Calling the Pope names

Yesterday, I posted a quotation from Pope John Paul XXIII for this week’s “Wise Words on Wednesday”. When I published it, I was reminded of a conversation I had with Jay about the Papacy.

I have mentioned Jay on this blog before. He was a Protestant with whom I dialogued for a few months several years ago. When speaking about the Pope, here’s what he had to say:

“…[the Pope] has the names of God such as Holy, Father, …Vicar of the Son of God (which means in place of God)” – Jay

So, Jay asserted that Catholics give the Pope “the names of God”.

When I replied to him I responded by working through each those names  in turn: “Holy”, “Father” and “Vicar”…

1. Holy
Have you never referred to someone you know as “holy”?  We know St. Paul did…

“To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father” – Colossians 1:2

2. Father
Why is there a problem in calling someone “Father”? Paul refers to himself as a father, so the practice seems pretty kosher to me…

“Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel” – 1 Corinthians 4:15

3. Vicar of the Son of God *
A vicar is one who represents another and acts as a steward, administering the position held in lieu of the true sovereign.

Earlier in our dialog you drew my attention to St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians where it says:

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us – 2 Corinthians 5:20

You then went on to say that said “the Word of God…gives me the authority to be an ambassador for Jesus Christ”. What is an ambassador? It’s one who represents his country and his sovereign. If you don’t have a problem with being called an “ambassador”, what’s wrong with calling someone a “vicar”?

So what kind of authority does Jesus give His chief Apostle?

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah…And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” – Matthew 16:17-19

(To read more about the significance of the “keys of the kingdom” see The Promised Apology)

* Please Note: The title “Vicar of the Son of God” (“Vicarius Filii Dei”) isn’t actually a title of the Pope, although it is claimed to be so by some Protestants (particularly Seventh Day Adventists) in an attempt to link the Papacy with the “Mark of the Beast” found in the Book of Revelation. This title is a distortion of the Pope’s real title of “Vicar of Christ” (“Vicarius Christi”).

 It is true that the Pope has many titles, but I do have a favourite. It’s a title that was used extensively by Pope Gregory I at the end of the Sixth and beginning of the Seventh Century. Gregory received a letter from John IV, the Patriarch of Constantinople, in which John tried to appropriate for himself the title “Ecumenical Patriarch”. Pope Gregory responded to this letter using for himself the title “Servus Servorum Dei”, which in English means “Servant of the servants of God”. This title has been in regular use by the Papacy since the Ninth Century.

 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. – John 13:13-15