also well-known for inventing the World Youth Day, which is bringing about real transformation

“One has to consult the sayings of the Fathers of the Church, as well as other ancient writers. This helps us understand the historical changes which have occurred over the years. Reading the Fathers can give meaning to many of the rubrics, many of which are not carried out properly because of lack of understanding of their meaning”.

During his Papacy, Pope John XXIII published several encyclicals promoting world peace(Pacem in Terris) and increasing the consciousness of one’s dignity and rights of workers, women and newly independent nations (Mater et Magisterum). Pacem in Terris was addressed to the whole world and received warmly by Christians and non-Christians alike. It altered thinking about the Cold War and initiated the resurgence of Catholic social teaching.

Until Vatican II the Church was split into may different factions and each was set in its own belief that they were the ‘one’ true church. After the council however, compromises and cooperation began to develop between the many denominations toward building the Christian community as a whole. Official documents concerning the liturgy and social communication were adopted during this session. The third session began on September 14, 1964 and ended on November 21, 1964 (Rynne 291). A select few religious and lay women were invited to this third session in order to incorporate different sections of the church. Ecumenism, Eastern Rite churches, and the constitution of the Church, missions, and ministries of priests were such topics discusses during this period. The fourth and last, period began on September 14, 1965 and ended on December 8, 1965 (Rynne 450). Issues considered during this period included education, laity (distinguished people not of the clergy), bishops, and religious orders. At the close of the council, the pope declared a jubilee, and asked Catholics to read and study the constitutions and decrees of the council and apply them to their spiritual lives.

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.

These speeches would account for the mass following of the Christian faith to unite under the pope and follow his commands. Pope Urban II preached

The session in each congregation has responsibility “to guide and govern the life of the congregation, [and] leads the congregation in fulfilling its responsibilities for the service of all people, for the up building of the whole church, and for the glory of God” (G-1.0103). Especially, teaching and ruling elders have responsibility “for a quality of life and relationship that commends the gospel to all person and that communicates its joy and justice” (G-2.0504). Furthermore, they need “to exercise pastoral care, devoting special attention to the poor, the sick, the troubled, and the dying” (G-2.0504). The role of Councils of the church is that “bear testimony against error in doctrine and immorality in life, resolve questions of doctrine and discipline, give counsel in matters of conscience, and decide issues properly brought before them under the provisions of this Book of Order.”

It ties in with chapter one because it links with political culture and conservatism, which are both, talked about in this chapter. Political culture is a certain set of ideas and ways of thinking that pertain to government and politics, which Pope Frances does so in his speech. This speech also illuminates conservatism in the Pope’s speech. Conservatism is a certain belief that includes a limited amount for government and in this case he is against social conservatism. However it is fairly debatable when it comes to social conservatism, because in the textbook it states an example as being that the government forces strong law enforcement and immigration control, which the Pope disagrees on. In the textbook, when it talks about social conservatism it also states that some advocate state power to restrict gambling, abortion, same-sex marriage, all in which he agrees to. I believe this is an important topic because this all will determine our nation’s and states futures. It would change the states/nation because it will eventually get rid of our culture, unbalance the society making the rich richer. I have to agree with Pope Frances, the United States in general is always focused on giving the

religious authority figures, such as that of Pope John Paul II in the article, who states,

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