Papal Claims to Authority
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Papal Claims to Authority
Here you see the coat of arms for the Vatican City State. Take
note of the crown on top, a symbol of papal authority. It is a
triple tiered crown, that is also called a tiara or triregno in
Latin.
Concerning the extent of Papal dignity, authority, or dominion and infallibility.
(Quoadea quoeconcernunt papae dignitatem, auctoritatem, seu potestatem, et
infallibilitatem.)
#1. "The Pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not mere man, but as it were
God, and the vicar of God."
(#1. "Papa tantae est dignitatis et cesitudinis, ut non sit simplex homo, sed quasi Deus, et
Dei vicarius.")
#13. "Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of
the lower regions."
(#13. Hinc Papa triplici corona coronatur tanquam rex coeli, terre et infernoram.")
#18. "As to papal authority, the Pope is as
it were God on earth, Sole sovereign of all
the faithful of Christ, chief king of kings,
having a plentitude of unbroken power,
entrusted by the omnipotent God to
govern the earthly and heavenly
kingdoms."
(#18. "Deveniendo ad Papae auctoritatem,
Papa est quasi Deus in terra unicaus
Christifidelium princeps, regum omnium
rex maximus, plenitudinem potestatis
continens, cui terreni simul, ac coelestis
imperii gubernacula ab omnipotenti Deo
credita sunt.")
John XXIII wearing the triregno crown
presented to him in 1959.
#30. "The Pope is of so great authority and power, that he is able to modify,
declare, or interpret even divine laws."
(#30. "Papa tantae est auctoritatis et potestatis, ut possit quoque leges divinas
modificare, declarare, vel interpretari, ad num.")
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Source: Lucius Ferraris, “Papa,” art. 2, in his Prompta Bibliotheca Canonica,
Juridica, Moralis, Theologica, Ascetica, Polemica, Rubristica, Historica. (“Handy
Library”), Vol. 5, published in Petit-Montrouge (Paris) by J. P. Migne, 1858 edition, column
1823, Latin.
Scanned pages from Ferraris' Prompta Bibliotheca for those
Here are the relevant
who would like to see the original Latin text of the above quotes.
These papal claims, to include the presumed authority to modify the divine laws of God,
were specifically prophesied in the book of Daniel:
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear
out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: (of the
most High) and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the
dividing of time.
It is a remarkable fact that the first instance upon record in which the bishop
of Rome attempted to rule the Christian church was by AN EDICT IN
BEHALF OF SUNDAY. It had been the custom of all the churches to
celebrate the passover, but with this difference: that while the eastern churches
observed it upon the fourteenth day of the first month, no matter what day of
the week this might be, the western churches kept it upon the Sunday
following that day; or rather, upon the Sunday following Good Friday. Victor,
bishop of Rome, in the year 196,36 took upon him to impose the Roman
custom upon all the churches; that is, to compel them to observe the passover
upon Sunday. "This bold attempt," says Bower, "we may call the first essay of
papal usurpation."37 And Dowling terms it the "earliest instance of Romish
assumption."38
36
Bower`s History of the Popes, vol. 1. pp. 18, 19;
Rose's Neander, pp. 188-190;
Dowling`s History of Romanism, book 1, chap. 2. sec. 9.
37
History of the Popes, vol. 1. p. 18.
38
History of Romanism, heading of page 32.
Source: History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week, by J.N. Andrews,
Chapter 16, Origin of First-Day Observance, copyright 1998, TEACH
Services, Inc., ISBN 1-57258-107-7, page 276.
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In the coronation of all popes — including
Pius XII, on March 12, 1939 — the tiara is
placed on the candidate’s head with the
words:
“Receive the tiara adorned with three
crowns and know that thou art Father of
princes and kings, Ruler of the world, Vicar
of our Savior Jesus Christ.”*
Pius XII wearing the 1877 tiara of Pius
IX
Photo by Keystone
If this phraseology had not been sanctified
by long usage, it would not have been
coined in this generation to express the
relation of the pope to the political and
social order; but it would not have been
created in the first place if it had not meant
then what it says — “Ruler of the world.”
Source: Paul Hutchinson and Winfred E. Garrison, 20 Centuries of Christianity: A Concise
History (1st ed.), p. 120. © 1959 by Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., New York.
* According to the Vatican web site, this interpretation of the triple crown is found in the Pontificale Romanum
Clementis VIII, Editio Princeps (1595-1596), the official liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. See below for
the Latin wording.
The Papal Tiara
The occasions on which the Pope wears the tiara are laid down by Papal
protocol as follows:
(a) at Mass for his coronation;
(b) at Mass for the Feasts of the Epiphany, the Annunciation,
Easter, the Ascension, SS Peter and Paul, All Saints, and on the
third Mass on Christmas Day; and
(c) when the Pope celebrates Pontifical Mass.
In addition the tiara is worn on certain special occasions such as the
canonization of a new Saint.
Source: European Regalia, by Lord Twining, made and printed by William Clowes and
Sons Ltd, London and Beccles for the publishers B T Batsford LTD, 4 Fitzhardinge Street,
Portman Square, London W1, 1967, pg. 117.
THE TIARA or triple crown is not, properly speaking, so much an
ecclesiastical as it is a royal ornament; it was supposed to have been first worn
only with a single coronet, by Pope Sylvester in the time of the emperor
Constantine. Innocent III. about the year 1200. writes, that the church gave to
himself a crown for the temporal dominion and a mitre for the priesthood. It is
generally thought that Boniface VIII. about the year 1300. was the first who
added a second coronet to shew the spiritual supremacy and the temporal
power united: and about twenty years afterwards John XXII. or according to
others Urban V. more than sixty years later, placed the third coronet upon it,
thus making a tiara to exhibit the pontifical, the imperial, and the royal
authority combined. To the wearer and to the beholder instructive lessons are
taught, the one and the other are admonished that the head upon which it is
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borne is supposed to be endowed with proper science, as it certainly possesses
power of government, and spiritual jurisdiction; and the variety of its
knowledge should emulate the beauty of that decoration which is externally
shewn.
Source: EXPLANATION OF THE CONSTRUCTION, FURNITURE AND ORNAMENTS
OF A CHURCH, OF THE VESTMENTS OF THE CLERGY, AND OF THE NATURE
AND CEREMONIES OF THE MASS. BY THE RT. REV. JOHN ENGLAND, D. D.,
Bishop of Charleston, U. S. A., Honorary Member of the Rom. Pont. Academy of
Archaeology, &C. &C., BALTIMORE: PUBLISHED BY F. LUCAS, JR. 138 Market
street, 1834, pgs. 116-117.
Tiara regularly used to dress
the Vatican's statue of Peter.
Click on photo for a close up view
The most respected of the
ecclesiastical symbols, the tiara,
or triregno, is also a symbol of
the pope's authority over the
Church. No one knows for
certain when the tiara originated,
and it has undergone many
changes since it first appeared at
the Papal Court. The tiara
comprises three separate crowns,
or diadems. The bottom crown
appeared in the ninth century as
ornamentation at the base of the
mitre.
When pontiffs assumed the
temporal role of sovereign
princes, they further adorned the
base decorations with the jeweled
crown of the princes of the time.
The second crown was added by
Pope Boniface VIII in A.D. 1298
to
represent
his
spiritual
dominion. By A.D. 1315, the
triregno
appears
in
the
documentation of the Papal
Treasury.
Source: The Church Visible, by James-Charles
Noonan, Jr., © 1996, published by Viking, the
Penguin Group, ISBN 0-670-86745-4, page
189.
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From Rome In Colour
Copyright by Casa Editrice Lozzi, Rome
http://biblelight.net/claims.htm
Film of the funeral procession of Pius XII
On the left is a silver-gilt triregno tiara set with imitation stones that has been used since
1736* to dress the statue of Peter in St. Peter's Basilica on June 29th, the Solemnity of St.
Peter and St. Paul. On the right the same tiara appears to be on top the hearse in the funeral
procession of Pius XII. It is an oversized tiara made especially to fit the statue of Peter, and
is too large for any Pope to wear.
* Source: European Regalia, by Lord Twining, made and printed by William Clowes and
Sons Ltd, London and Beccles for the publishers B T Batsford LTD, 4 Fitzhardinge Street,
Portman Square, London W1, 1967, pg. 117.
In the
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C., a tripletiered papal tiara is on permanent display (See #6 in the virtual tour of the crypt church).
This tiara is shown above being worn by Pope Paul VI, who offered to sell it to benefit the
poor, however Cardinal Spellman of New York persuaded the pope to donate it to the
Catholics of the U.S. in the hope that it would inspire offerings for the world's poor. The
medal shown above, depicting the coronation of Pope Paul VI, was sold, and the proceeds
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then were donated to charities.
Papal Tiara is Persian
(Babylonian?) in design.
"The origin of the tiara is not
known,
though
it
is
fashioned after the Persian
royal headpiece."
Source: The Catholic Encyclopedia,
Revised and Updated, © 1987, by Robert
C. Broderick, Editor, Published by
Thomas
Nelson,
Inc.,
ISBN
0-8407-5544-9, p. 579.
Tiara of Pope Paul VI
as displayed in the Vatican's pavilion
at the 1964-65 World's Fair
in New York city.
On the right is a Persian triple-horned
headpiece depicted on gate A in the citadel of
King Sargon II (721-705 B.C.), in Khorsabad
(Iraq). The triple-horned headpiece indicated
deity, and was worn by the pagan Sun gods
Shamash and Ashur.
This may well be the origin of the triple-tiered
papal tiara as claimed by the Catholic
Encyclopedia, cited above.
Photo is from the 1933-34 expedition of the
Oriental Institute of The University of Chicago.
Oriental Institute Negative Number: N 18525
Pope John Paul I and John Paul II, in 1978, and Benedict XVI in 2005, all refused a formal
coronation ceremony with the triple-tiered crown, as it was considered to be out of step
with the less pompous tone set by their predecessor Pope Paul VI and Vatican II's emphasis
on the pastoral role of the Papacy, rather than its temporal authority. Benedict XVI even
went so far as to remove the triple tiara from his coat of arms, and replaced it with a miter
with three stripes representing his papal authority.
The Vatican's papal sacristies of the Sistine Chapel (room of the Copricapi), and St. Peter's
Basilica in Rome, apparently have nearly twenty papal tiaras, and a few are known to be
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on permanent display elsewhere.
1. Tiara of Pope Sylvester I (314-335)
Basilica San Martino ai Monti (St Martin's in the Hills) on Esquiline hill in
Rome (a few blocks southwest of St. Mary Major), also known as Santi
Silvestro e Martino ai Monti, is said to have a papal tiara in the sacristy
thought to have belonged to Pope Sylvester I.
2. Pasteboard tiara of Pius VII (1800)
During the sack of Rome in 1527, Pope Clement VII had all the papal tiaras
and other regalia stripped of jewels, broken up, and melted down for the gold
by Benvenuto Cellini to prevent their capture by the forces of Emperor
Charles V.
As a result of the Treaty of Tolentino, February 19th, 1797, Pope Pius VI
turned over to Napoleon papal tiaras, jewelry, and works of art, to pay the
imposed war debt.
Napoleon seized any remaining papal tiaras and other jewelry in 1798 when he
closed down the papal state and took Pope Pius VI prisoner. It was reported
that one gemstone, a large diamond, escaped Napoleon's forces. As a result,
Pope Pius VII was crowned in 1800 with a pasteboard tiara profusely
ornamented with gold and silver embroidery and set with imitation colored
gems, and the one remaining genuine gemstone.
Pope Leo XIII was reported to frequently wear this imitation papier-mâché
tiara instead of a real one because it was much lighter in weight, and therefore
easier for him to wear.
A papal medal from 1805 struck to commemorate Pius VII's meeting with
Napoleon, which shows him wearing what is probably the pasteboard tiara.
"It is made of cloth of silver stretched over paper or leather, like all the other
tiaras, but instead of being encrusted with magnificent gems, it is decorated
with films of precious stones as thin as paper, with a backing of tinsel. Don
Giacomo calls it all paper, so as to make the most of the rigours of the
captivity at Savona and Fontainebleau." — The Secrets of the Vatican, by
Douglas Sladen, published by Hurst and Blackett, limited, 1907, pgs. 409, 410.
Probably the same tiara listed for 1820.
3. Tiara of Pius VII (1805)
Gift of Napoleon, made by Henry August and Marie-Etienne Nitot, House of
Chaumet, Paris.
Presented to the Pope in Paris on April 4, 1805 (The Times, London, April 16,
1805). Pius VII had been in Paris since November 28, 1804, for the coronation
of Napoleon on December 2, and this tiara was presented to the Pope on the
day of his departure from Paris. Other accounts say the tiara was delivered to
the Pope by Cardinal Fesch in June of 1805 along with a formal written
request from Napoleon that the marriage of his brother to an American
Protestant be annulled. Pius VII never granted the request.
In a letter dated June 23, 1805, Pius VII thanked Napoleon for the tiara, and
said he would first wear it for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29th).
(Notes and Queries, A Medium of Intercommunication for Literary Men,
General Readers, Etc., Eighth Series, Volume Ninth, January-June 1896,
London, Jan. 4th, 1896, pgs. 9, 10, article by Hartwell de la Garde Grissell,
Papal Chamberlain of Honor, beginning in 1869, to both Pius IX and Leo
XIII.)
Intended as an insult according to press reports for the recent museum tour,
which claimed it was made intentionally too small for the pope to wear. It also
originally had 3 plaques glorifying Napoleon (these have been removed).
Described in 1874 as worth £8800, weighing 8 pounds, and having three
crowns, all different from each other. (Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol.
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CXV, January - June, 1874, American Edition, Volume LXXVIII, New York,
Leonard Scott Publishing Co., May, 1874, pg. 623)
Two bands of pearls on each crown.
Top crown has a small plaque reading SPIRITUS SANCTUS - POSUIT
(EPISCOPOS) - REGERE ECCLESIUM DEI - ACT. APOST. 20/28, citing
Acts 20:28.
Middle crown has a small plaque reading HINC SUNT DUAE OLIVA - ET
DUA CANDELABRA - IN COSPECTU DOMINI - APOC. 11/4, citing
Revelation 11:4.
Bottom crown has a small plaque reading JUSTITIA ET PAX - OSCULATAE
SUNT. - PSAL. 84/11, citing Psalm 85:10 (84:11 in the Latin Vulgate).
One of the world's largest emeralds, taken from a tiara originally made by
Caradosso (Ambrogio Foppa) for pope Julius II, and re-fashioned by Gregory
XIII (who added the emerald), is under the cross on top of the tiara. The
emerald weighs 404 1/2 carats and is inscribed "Gregorius XIII, P.O.M."
(Pontifici Optimo Maximo). The tiara of Julius II escaped the sack of Rome in
1527 as it was pawned at the time, but it was greatly re-fashioned by Pius VI
in 1789, and later broken up by Napoleon. A colored drawing of the original
tiara of Julius II, done in the early 18th century, is in the print room of the
British Museum.
Buried for safekeeping (because of civil unrest) in 1831 by Gregory XVI.
When later dug up it was found to be in bad condition and missing gems.
Restored by the jeweler Hannibal Rolta in 1833, it weighs about eight pounds
(Dubuque Democratic Herald, May 1, 1864).
This tiara was reportedly used for papal coronations, to include that of Pope
Pius IX on June 21, 1846.
The United States Catholic Magazine And Monthly Review, Volume V,
1846, pg. 454.
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, Jan. 6, 1849, No. 262, pg, 74.
Worn by Pius IX during the Vatican Council of 1870. (Notes and Queries, A
Medium of Intercommunication for Literary Men, General Readers, Etc.,
Eighth Series, Volume Ninth, January-June 1896, London, Jan. 4th, 1896, pgs.
9, 10, article by Hartwell de la Garde Grissell, Papal Chamberlain of Honor,
beginning in 1869, to both Pius IX and Leo XIII.)
It was estimated in 1903 to be worth $50,000.
The tiara as seen today is not in its original state (see illustration on this page).
The tiara was originally encrusted with 3,345 precious stones and 2,990 pearls,
but it was reportedly stripped of its gems by Pope Benedict XV*, who sold
them and donated the proceeds to victims of World War I. Today the only
original genuine jewel remaining on the highly modified tiara is the large
emerald on top, the rest are colored glass. * Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Feb.
3, 2006.
Displayed in the St. Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Popes museum
exhibit.
Photo and history on pages 452-3 of St. Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of
the Popes, by Allen Dunston, O.P., and Roberto Zagnoli, ISBN 0-88397-140-2
(paperback catalogue).
A photo is below. A high resolution photo.
Illustration of original tiara on this page.
4. Tiara of Pius VII (1820)
Lightweight, woven silver cloth, with crowns of gold braiding and imitation
gems, topped by a silver cross. Produced in Lyon, France.
The top crown is embroidered with bees and the all seeing eye, the middle
crown is embroidered with the lamb of God and crosses, and the lower crown
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5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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is embroidered with triangles (Holy Trinity) and papal tiaras with crossed keys.
Photo and history on page 345 of St. Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the
Popes, by Allen Dunston, O.P., and Roberto Zagnoli, ISBN 0-88397-140-2
(paperback catalogue).
Tiara of Gregory XVI (1834/1855)
Two bands of 90 pearls on each crown (see below for picture).
Studded with 146 gems and a cross of 11 diamonds on top of a blue enameled
globe of gold.
As originally made for Gregory XVI, it was too small for Pius IX to wear, so he
had it reworked by the goldsmith Pietro Paolo Spagna (1793-1861) to a larger
size. Embellishments by Pius IX included his heraldic coat of arms on the
lappets / infulae. This reworked / new tiara was worn for the first time by Pius
IX on Easter of 1855. (See Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da
S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni - Dictionary of Historical-Ecclesiastical
Erudition from St. Peter to the Present), by Gaetano Moroni, printed in Venice
by Tipografia Emiliana, volume 81, 1856, pg. 64.)
Displayed in The Seductive Treasures of Gold and Civilisation, and The
Nature of Diamonds museum exhibits.
Photo and brief description in Gold and Civilisation, National Museum of
Australia, Canberra, 2001, ISBN: 1875460136, on page 161.
Another color picture at Corbis (image DL001116)
Worn by Pius XI for his coronation in 1922. (Photo, The Illustrated London
News, Feb. 18, 1922)
Tiara of Gregory XVI (1845)
Gift of Queen Maria Christina of Spain, about June of 1845 (The Patriot,
London, June 12, 1845, Church and State Gazette, June 13, 1845, London,
Weekly Chronicle, June 14, 1845, London, Sandusky Clarion, Sandusky, Ohio,
July 11, 1845, Huron Reflector, Norwalk, Ohio, July 15, 1845, and New York
Evangelist, Aug. 7, 1845, pg.127).
Valued at 100,000f. (£4,000), manufactured by M. Martinez, of Madrid.
(Mémorial Bordelais, 4 June, 1845, journal politique de Bordeaux, Aquitaine.)
Displayed with the 1805 Napoleonic tiara, and the 1860 Palatine Guard tiara,
in the exposition of Catholic art opened on February 15, 1870 by Pope Pius
IX, at the cloister of the Carthusians, S. Maria degli Angeli, Rome. (Letters
from Rome on the occasion of the Oecumenical Council, 1869-1870, Vol. II,
1891, by Rev. Thomas Mozley, pg. 48.
Tiara of Gregory XVI (?)
Towards the end of his pontificate, Gregory XVI commissioned this much
lighter tiara of thinner pure gold, since he was not satisfied with wearing the
sham papier-mâché tiara of Pius VII. The new tiara was valued at $1,500 by
L'Unità Cattolica of Turin, Italy (Defiance Democrat, Defiance Ohio, July 18,
1878).
Tiara of Pius IX (1846?)
Made especially for the coronation of Pius IX, June 21, 1846, newspaper
reports said this tiara was used in the coronations of both Pius XII in 1939 and
John XXIII in 1958, although photos taken at these coronations indicate it was
the 1877 blue-banded tiara of Pius IX that was actually used.
Contemporary news reports said Pius IX wore the 1805 Napoleonic tiara for
his coronation.
Tiara of Pius IX (1848)
New Year's gift from Queen Maria Amalia of the French.
Set with diamonds from the Duchess de Penthievre encased in violet enamel.
(New Zealand Spectator And Cook's Strait Guardian, Aug. 2, 1848)
Tiara of Pius IX (1854)
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11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
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Gift of Queen Isabella II of Spain.
Crowns resemble ducal crowns, with pearl ornaments alternating with leaf
ornaments.
Encrusted with about 18,000 diamonds, pearls, rubies, emeralds, and
sapphires.
Prominent red rubies alternate with green emeralds on each crown.
Topped by an azure blue sapphire encrusted globe and diamond studded cross.
Worn by Pius IX for the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception, Dec. 8, 1854. (Crowns and Coronations, a History of Regalia, by
William Jones, London, Chatto & Windus, 1902, pg. 408.)
Color picture at Corbis (image 0000355312-004)
Another color picture
Valued at 500,000 Francs ($50,000), some reports say it was sold by Pius IX
for pious and benevolent purposes (Defiance Democrat, Defiance Ohio, July
18, 1878), or to found Seminario Pio (New Zealand Tablet, Nov. 5, 1903),
while another says only a donation equal to its value was donated to the poor,
but in any case it was recently photographed in the papal sacristy.
Tiara of Pius IX (?)
Donated to the Congregation of Holy Cross at Notre Dame by Pope Pius IX
upon approving its constitutions in 1857, granting Holy Cross official
ecclesiastical recognition as a religious institute.
On permanent display in the museum of University of Notre Dame's Basilica
of the Sacred Heart, South Bend, Indiana.
Crowns are progressively larger in diameter towards the top. See photo below.
May be the light weight tiara commissioned by Gregory XVI.
Tiara of Pius IX (1860)
Presented to the pope by his Palatine Guard to celebrate the 15th jubilee year
of his pontificate (Bay City Press, Green Bay Wisconsin, August 18, 1860).
Valued at 20,000 Francs.
Tiara of Pius IX (1865)
Presented to the pope to celebrate the 20th jubilee year of his pontificate
(Advent Review and Sabbath Herald article by Chas T. Everson, dated July 27,
1905, page 11).
Tiara of Pius IX (1870)
Gift from John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, Scotland.
Encrusted with diamonds, valued at 35,000 Pounds. (Tuapeka Times, Otago,
New Zealand, Jan 6, 1870)
Tiara of Pius IX (1871)
Presented to Pope Pius IX by the ladies of the royal court of Belgium to honor
the 25th anniversary of his coronation (see below for picture).
Upper crown inscribed: IESV CHRISTI VICARIO INFALLIBILI which means
To The Infallible Vicar of Jesus Christ.
Middle crown inscribed: ORBIS SVPREMO IN TERRA RECTORI which
means To the Supreme Governor of the World on Earth
Lower crown inscribed: REGUM ATQVE POPVLORVM PATRI which means
To the Father of Nations and Kings.
Tall flat-panel segmented crowns.
Displayed in the Vatican pavilion of Brisbane, Australia's 1988 World Expo.
(The Holy See: Vatican Collection, Desmond MacAulay (Editor), Istituto
Trust, ISBN: 0731627628, 1988, item #51.)
Displayed in St. Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Popes museum
exhibit.
Photo on page 178 of St. Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Popes, by
Allen Dunston, O.P., and Roberto Zagnoli, ISBN 0-88397-140-2 (paperback
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catalogue).
16. Tiara of Pius IX (1877)
Gift of the Vatican's Palatine Honor Guard for Pius IX's Golden Episcopal
Jubilee (May 21, 1877).
Neo-baroque, with two dark blue enameled bands on each crown. (see below
for color image)
Another color picture at Corbis (image DL001141)
One of three tiaras displayed as part of the Papal Splendor Treasures of the
Vatican exhibit in Utrecht, Netherlands, September 11, 2003, to January 4th,
2004. Also displayed were a replica of the modernistic tiara of Paul VI (1963),
and the neo-gothic1887 tiara of Leo XIII.
Displayed in Singapore (18 June - 9 October, 2005), in the Journey of Faith
exhibit.
On display from December 7, 2006 thru April 9, 2007 in the Habemus Papam
exhibit at the Lateran Palace, Rome.
Used for the coronations of Pius XII and John XXIII.
17. Tiara of Pius IX (?)
The lightweight tiara of Gregory XVI was too small to fit Pius IX, so he had a
similar lightweight tiara made for himself, apparently in the later years of his
pontificate. (Defiance Democrat, Defiance Ohio, July 18, 1878)
18. Tiara of Leo XIII (1887)
A gift of emperor Wilhelm I of Germany.
This tiara was worn by the pope on December 23, 1887, and January 1st,
1888, in celebration of the Golden Jubilee (50th anniversary) of his priesthood
(December 31st, 1887).
Set with 1,000 pearls.
Valued at $750,000 in 1903. (Trenton Times, July 9, 1903)
19. Tiara of Leo XIII (1887)
Gift of the Empress of Austria for the Pope's Jubilee (December 31st, 1887).
Valued at 150,000 Flourins. (Davenport Morning Tribune, Dec. 29, 1887)
20. Tiara of Leo XIII (1887)
Neo-gothic tiara given to Leo XIII by the Catholics of Paris to celebrate the
50th anniversary of his priesthood (December 31st, 1887).
Worn by Leo XIII in procession after the Sunday Mass of January 1, 1888
(Davenport Daily Republican, Jan, 3, 1888).
A golden tiara originally studded with 19 emeralds, 11 sapphires, 32 rubies,
529 diamonds and 252 pearls. (The Ave Maria, Notre Dame, Indiana, July 2,
1887, Vol. XXV, No. 1, page 564). Most of these have since been removed.
The silver cloth was embroidered with fine pearls.
A large diamond caps the cross on top. (Davenport Morning Tribune, Dec. 29,
1887)
Made by the house of François Désiré Froment-Meurice.
Described as weighing six pounds, topped with a globe of diamonds three
inches in circumference, and a cross of gold set with large diamonds. (Daily
Nevada State Journal, Feb. 9, 1888)
Valued at $250,000 in 1903. (Trenton Times, July 9, 1903)
Displayed in Utrecht, Netherlands, September 11, 2003, through January 4,
2004, in the Pracht en praal van de Paus exhibit in Museum
Catharijneconvent.
Illustration of the tiara at NYPL Digital Gallery (enter 498565 in the search
box).
Tiara photo and illustration of Leo XIII wearing the tiara.
lllustration of Pius X wearing the tiara.
21. Tiara of Leo XIII (1894)
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Gift of Emperor Franz-Joseph of Austria-Hungary
Worn by the pope Sunday, February 18, 1894, after the last Mass of his Jubilee
year (15th of his pontificate). (Manitoba Morning Free Press, Winnipeg, Feb.
20, 1894)
22. Tiara of Leo XIII (1902)
A Jubilee gift of the Catholics of England, this gold tiara had a reported value
of 40,000 pounds (Davenport Dailey Republican, Feb. 23, 1902).
Presented to the Pope by Cardinal Respighi, Vicar General, on March 3, 1902
(Daily Iowa State Press, March 3, 1902). But on this date, Leo XIII celebrated
his 24th jubilee by wearing an older tiara of Pius IX that "glittered with many
jewels, the top being crowned with an orb of lapis-lazuli [blue stone] and a
golden cross." (Life of Leo XIII, by Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, John C. Winston
Co., 1903, page 712.) Just the top of this tiara can be seen in the lower left
corner of the photo on this page.
The new tiara was described as having a royal crown of fleur de lys on the
bottom, a princely or ducal crown (acanthus leaves) in the middle, and a
count's coronet (rays topped by pearls) on top (Washington Post, Feb. 25,
1911).
Reportedly it would be worn by the Pope on that Easter Sunday, March 30th.
(Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, March 1, 1902).
Papal medal from 1902 that apparently shows this tiara.
23. Tiara of Leo XIII (1903) (Photo below)
Presented to the pope on February 20, 1903, by Cardinal Respighi, vicar of
Rome, on behalf of the Catholics of Bologna to celebrate the silver jubilee of
his pontificate. The elaborate all metal silver and golden triple tiara was valued
at $25,000. First worn by the Pope on March 3rd, 1903, the 25th anniversary
of his coronation.
Papal medal showing this crown.
Upper crown inscribed - REGIS CHRISTI PASTORVM PASTOR OVILIS
OMNE. Apparently means "King Christ's chief shepherd of all the sheepfold".
Middle crown inscribed - NESCIVS ERRANDI FIDEI
MORVMQVE MAGISTER which means "Inerrant teacher of faith and
morals".
Lower crown inscribed - SACERDOS MAXIMVS IN TERRIS DIVINO IVRE
which means "High priest on earth by divine law".
Above the lower crown are six medallions, four are portraits of Pius IX, Leo
XIII, St. Peter, and an angel.
Above the middle crown are two medallions, one the image of our Divine
Redeemer represented as the Good Shepherd, the other the seal of the Solemn
Homage.
At the time of his death Leo XIII was reported, in newspapers of the day, to
have 30 jewel-encrusted tiaras and over 100 rings in his collection. (The Life
of Pope Leo XIII, by James Martin Miller, published by G. H. Harr, Omaha,
Neb., 1908, pg. 491.)
Displayed in St. Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Popes museum
exhibit.
Photo and history on page 309 of St. Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the
Popes, by Allen Dunston, O.P., and Roberto Zagnoli, ISBN 0-88397-140-2
(paperback catalogue).
Restored and on display at the Museo Diocesano Vicenza, Italy, through Jan
10th, 2010.
24. Tiara of Pius X (1908)
Made by the papal jeweler Tantani to be presented to the pope in November of
1908 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his priesthood (Sept 18, 1858).
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25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
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This new lighter tiara was commissioned by the pope because the 1903 jubilee
tiara of his predecessor Leo XIII, which he wore only once, was too heavy for
him. (Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, May 24, 1908.)
Tiara of Pius XI (1922)
Gift of the people of Milan.
Bullet-shaped with pointed top.
Single band of pearls on top crown.
Fleur-des-lis on the crowns alternate with green gems.
Worn by Pope John XXIII
Displayed in the Museum of Applied Art in Vilnius, Lithuania, September
2003, commemorating the 10th anniversary of Pope John Paul's II visit to
Lithuania.
On display from December 7, 2006 thru April 9, 2007 in the Habemus Papam
exhibit at the Lateran Palace, Rome.
A photo is below.
Tiara of Pius XI (1922)
Presented to the pope on December 15, 1922 by Cardinal Tosi, Archbishop of
Milan, on behalf of the Milan archdiocese.
Valued at 2,000,000 Lire at the time.
Said to be encrusted with 2,000 precious stones, but weighs only 2 pounds.
Photo appeared in the Rock Valley Bee, Rock Valley, Iowa, Dec. 29, 1922, and
the Palatine Enterprise, Palatine, Illinois, Dec. 29, 1922.
Postcard from 1929 (50th anniversary of his priesthood) showing Pius XI
wearing this tiara.
Tiara of John XXIII (1959)
Presented to the pope in the Clementine hall of the Vatican on May 2, 1959,
by the people of Bergamo, the region of northern Italy where pope John XXIII
was born.
Valued at the time at $5,000 and weighing just over two pounds, it has 20
diamonds, 16 emeralds, 68 rubies and 70 pearls.
The presentation had been delayed because the Pope specially requested that
the number of gems be reduced by half, and the savings in cost be given to
charity.
See photos above and below.
On display in the Cappella di San Vincenzo, at the Bergamo Cathedral.
Tiara of John XXIII (?)
In the private collection of jeweler Jürgen Abeler, Wuppertaler, Germany.
Photo.
Tiara of Paul VI (1963)
Made for the pope by the artisans of Milan, his former Archdiocese.
Rather plain, futuristic rocket or bullet-shaped.
Weighs 10 pounds, and was valued at $10,000 at the time.
Given up by the pope on November 13, 1964, during the ecumenical council.
Displayed in the Vatican's pavilion at the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York
city.
On permanent display in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception,
Washington D. C. (see above for picture)
Tiara of John Paul II (1981)
Presented by the people of Hungary in 1981.
JPII never publicly wore this or any other tiara.
Photo
Tiara of Benedict XVI (2011)
Presented May 25, 2011 by Catholics from his native Germany.
Similar in appearance to the 1922 tiara of Pius XI, but has violet-blue and
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white gems rather than green, and a red ruby in the center of the cross on top.
Benedict has not worn a tiara prior to receiving this gift, and will surely be
under pressure to wear this tiara at some event to celebrate and glorify papal
authority. In effect, this gift was urging Benedict to revive the tradition of the
tiara in papal rubrics.
Photo
Detail from a photo on page 44 of St. Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Popes,
by Allen Dunston, O.P., and Roberto Zagnoli, ISBN 0-88397-140-2 (paperback catalogue).
Seven triple tiaras in the display case of the Papal Sacristy of the Sistine
Chapel (room of the Copricapi). From left to right they are:
1922 tiara of Pius XI.
1903 tiara of Leo XIII.
1887 neo-gothic tiara of Leo XIII.
1871 tiara of Pius IX.
1834 tiara of Gregory XVI.
1805 tiara of Pius VII.
1820 cloth tiara of Pius VII.
THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM
Did you notice the two keys in the Vatican's coat of arms? Those represent the keys to the
kingdom, the assumed authority to bind and loose claimed by the Papacy from the book of
MatthewMat 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of
the living God.
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father
which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I
will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Let's look at this passage in detailVerse 15 - Jesus asks the disciples who they think he is.
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Verse 16 - Simon Peter (Cephas) answers that he knows Jesus to be the Christ, the Messiah,
the very Son of the Living God. This is the very foundation of the Gospel message. Jesus is
the Messiah.
Verse 17 - Jesus responds that the ONLY reason that Peter knows this is because it has
been revealed to him by none other than God the Father.
Verse 18 - Continuing, Jesus remarks to Peter that upon the rock of His true identity, Jesus
as the Son of God, Jesus the long awaited Messiah, Jesus the salvation of all mankind, Jesus
the one mediator for mankind, upon this foundation stone of fact the church of faithful
believers will surely overcome sin and death (hell). That is, after all, the promise of John
3:16 isn't it? The Catholic Church appeals to this same verse to say that Peter is the
foundation of the Church, and that his Papal office is declared here. This is a substitution
of the Papacy in place of the Gospel message, yet again.
Verse 19 - The Papacy presumes that in this verse Jesus bestowed on Peter the absolute
right and authority to govern the church as he (Peter) deemed appropriate, and that God
would back him up, and his successors, in all they do in His name with that authority. But
there is another interpretation that is not nearly so generous in it's scopeAnd I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth shall (first) be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth
shall (first) be loosed in heaven.
I believe this verse applies to all Christians, not just Peter. The word of God is the limiting
factor in our authority. We only have authority to declare to the world what God's word
reveals to us in His scriptures. As an example, the Christian can declare adultery to be a
sin, condemned by God, but only because God himself declares this in His scriptures. But,
beyond the clear written word of God, though, the Christian has no right to go. That is
entirely different from the Catholic interpretation of absolute God-like unerring power
presumed by the Papacy.
Luke 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of
knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye
hindered.
So, to make it clear, just what is (are) the key(s) to the kingdom? Well, how will any mortal
human being enter into the kingdom? By faith. Faith in what? Faith in Jesus Christ, the
Rock of our Salvation. Peter had the Gospel message revealed to him by God the Father,
the very keys to the kingdom to all who believe. Peter's charge was to "feed my sheep"
(John 21:15-17); proclaim what the Father had made known to him, that Jesus was the
Messiah, and that He (Jesus) is the only way to overcome sin. It is a duty and responsibility
levied on all who know the Gospel message. And how do we know the true Gospel
message today? The Bible reveals it to us through Scripture via the Holy Spirit. The two
keys to the kingdom are the Old and New Testaments of Scripture!
So to wrap up Matt 16, I have just shown you a rational and valid interpretation that
completely negates the Catholic claim of infallible vested Papal authority and the Petrine
theory of Apostolic succession. They are pure invention, a fabrication not even dreamed of
until a couple of hundred years after the time of Christ, when the church was trying to
establish the authority of the Bishop of Rome over the Church. In the place of the Gospel
message, the Catholic Church claims a blanket infallible Papal authority to proclaim
Tradition. Again a substitution of the Papacy for the Gospel message. That process is called
AntiChrist.
It is worth noting that the book of Mark relates the same conversation Jesus had with the
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disciples beginning in chapter 8, verse 27, and Mark curiously overlooks Peter's alleged
investiture as Pope. Why? Surely if Mark knew Peter to be the visible head of the church,
this is a remarkable and inexcusable omission on his part. So, because of the omission, it is
apparent that Mark knew nothing of Peter's alleged supreme authority over the church.
Roman Emperor Decrees the Primacy and Authority of the Bishop of
Rome
[POPE] DAMASUS, 366-384.
6. In his episcopate, Valentinian I enacted a law making the bishop of Rome the
judge of other bishops. A council in Rome, A. D. 378, enlarged his powers of
judging, and petitioned the emperor Gratian to exempt the bishop of Rome from all
civil jurisdiction except that of the emperor alone; to order that he be judged by none
except a council, or the emperor direct; and that the imperial power should be
exerted to compel obedience to the judgment of the bishop of Rome concerning
other bishops. Gratian granted part of their request and it was made to count for all.
Source: Ecclesiastical Empire, by A. T. Jones, Review and Herald Publishing Co., Battle
Creek, Michigan, 1901, pg. 157.
The development of the papal power can only be briefly summarized here. The
first great step took place under [Pope] Damasus (366-384) who obtained from
the Emperor Valentinian I the right of all bishops in the western part of the
empire who were condemned by their provincial synod to appeal to the Bishop
of Rome.
Source: THE CHRISTIAN FAITH: AN INTRODUCTION TO DOGMATIC THEOLOGY, by
Claude Beaufort Moss, D.D., London S.P.C.K, 1965, Holy Trinity Church, Marylbone
Road London, NW 1, Printed in Great Britain by Richard Clay (The Chaucer Press) Ltd
Bungay Suffolk, first printing 1943, Part II, Chapter 49, III. The Papacy a Development
from the Order of Bishops, 1. Origin and Development of the Papacy.
Pope Leo I (440 - 461 A.D.) Asserts Bishop of Rome's Authority
The Lord . . . wanted His gifts to flow into the entire body from Peter himself, as if
from the head, in such a way that anyone who had dared to separate himself from
the solidarity of Peter would realize that he was himself no longer a sharer in the
divine mystery . . . The Apostolic See . . . has on countless occasions been reported
in consultation by bishops . . . And through the appeal of various cases to this see,
decisions already made have been either revoked or confirmed, as dictated by
longstanding custom.
Source: Pope Leo I, Letter to the Bishops of Vienne, July, 445 A.D., 10:1-2; in The Faith
of the Early Fathers (FEF), 3 volumes, edited and translated by William A Jurgens,
Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1970, 1st edition, volume 3, p. 269.
Although bishops have a common dignity, they are not all of the same rank. Even
among the most blessed Apostles, though they were alike in honor, there was a
certain distinction of power. All were equal in being chosen, but it was given to one
to be preeminent over the others . . . the care of the universal Church would
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converge in the one See of Peter, and nothing should ever be at odds with this head.
Source: Pope Leo I, Letter to Bishop Anastasius of Thessalonica, c.446 A.D., 14:11; in
Jurgens, FEF, volume 3, p. 270.
From the whole world only one, Peter, is chosen to preside over the calling of all
nations, and over all the other Apostles, and over the Fathers of the Church . . . Peter
. . . rules them all, of whom, too, it is Christ who is their chief ruler. Divine
condescension, dearly beloved, has granted to this man in a wonderful and
marvelous manner the aggregate of its power; and if there was something that it
wanted to be his in common with other leaders, it never gave whatever it did not
deny to others except through him.
Source: Pope Leo I, Sermons, 4:2; in Jurgens, FEF, volume 3, p. 275.
Pope Gregory the Great (590–604 A.D)
"Universal Pontiff" a profane title
For, as your venerable Holiness knows, this name of Universality was offered
by the holy synod of Chalcedon to the pontiff of the Apostolic See which by
the providence of God I serve(2). But no one of my predecessors has ever
consented to use this so profane a title; since, forsooth, if one Patriarch is
called Universal, the name of Patriarch in the case of the rest is derogated. But
far be this, far be it from the mind of a Christian, that any one should wish to
seize for himself that whereby he might seem in the least degree to lessen the
honour of his brethren. While, then, we are unwilling to receive this honour
when offered to us, think how disgraceful it is for any one to have wished to
usurp it to himself perforce.
Wherefore let not your Holiness in your epistles ever call any one Universal,
lest you detract from the honour due to yourself in offering to another what is
not due.
Source: BOOK V, EPISTLE XLIII: TO EULOGIUS AND ANASTASIUS,
BISHOPS from Pope Gregory the Great, online at EWTN. (You will need to scroll down
to find the document)
Pope Gregory the Great renounces the title "Universal Pope".
Your Blessedness has also been careful to declare that you do not now make
use of proud titles, which have sprung from a root of vanity, in writing to
certain persons, and you address me saying, As you have commanded. This
word, command, I beg you to remove from my hearing, since I know who I
am, and who you are. For in position you are my brethren, in character my
fathers. I did not, then, command, but was desirous of indicating what seemed
to be profitable. Yet I do not find that your Blessedness has been willing to
remember perfectly this very thing that I brought to your recollection. For I
said that neither to me nor to any one else ought you to write anything of the
kind; and lo, in the preface of the epistle which you have addressed to myself
who forbade it, you have thought fit to make use of a proud appellation,
calling me Universal Pope. But I beg your most sweet Holiness to do this no
more, since what is given to another beyond what reason demands is
subtracted from yourself. For as for me, I do not seek to be prospered by
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words but by my conduct. Nor do I regard that as an honour whereby I know
that my brethren lose their honour. For my honour is the honour of the
universal Church: my honour is the solid vigour of my brethren. Then am I
truly honoured when the honour due to all and each is not denied them. For if
your Holiness calls me Universal Pope, you deny that you are yourself what
you call me universally. But far be this from us. Away with words that inflate
vanity and wound charity.
And, indeed, in the synod of Chalcedon and afterwards by subsequent Fathers,
your Holiness knows that this was offered to my predecessors(1). And yet not
one of them would ever use this title, that, while regarding the honour of all
priests in this world, they might keep their own before Almighty God.
Source: BOOK VIII, EPISTLE XXX: TO EULOGIUS, BISHOP OF
ALEXANDRIA online at EWTN. (You will need to scroll down to find the document)
Pope Gregory the Great criticizes use of the title "Universal
Bishop"
and denies Peter was a "Universal Apostle".
For to all who know the Gospel it is apparent that by the Lord's voice the care
of the whole Church was committed to the holy Apostle and Prince of all the
Apostles, Peter. For to him it is said, Peter, lovest thou Me? Feed My sheep
(John xxi. 17). To him it is said, Behold Satan hath desired to sift you as wheat;
and I have prayed for thee, Peter, that they faith fail not. And thou, when thou
art converted, strengthen thy brethren (Luke xxii. 31). To him it is said, Thou
art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of
heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind an earth shall be bound also in heaven;
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven
(Matth. xvi. 18).
Lo, he received the keys of the heavenly kingdom, and power to bind and
loose is given him, the care and principality of the whole Church is committed
to him, and yet he is not called the universal apostle; while the most holy man,
my fellow-priest John, attempts to be called universal bishop. I am compelled
to cry out and say, O tempora, O mores!
Source: BOOK V, EPISTLE XX: TO MAURICIUS AUGUSTUS from Pope Gregory
the Great (590–604), online at EWTN. (You will need to scroll down to find the document)
Pope Gregory the Great calls the title Universal "pestiferous".
... Be it known then to your Fraternity that John, formerly bishop of the city of
Constantinople, against God, against the peace of the Church, to the contempt
and injury of all priests, exceeded the bounds of modesty and of his own
measure, and unlawfully usurped in synod the proud and pestiferous title of
oecumenical, that is to say, universal. ...
... I exhort and entreat that not one of you ever accept this name, that not one
consent to it, that not one write it, that not one admit it wherever it may have
been written, or add his subscription to it; but, as becomes ministers of
Almighty God, that each keep himself from this kind of poisoned infection,
and give no place to the cunning lier-in-wait, since this thing is being done to
the injury and rendering asunder of the whole Church, and, as we have said, to
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the condemning of all of you. For if one, as he supposes, is universal bishop, it
remains that you are not bishops. ...
Source: BOOK IX, EPISTLE LXVIII TO EUSEBIUS OF THESSALONICA from
Pope Gregory the Great (590–604), online at New Advent. (You will need to scroll down to
find the document)
Pope Gregory the Great declares title "Universal Priest" to be Antichrist.
Whosoever calls himself, or
desires to be called, Universal
Priest, is in his elation the
precursor
of
Antichrist,
because he proudly puts
himself above all others. Nor is
it by dissimilar pride that he is
led into error; for, as that
perverse one wishes to appear
as God above all men, so
whosoever this one is who
covets being called sole priest,
he extols himself above all
other priests.
Source: Pope Gregory the Great (590–604),
Letter to Emperor Mauricius Augustus
(against assumption of title “universal” by
Patriarch of Constantinople) in his Epistles,
bk. 7, letter 33, trans. in NPNF, 2d series,
Vol. 12, p. 226 (2d pagination).
BOOK VII,
Here is the above
EPISTLE XXXIII: TO MAURICIUS
AUGUSTUS online at EWTN. (You will
need to scroll down to find the document)
Tiara given to Pius IX
by Queen Isabella II of Spain (1854)
Set with diamonds, pearls,
emeralds, rubies and sapphires.
So Pope Gregory the Great condemned the titles of Universal Patriarch, Universal Pope,
Universal Bishop and Universal Priest. He saw that such pomposity was satanic or
antichrist in nature. In any case, Pope Boniface III (607 A.D.), a mere three years after the
death of Gregory, petitioned Emperor Phocus to declare the Roman See the head of all
Christian churches and that the title Universal Bishop would apply exclusively to the
Bishop of Rome. This was done in an attempt to end the ambitions of the Patriarch of
Constantinople.
See
Boniface III online at New Advent.
Emperor Phocus granted the request, and a grateful Boniface III erected a gilded statue of
him in Rome proclaiming his greatness.
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Donation of Constantine to the "Universal Pope" of Rome.
... Our most gracious serenity desires, in clear discourse, through the page of
this our imperial decree, to bring to the knowledge of all the people in the
whole world what things our Saviour and Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Son of the most High Father, has most wonderfully seen fit to bring about
through his holy apostles Peter and Paul and by the intervention of our father
Sylvester, the highest pontiff and the universal pope. First, indeed, putting
forth, with the inmost confession of our heart, for the purpose of instructing
the mind of all of you, our creed which we have learned from the aforesaid
most blessed father and our confessor, Sylvester the universal pontiff; and then
at length announcing the mercy of God which has been poured upon us. ...
For let all the people and the nations of the races in the whole world rejoice
with us; we exhorting all of you to give unbounded thanks, together with us, to
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For He is God in Heaven above and on
earth below, who, visiting us through His holy apostles, made us worthy to
receive the holy sacrament of baptism and health of body. In return for which,
to those same holy apostles, my masters, St. Peter and St. Paul; and, through
them, also to St. Sylvester, our father, -the chief pontiff and universal pope of
the city of Rome, -and to all the pontiffs his successors, who until the end of
the world shall be about to sit in the seat of St. Peter: we concede and, by this
present, do confer, our imperial Lateran palace, which is preferred to, and
ranks above, all the palaces in the whole world; then a diadem, that is, the
crown of our head, and at the same time the tiara; and, also, the shoulder band,
-that is, the collar that usually surrounds our imperial neck; and also the purple
mantle, and crimson tunic, and all the imperial raiment; and the same rank as
those presiding over the imperial cavalry; conferring also the imperial sceptres,
and, at the same time, the spears and standards; also the banners and different
imperial ornaments, and all the advantage of our high imperial position, and
the glory of our power.
Donation of Constantine online.
Though proved a forgery in the 15th century, the use of the phrase "universal pope" in the
Donation of Constantine shows the title was attributed to the Bishop of Rome in the 8th
century. For centuries, the Donation of Constantine was held to be genuine by the Catholic
Church.
Pope Leo IX In 1054 A.D. Cites The Donation of Constantine to Assert
Papal Primacy.
Pope Leo IX sent a letter to Michael Cærularius, Patriarch of Constantinople, in 1054, that
cited a large portion of the Donation of Constantine, to include the phrase Vicarius Filii
Dei, the Roman numerals of which add up to 666. The reason that Leo provided the Greek
Patriarch with the bulk of the text of the donation, was to officially notify him that
Emperor Constantine had conferred a unique dignity, authority and primacy on the See of
Peter, making Constantinople subject to Rome. Leo IX assured the Patriarch that the
donation was completely genuine, not a fable or old wives tale, so only the apostolic
successor to Peter possessed that primacy and was the rightful head of all the Church.
Little did Leo IX know that he cited and testified to the authenticity of the most
stupendous fraud in European history. The Patriarch rejected the claims of papal primacy,
and subsequently the Catholic Church was split in two in the Great Schism of 1054. See
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666, The Number of the Beast for details.
Now note that Pope Gregory VII also declared himself to be "Universal Pope", a title
which Gregory the Great refused and condemned. This papal claim has been maintained or
embellished on by every subsequent pope, eventually leading to the declaration of papal
infallibility.
THE DICTATES OF HILDERBRAND (POPE GREGORY VII)
1. That the Roman Church was founded by the
Lord alone.
2. That the Roman Pontiff alone is justly called
universal.
3. That he alone can depose bishops or restore
them …
9. That all princes should kiss the feet of the pope
alone…
12. That it is lawful for him to depose emperors …
18. That his sentence ought not to be reviewed by
any one; and he alone can review [the decisions] of
all.
19. That he ought to be judged by no one …
22. That the Roman Church never erred; nor will it,
according to Scripture, ever err …
27. That he can absolve subjects from their
allegiance to unrighteous [rulers].
John XXIII Pontifex Maximus
wearing the tiara of Pope Pius XI.
Attualità Giordani, Rome
Click on image for an enlargement
Source: Gregory VII (1073-1085 A.D.), Dictatus Papae (“Dictates of the Pope”; sometimes
called the Dictates of Hilderbrand), Latin text in Karl Hofmann, Der Dictatus Papae
Gregors VII (Paderborn [Germany]: Ferdinand Schöningh, 1933), p. 11.
Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) Claims Divine Authority
Pope Innocent III claimed that only the Roman Pontiff had the power to transfer and
separate bishops, because when he separates, it is not a man that separates, but God that
separates, because he acts "not only as a man, but as the true God's vice governor on earth"
[non puri hominis, sed veri Dei vicem gerit in terris], ... he "dissolves not with human, but
with divine authority" [non humana, sed divina potius auctoritate dissolvit.]:
Non enim homo, sed Deus separat, quos Romanus Pontifex (qui non puri
hominis, sed veri Dei vicem gerit in terris) ecclesiarum necessitate vel utilitate
pensata, non humana, sed divina potius auctoritate dissolvit.
It is not a man, but God, who separates those whom the Roman Pontiff (not
only as a man, but as the true God's vice governor on earth), providing for the
necessities and the good of the churches, dissolves not with human, but with
divine authority.
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Source: DECRETALES D. GREGORII PAPAE IX, SUAE INTEGRITATI UNA CUM
GLOSSIS RESTTUTE Ad exemplar Romanum diligenter recognite, LUGDUNI, 1584, liber
I, titulus VII - De Translatione Episcopi, cap. III, col. 217. (138) Download entire volume,
.pdf. All 5 volumes are available at Gallica.
The adjacent gloss for "veri Dei vicem" adds the following regarding the scope of the
Pope's authority as God's true vice governor:
veri Dei vicem (gerit).]
Unde dicitur habere caeleste arbitrium (Cod. de sum. tri. 1. I. in fi.),
Whence he is said to possess a divine judgment,
et ideo etiam naturam rerum immutat, substantialia unius rei applicando alii
(arg. C. communia de leg. l. 2),
and therefore he altereth the very nature of things, by applying the things that
are of the substance of one thing unto another,
et de nullo potest aliquid facere (C. rei uxor. act. l. unica in prin. et De
Consecr. Dist. 2. c. 69),
and of nothing he can make something; [to make something out of nothing is
to construct new laws];
et sententiam, quae nulla est, facit aliquam (Caus. III. Qu. 6. c. 10);
and that sentence which is of no force he can make to be of force;
quia in his, quae vult, ei est pro ratione voluntas (Instit. de jure natu. § sed
quod principi. haec quippe.)
and he can do these things, because his will stands for reason.
Nec est, qui ei dicat, cur ita facis? (De Poen. Dist. 3. c. 22. ex psona. alias est
in c. quauis)
Neither is there any may say unto him, Why dost thou so?
Ipse enim potest supra jus dispensare (infra, Lib. III. Tit. 8. c. 4, j. de conces.
prae. c. proposuit.)
for he can dispense above the law,
idem de injustitia potest facere justitiam corrigendo jura et mutando (Lib. II.
Tit. 28. c. 59., j. de appella c. vt debitus., Lib. IV. Tit. 14. c. 8, et j. de cosang.
et affinit. cap. non debet.)
and of unrighteousness make righteousness, correcting and changing laws,
et plenitudinem obtinet potestatis (Caus. II. Qu. 6. c. 11). decreto
for he hath the fullness of power.
The references in the gloss are supplied in:
A Compendium of Ecclesiastical History, by Dr. John C. L. Gieseler, Fourth
Edition Revised And Amended, Volume III, 1853, translated from the German
by the Rev. John Winstanley Hull, M.A. pg. 161.
The English translation of the gloss is primarily from:
The Decades of Henry Bullinger, The Fifth Decade, By Heinrich Bullinger,
Translated By H. I., 1852, pg. 121.
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See also:
A Sketch Of The Romish Controversy By G. Finch, London, 1831, pg. 318.
This book incorrectly reads "Ipse enim potest s. jus dispensare" in the gloss as
"Ipse enim potest sanctum jus dispensare" (for he can dispense with holy
laws,). The referenced section in the gloss to Lib. III shows that "supra" (for
he can dispense above the law,) is correct.
An excellent searchable version of Gregorius IX Decretalium compilatio with
concordance.
Pope Innocent III Claims Authority Over Kings
Just as the founder of the universe established two great lights in the firmament of heaven,
the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, so too He set two great
dignities in the firmament of the universal church..., the greater one to rule the day, that is,
souls, and the lesser to rule the night, that is, bodies. These dignities are the papal authority
and the royal power. Now just as the moon derives its light from the sun and is indeed
lower than it in quantity and quality, in position and in power, so too the royal power
Letter to the
derives the splendor of its dignity from the pontifical authority.... —
prefect Acerbius and the nobles of Tuscany, 1198.
Pope Innocent IV (1243-1254)
Every cleric must obey the Pope, even if he commands what is wrong, for no one can judge
him. The only exception was if the command involved heresy or tended to the destruction
of the church. — Pope Innocent IV, Comment. in Decretal. Francof. 1570, 555. [Apparatus
in quinque libros decretalium, commentary on the Decretals of Gregory IX]
Source: The Pope and the Council, by Janus [with the collaboration of J.N. Huber and J.
Friedrich], translated from the German by Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger, Johannes
Nepomuk Huber, Third Edition Revised, Rivingtons, London, Oxford, and Cambridge,
1870, page 161.
First Council of Lyons - 1245 A.D.
Bull of Pope Innocent IV Deposing Emperor Frederick II
... We [Pope Innocent IV] therefore, after careful discussion with our brother cardinals and
the sacred council [Lyons, 1245 A.D.] on his [Emperor Frederick II] wicked transgressions
already mentioned and many more besides, since though unworthy we hold on earth the
place of Jesus Christ, and to us in the person of the blessed apostle Peter has been said,
whatever you bind on earth etc., denounce the said prince, who has made himself so
unworthy of the empire and kingdoms and every honour and dignity and who also, because
of his crimes, has been cast out by God from kingdom and empire; we mark him out as
bound by his sins, an outcast and deprived by our Lord of every honour and dignity; and
we deprive him of them by our sentence. We absolve from their oath for ever all those who
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are bound to him by an oath of loyalty, firmly forbidding by our apostolic authority anyone
in the future to obey or heed him as emperor or king, and decreeing that anyone who
henceforth offers advice, help or favour to him as to an emperor or king, automatically
incurs excommunication. Let those whose task it is to choose an emperor in the same
empire, freely choose a successor to him. With regard to the aforesaid kingdom of Sicily,
we shall take care to provide, with the counsel of our brother cardinals, as we see to be
expedient.
Given at Lyons on 17 July in the third year of our pontificate [1245 A.D.].
Source: Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, Tanner, Norman P., ed., New York: Sheed
and Ward, ISBN: 072203010X, 1990.
Claims of “I Am Caesar” (Boniface VIII)
The papal theory made the Pope alone God’s
representative on earth and maintained that
the Emperor received his right to rule from St.
Peter’s successor. For historical proof of the
genuineness of this position attention was
called to the power of the keys, the Donation
of Constantine, the coronation of Pepin, the
restoration of the Empire in the West. … It
was upheld by Nicholas I., Hildebrand,
Alexander III., Innocent III., and culminated
with Boniface VIII. at the jubilee of 1300
when, seated on the throne of Constantine,
girded with the imperial sword, wearing a
crown, and waving a sceptre, he shouted to
the throng of loyal pilgrims: “I am Caesar—I
am Emperor.”
Pius XII wearing the 1877 tiara of Pius IX
Wide World Photos, Inc.
Source: Alexander Clarence Flick, The Rise of the Mediaeval Church, copyright 1909,
published in New York: by Burt Franklin, 514 West 113th Street, p. 413.
Obedience to the Pope declared necessary for Salvation
We, moreover, proclaim, declare and pronounce that it is altogether necessary
to salvation for every human being to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.
Source: Pope Boniface VIII, Bull Unam Sanctam, promulgated November 18, 1302, in
Translations and Reprints From the Original Sources of European History, Vol. 3
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 189–), No. 6, pp. 20–23 (from Latin text
of Mury, Revue des Questions Historiques, Vol. 46, pp. 225, 256, based on the facsimile
from the Papal Regesta).
Liberally minded Catholic apologists will sometimes suggest that Boniface VIII meant to
apply his remark only to Catholics, and that Protestants are not automatically excluded
from salvation by it. However the Latin text (in David S. Schaff, The Middle Ages [Philip
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Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 5. New York: Scribner, 1910], part 2, p. 28)
reads omni humanae creaturae (“every human creature"). The title of the bull, Unam
Sanctam (One Holy Church) and its last sentence make clear that Boniface VIII was
declaring that submission to the Pope of the Holy See of Rome of the Catholic Church was
the only means of salvation and that those resisting that presumed authority were lost souls.
Conservative traditional Catholics will staunchly defend the statement that "Outside the
Catholic Church there is no Salvation", and will cite Unam Sanctam as proof positive.
Here is the full text of
UNAM SANCTAM online.
The Decision of the Pope and the Decision of God Constitute One Decision.
Secunda ratio accipitur ex parte Papae. solus Papa dicitur esse Vicarius Dei:
quia solum quod ligatur vel solvitur per eum, habetur solutum et ligatum per
ipsum Deum. Sententia igitur Papae et sententia Dei vna sententia est: sicut
una sententia est Papae, et auditoris eius. Cum igitur appellatio semper fiat a
minori iudice ad superiorem, sicut nullus est major seipso: ita nulla appellatio
tenet, facta a Papa ad Deum: quia unum consistorium est ipsius Papae et ipsius
Dei: cuius consistorij clauiger et ostiarius est ipse Papa. Nullus ergo potest
appellare a Papa ad Deum. Nullus ergo potest appellare a Papa ad Deum, sicut
nulla potest intrare ad consistorium Dei, nisi mediante Papa, qui est aeternae
vitae cónsistorij clauiger, et ostiarius et sicut nullus pot appellare ad se ipsum:
ita nullas pót appellare à Papa ad Deu. quia vna sententia est, et vna curia Dei,
et Pape.
Second reason considering the role of the Pope. Only the Pope is said to be
the Vicar of God: because he alone is able to bind and loose, possessing alone
loosing and binding given to him by God. The decision of the Pope and the
decision of God constitute one decision, just as the decision of the Pope and
his disciple are the same. Since, therefore, an appeal is always taken from an
inferior judge to a superior, as no one is greater than himself, so no appeal
holds when made from the Pope to God, because there is one consistory of the
Pope himself and of God Himself, of which consistory the Pope himself is the
key-bearer and the doorkeeper. Therefore no one can appeal from the Pope to
God, as no one can enter into the consistory of God without the mediation of
the Pope, who is the key-bearer and the doorkeeper of the consistory of
eternal life; and as no one can appeal to himself, so no one can appeal from
the Pope to God, because there is one decision and one court of God, and the
Pope.
Summa de potestate ecclesiastica, Augustini Triumphi (Agostino Trionfo), Question 6 Ad
1. See 666, The Number of the Beast for details.
Pope Martin V Claims Worldwide Authority
Romanus Pontifex, beati Petri coelestis Regni clavigeri successor et vicarius
Jesu Christi, cuneta mundi climata, omniumque nationum in illis degentium ...
Datum Constanciae secundo nonas Aprilis, Pontificatus nostri anno primo.
The Roman Pontiff, successor of the blessed Peter, and the vicar of Jesus
Christ, keeper of the keys of the heavenly Kingdom, of all regions of the
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world, and of all of the nations and those who dwell in them, ... (4 April 1417).
In eminenti specula militantis Ecclesiae Romanus Pontifex, B. Petri coelestis
regni clavigeri successor, et Vicarius Jesu Christi, habens super Orbis Ecclesias
et Monasteria universa, aliaque loca religiosa, plenitudinem potestatis,
privileges, more Pastoris, suae providentiae oculis Universum Orbem terrarum,
et nationum in illo degentium, ... Datum Florentiae 4 nonas Junii, Pontificatus
nostri anno tertio.
Stationed on the lofty watchtower of the church militant, the Roman Pontiff,
Blessed Peter's successor, keeper of the keys of the heavenly kingdom, and the
Vicar of Jesus Christ, having fullness of power and privileges over all the
churches and monasteries and other religious places of the world in the manner
of the Shepherd, the eyes of His providence over the whole world, the nations
and all of those who dwell in them, ... (10 June 1420).
Source: Bullarium Patronatus Portugalliae Regum In Ecclesiis Africae, Asiae, Atque
Oceaniae, ..., Volume 1 (1171-1600), curante Levy Maria Jordão, 1868, pgs. 8 & 12.
Pope Claims Primacy Over the World.
Item, diffinimus sanctam Apostolicam sedem et Romanum Pontificem in
universum orbem tenere primatum, et ipsum Pontificem Romanum
successorem esse beati Petri principis Apostolorum et verum Christi vicarium
totiusque Ecclesiae caput et omnium christianorum patrem ac doctorem
exsistere; et ipsi in beato Petro pascendi, regendi ac gubernandi universalem
Ecclesiam a Domino nostro Iesu Christo plenam potestatem traditam esse;
quemadmodum etiam in gestis oecumenicorum Conciliorum et in sacris
Canonibus continetur. (Source)
We likewise define that the holy Apostolic See, and the Roman Pontiff, hold
the primacy throughout the entire world; and that the Roman Pontiff himself is
the successor of blessed Peter, the chief of the Apostles, and the true vicar of
Christ, and that he is the head of the entire Church, and the father and teacher
of all Christians; and that full power was given to him in blessed Peter by Our
Lord Jesus Christ, to feed, rule, and govern the universal Church; just as is
contained in the acts of the ecumenical Councils and in the sacred canons."
Source: Pope Eugene IV, Papal Bull Laetentur Coeli, dated July 6th, 1439, Denzinger, The
Sources of Catholic Dogma, Translated by Roy J. Deferrari, from the Thirtieth Edition of
Henry Denzinger's Enchiridion Symbolorum, published by B. Herder Book Co., Copyright
1957, page 220, #694.
See also
Council of Basle, Ferara, and Florence, Session 6, 6 July 1439.
Papacy Claims Authority Over the Kings of the Earth
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On the above papal medal (Mazio 13, Spink 342) issued by Pope Callistus III (1455-58),
the reverse side reads OMNES REGES SERVIENT EI, a quote of Daniel 7:27 from the
Latin Vulgate, which when translated in the Catholic Douay Rheims reads "ALL KINGS
SHALL SERVE HIM". The scripture refers to God, but the papal triple-tiered tiara
portrayed above the cross clearly symbolizes papal authority, that the papacy is God's
designated representative, having authority even over the kings of the earth, just as the
above excerpts show.
1417 1431
MARTINVS
V
COLVMNA
PONT
MAX
QVEM
CREANT
ADORANT
ROMAE
1431 1447
EVGENIVS
IIII PONT
MAX
QVEM
CREANT
ADORANT
ROMAE
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1513 1521
LEO X
PONTIFEX
MAX
QVEM
CREANT
ADORANT
ROMAE
1522 1523
ADRIANVS
VI PONT
MAX
QVEM
CREANT
ADORANT
ROMAE
The above papal medals illustrate the coronation of the Pope. The reverse motto is "Whom
They Create They Adore In Rome"
Another God on Earth
Fifth Lateran Council, Session IV (1512)
Christopher Marcellus (Christophori Marcelli / Cristoforo Marcello, appointed Archbishop
of Corfù, June 1514) in a speech addressing Pope Julius II, in the Fifth Lateran Council,
Session IV in 1512, said:
"Take care, so that the sheepfold may be one, it now is divided into parts. Take
care at last, that we lose not that salvation, that life and breath which thou hast
given us. For thou art our shepherd, thou art our physician, thou art our
governor, thou art our husbandman, thou art finally another God on earth."
Source: Sacrorum Conciliorum: Nova et Amplissima Collectio, J. D. Mansi (ed.), Paris,
1902, Huberti Welter, Vol. 32, col. 761, Latin:
Cura, ut ovile unum fiat, quod modo est in partes divisum. Cura denique, ut
salutem, quam dedisti nobis, & vitam & spiritum non amittamus. Tu enim
pastor, tu medicas, tu gubernator, tu cultur, tu denique alter Deus in Terris.
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ALL OF CHRIST'S SCRIPTURAL NAMES ARE ALSO APPLIED TO
THE POPE
Cardinal Robert
Bellarmine
(1542-1621), a
Doctor of the
Church, in his
Disputationes
de controversiis
christianae
fidei, Adversus
hujus temporis
Haereticos
(Debates on the
Christian
Controversies
of Faith Against
Contemporary
Heresy),
claimed that all
the names that
Scripture applies
to Christ are
also to be
applied to the
Pope. In Volume
2, LIBER
SECVUNDUS,
De Conciliorum
auctoritate
(Book 2, The
Authority of
Councils) we
find the
following:
CAPVT XVII
Summam
Pontificem
absolute esse
supra
Concilium.
TERTIA
propositio. ...
SECUNDO
probatur
ratione, in
scripturis
fundata: nam
omnia nomina,
quae in
scripturis
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tribuuntur
Christo, unde
constat eum
esse supra
Ecclesiam,
eadem omnia
tribuuntur
Pontifici: ac
primum,
Christus est
paterfamilias in
domo sua, quae
est Ecclesia,
Pontifex in
eadem, est
summus
oeconomus, id
est,
paterfamilias
loco Christi,
Lucae 12. —
Bellarmini, De
Conciliorum
Auct., Lib. II,
Cap. 17, 1608,
Paris, Tom. ii.
col. 95.
CHAPTER 17
The Supreme Pontiff is absolutely above a Council.
THIRD proposition: ...
SECOND it is proved by an argument, founded in the scriptures: for all the
names, which in the scriptures are applied to Christ, proving him to be above
the Church, are in like manner applied to the Pontiff: as first, Christ is head of
the family in his own house, which is the Church. The Pontiff is high steward
in the same, that is, he is head of the family in the place of Christ, Luke 12:42.
Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward,
whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion
of meat in due season?
Martin Luther on Papal Infallibility
[p. 69] They assume authority, and juggle before us with impudent words, saying that the
Pope cannot err in matters of faith, whether he be evil or good, albeit they cannot prove it
by a single letter… We will quote the Scriptures. St. Paul says, “If any thing be revealed to
another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace” (1 Cor. 14:30). What would be the use
of this commandment, if we were to believe him alone that teaches or has the highest seat?
Christ Himself says, “And they shall be all taught of God” (John 6:45). Thus it may come
to pass that the Pope and his followers are wicked and not true Christians, and not being
taught by God, have no true understanding, whereas a common man may have true
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understanding. Why should we then not follow him? Has not the Pope often erred? …
Therefore it is a wickedly devised fable—and they cannot quote a single letter to confirm
it—that it is for the Pope alone to interpret [p. 70] the Scriptures or to confirm the
interpretation of them. They have assumed the authority of their own selves. And though
they say that this authority was given to St. Peter when the keys were given to him, it is
plain enough that the keys were not given to St. Peter alone, but to the whole community.
Source: Luthers Werke (Erlangen, 1828–1870), trans. and ed. by H. Wace and C. A.
Buckheim in First Principles of the Reformation (Philadelphia, 1885), pp. 159–239,
passim. Reprinted in Louis L. Snyder, ed., Documents of German History (New Brunswick,
N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1958), pp. 69, 70. Copyright © 1958 by Rutgers, The State
University.
Martin Luther also wrote"I now know for certain that the papacy is the kingdom of Babylon and the
power of Nimrod, the mighty hunter (Gen. 10:8-9)."
Source: Martin Luther's The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520), in Martin Luther's
Basic Theological Writings, edited by Timothy F. Lull, published by Fortress Press, © 1989,
ISBN 0-8006-2327-4, page 268.
Papal Infallibility Denied as Catholic Dogma Before 1870
Q. Must not Catholics believe the Pope
in himself to be infallible?
A. This is a Protestant invention; it is
no article of the Catholic faith; no
decision of his can oblige, under pain of
heresy, unless it be received and
enforced by the teaching body, that is,
by the Bishops of the Church.
Sources: A Doctrinal Catechism, by the
Rev. Stephen Keenan, approved by the Most
Rev. John Hughes, D.D., Archbishop of New
York, Second American Edition, published in
New York by E. Dunigan & Brother, (James B.
Kirker), No. 371 Broadway, Copyright 1848,
pages 305-306.
Controversial Catechism or Protestantism
Refuted, by the Rev. Stephen Keenan, Second
Edition, published in 1851 in Edinburgh; by C.
Dolman, 13 South Hanover Street, and 61,
1805 tiara of Pope Pius VII
Papal Sacristy, The Vatican
New Bond Street, London, page 102. The
original First Edition was published in Edinburgh in 1846.
Q. Do you here suppose the teachers individually infallible, or that they are
free personally from all sin and error?
A. By no means; philosophically speaking, if all the bishops of the Church,
scattered over all the nations of the earth, all men of learning and probity, who
have never seen one another,—who have had no means of combining to teach
any particular doctrine,—and who have had no motive for such, do actually
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teach the very same truths, then we maintain, by all laws of human evidence
or moral certainty, that their combined testimony to the existence of any
doctrine infallibly proves its truth.
Source: A Doctrinal Catechism, by the Rev. Stephen Keenan, approved by the Most
Rev. John Hughes, D.D., Archbishop of New York, Second American Edition, published in
New York by E. Dunigan & Brother, (James B. Kirker), No. 371 Broadway, Copyright
1848, page 369. (The identical text appears on pages 67-68 of the 1851 Edinburgh Second
Edition, and also on page 77 of the 1896 London revised New Edition.)
Prelude To Dogmatic Papal
Infallibility
10. ... God Himself has set up a
living authority to establish and
teach the true and legitimate
meaning of His heavenly revelation.
This authority judges infallibly all
disputes which concern matters of
faith and morals, lest the faithful be
swirled around by every wind of
doctrine which springs from the
evilness of men in encompassing
error. And this living infallible
authority is active only in that
Church which was built by Christ the
Lord upon Peter, the head of the
entire Church, leader and shepherd,
whose faith He promised would
never fail. This Church has had an
unbroken line of succession from
Peter himself; these legitimate
pontiffs are the heirs and defenders
of the same teaching, rank, office
and power. And the Church is where
Peter is,[5] and Peter speaks in the
Roman Pontiff,[6] living at all times
in his successors and making
judgment,[7] providing the truth of
the faith to those who seek it.[8] The
divine words therefore mean what
this Roman See of the most blessed
Peter holds and has held.
Source: QUI PLURIBUS, On Faith And
Religion, Encyclical of Pope Pius IX, November
9, 1846.
The 1877 tiara of Pius IX illustrated at right was
used for the coronation of Pius XII. Pius XII
chose this tiara for his coronation to symbolize
the end of the 59 year feud between the holy see
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Tiara of Pope Pius IX (1877)
Photo: Vatican Sacristy
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and the Italian state with the signing of the
Lateran Treaty in 1929, which restored papal
temporal sovereignty over the Vatican, lost under
the pontificate of Pius IX.
Unity with the Roman
Pontiff Declared Necessary
to Salvation
8. Also well known is the Catholic
teaching that no one can be saved
outside the Catholic Church.
Eternal salvation cannot be
obtained by those who oppose the
authority and statements of the
same Church and are stubbornly
separated from the unity of the
Church and also from the
successor of Peter, the Roman
Pontiff, to whom "the custody of
the vineyard has been committed
by the Savior."
Tiara of Pope Pius IX
displayed at Basilica of the Sacred Heart,
South Bend, Indiana
Source: QUANTO CONFICIAMUR
MOERORE, On Promotion of False
Doctrines, Encyclical of Pope Pius IX, August
10, 1863.
PIUS IX CLAIMS TO BE "THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE
LIFE"
I alone, despite my unworthiness, am the successor of the apostles, the vicar of
Jesus Christ: I alone have the mission to guide and direct the bark of Peter. I
am the way, the truth, and the life: they who are with me are with the church:
they who are not with me are out of the church—they are out of the way, the
truth, and the life. Let men well understand this, that they be not deceived, or
led astray by soi-disant Catholics, who desire and teach something quite
different from what the head of the church teaches. (The Guardian, London,
April 11, 1866)
Seul, malgré mon indignité, je suis le successeur des Apôtres, le Vicaire de
Jésus-Christ, seul j'ai la mission de conduire et de diriger la barque de Pierre, je
suis la voie, la véritié et la vie. Ceux qui sont avec moi sont avec l'Église; ceux
qui ne sont pas avec moi sont hors l'Église; ils sont hors de la voie, de la vérité
et de la vie. Il faut bien qu'on le sache, afin de ne pas se laisser tromper et
aventurer par la parole de gens qui se disent catholiques, mais qui veulent et
enseignent tout autre chose que ce que veut et enseigne le chef de l'Église.
Attributed to Pius IX, who on March 24, 1866, spoke in French, in response to an address
by Catholics of various nations in which certain liberal ideas were expressed. Published in
France in the Catholic monthly Revue du Monde Catholique, the L' Union, and the
Observateur Catholique of April 1, 1866, p. 357.
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Pope Pius IX photographed standing beside a jewel-encrusted triple tiara.
Recognition of Papal jurisdiction declared necessary for Salvation
1826 Therefore, relying on the clear testimonies of Sacred Scripture, and
adhering to the eloquent and manifest decisions not only of Our predecessors,
the Roman Pontiffs, but also of the general Councils, We renew the definition
of the Ecumenical Council of
Florence, by which all of the
faithful of Christ must believe
"that the Apostolic See and the
Roman Pontiff hold primacy over
the whole world, and that the
Pontiff of Rome himself is the
successor of the blessed Peter, the
chief of the apostles, and is the
true vicar of Christ and head of
the whole Church and faith, and
teacher of all Christians; and that
to him was handed down in
blessed Peter, by our Lord Jesus
Christ, full power to feed, rule,
and guide the universal Church, just as is also contained in the records of the
ecumenical Councils and in the sacred canons."
1827 Furthermore We teach and declare that the Roman Church, by the
disposition of the Lord, holds the sovereignty of ordinary power over all
others, and that this power of jurisdiction on the part of the Roman Pontiff,
which is truly episcopal, is immediate; and with respect to this the pastors and
the faithful of whatever right and dignity, both as separate individuals and all
together, are bound by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true
obedience, not only in things which pertain to faith and morals, but also in
those which pertain to the discipline and government of the Church [which is]
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spread over the whole world, so that the Church of Christ, protected not only
by the Roman Pontiff, but by the unity of communion as well as of the
profession of the same faith is one flock under one highest shepherd. This is
the doctrine of Catholic truth from which no one can deviate and keep his
faith and salvation.
Source: Dogmatic Constitution I on the Church of Christ [Vatican I - Pius IX], Session IV,
July 18th 1870, Chapter 3., The Power and Manner of the Primacy of the Roman Pontiff,
Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma, Translated by Roy J. Deferrari, from the
Thirtieth Edition of Henry Denzinger's Enchiridion Symbolorum, published by B. Herder
Book Co., Copyright 1957, pages 453-454.
Papal Claim of Infallibility Declared Dogmatically.
Therefore faithfully adhering to the
tradition received from the beginning of
the Christian faith, for the glory of God
our Saviour, the exaltation of the
Catholic religion, and the salvation of
Christian people, the sacred Council
approving, we teach and define that it is
a dogma divinely revealed: that the
Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex
cathedra, that is, when in discharge of
the office of pastor and doctor of all
Pius IX Pontifex Maximus
Christians, by virtue of his supreme
Apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held
by the universal Church, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed
Peter, is possessed of that infallibility with which the divine Re- [p. 271]
deemer willed that his Church should be endowed for defining doctrine
regarding faith or morals; and that therefore such definitions of the Roman
Pontiff are irreformable of themselves, and not from the consent of the
Church.
But if any one—which may God avert—presume to contradict this our
definition: let him be anathema. Given at Rome in public Session solemnly
held in the Vatican Basilica in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and seventy, on the eighteenth day of July, in the twenty-fifth year of our
Pontificate.
Source: Vatican Council, Session IV (July 18, 1870), First Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church of Christ (Pastor Aeternus), chap. IV, Concerning the Infallible Teaching of the
Roman Pontiff, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom (New York: Harper, 1919),
Vol. 2, pp. 266–271.
INSCRIBED TIARA OF POPE PIUS IX
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Above is a papal tiara presented to Pius IX by Belgium in 1871. Click on the picture of the
tiara to view the full sized picture. The complete inscription (including text on the unseen
sides) is:
IESV CHRISTI VICARIO INFALLIBILI
ORBIS SVPREMO IN TERRA RECTORI
REGVM ATQVE POPVLORVM PATRI
which translates to:
To The Infallible Vicar of Jesus Christ
To the Supreme Governor of the World on Earth
To the Father of Nations and Kings
See also: Vicar of Christ - Governor on Earth - Father of Princes and of Kings
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PIVS IX PON MAX AN L
EX QVO SACRATVS EST EPISCOPVS
MDCCCLXXVII
LAETAMINI IN DOMINO
QVIA DEDIT VOBIS
DOCTOREM IVST
JOEL 11 23
The above gilt papal medal of Pius IX from 1877 depicts on the reverse the
Pope enthroned wearing the triple tiara, with five figures paying homage, and
is inscribed with a quote of Joel 2:23 from the Latin Vulgate, which the Douay
Rheims translates to:
Joel 2:23 ... be joyful in the Lord your God: because he hath given you a
teacher of justice ...
Père Hyacinthe On Infallibility
The following from the lips of Père Hyacinthe, does not sound
much like endorsing the dogma of Infallibility: "I protest, against
this pretended dogma of the Pope's infallibility, such as it is set
forth in the decree of the Council. It is because I am Catholic, and
wish so to remain, that I refuse to admit a doctrine unknown to
the ancient Church, contested even now by many and eminent
theologians—a doctrine which implies no gradual development,
but a radical change in the constitution of the Church and in the
immutable regulation of its faith. It is because I am a Christian and
wish so to remain, that I raise myself with all my soul against
these almost divine honors granted to a man who is presented to
our faith—I had almost said to our worship—as uniting in his
person alike that spirit of domination which the Gospel, of which
he is the minister, denies, and that infallibility against which
revolts his flesh, tempered in the same clay as our own, Gregory
the Great rejected, as a sign of Antichrist, the title of Universal
Bishop which was offered him. What would be said of the title
'Pontiff Infallible'?"
Source: Père Hyacinthe (Charles Jean Marie Loyson), liberal French priest,
1827-1912, as reported in the August 24, 1870, edition of the Elyria
Independent Democrat (Ohio), page 2.
Significance of Papal Infallibility Dogma
[p. 164] The dogma of Papal Infallibility … involves a question of absolute
power… [p. 165] It is the direct antipode of the Protestant principle of the
absolute supremacy and infallibility of the Holy Scriptures. It establishes a
perpetual divine oracle in the Vatican. Every Catholic may hereafter say, I
believe—not because Christ, or the Bible, or the Church, but—because the
infallible Pope has so declared and commanded… If the dogma is false, it
involves a blasphemous assumption, and makes the nearest approach to the
fulfillment of St. Paul’s prophecy of the man of sin, who ‘as God sitteth in the
temple of God, showing himself off that he is God’ (2 Thess. ii. 4)
Source: Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom (4th ed., rev.; New York: Harper, 1919),
Vol. 1, pp. 164, 165.
Keenan's Catechism Changes Its Tune
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Subsequent to Vatican I and the declaration of papal Infallibility, Keenan's Catechism, third
American Edition, was revised:
Q. Do you here suppose the teachers individually infallible?
A. The Pope as the constant head of the Church we hold infallible in
decisions ex cathedra: but not exempt from falling into personal sin. The
various bishops are neither individually infallible or sinless. But we may argue
that if the Pope and the various bishop teach any particular doctrine,—men
who have had no motive for such, do actually teach the very same truths, then
we maintain, by all laws of human evidence or moral certainty, that their
combined testimony to the existence of any doctrine infallibly proves its truth.
This, however, is not what we contend for here; we maintain our teaching
body to be infallible, because God has made them so; as in the Old [pg. 370]
Law he made the Scribes and Pharisees, who were the public ministers of his
Church (though often, no doubt, personally sinners), infallible, for the safety of
those whom they taught.
Source: A Doctrinal Catechism, by the Rev. Stephen Keenan, Imprimatur by John
Cardinal McCloskey, Archbishop of New York, Third American Edition, Copyright 1876
by T. W. Strong, published in New York by P. J. Kenedy, Excelsior Catholic Publishing
House, page 369.
A Doctrinal Catechism, (complete text of 1876 Third American edition) online. See
also pages 170-171 on papal infallibility.
In the 1896 London revised New Edition, Keenan's Catechism gave the following
explanation:
Q. But some Catholics before the Vatican Council denied the Infallibility
of the Pope, which was also formerly impugned in this very Catechism:
(Controversial Catechism, Edition Edinburgh, 1846, p. 117).
A. Yes; but they did so under the usual reservation—"in so far as they then
could grasp the mind of the Church, and subject to her future
definitions"—thus implicitly accepting the dogma; had they been prepared to
maintain their own opinion contumaciously in such case they would have been
Catholics only in name.
Source: Controversial Catechism or Protestantism Refuted, by the Rev. Stephen
Keenan, New Edition, revised by the Rev. George Cormack, published in 1896 in London
by Burns & Oates, Limited - in New York, Cincinnati, and Chicago by Benzinger Brothers,
page 112.
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The Coronation of Pope Leo XIII,
March 3rd, 1878.
The solemn moment has arrived.
The Pope again ascends the throne,
while the choir sings the antiphon,
Corona aurea super caput ejus.
The subdeacon of the Sacred
college, Cardinal di Pietro, intones
the Pater noster, and afterwards
reads the prayer, Omnipotens
sempiterne Deus, dignitas
Sacerdotii, etc. The Second deacon
removes the mitre from the head of
the Pontiff, and Cardinal Mertel
approaches, bearing the tiara.
Placing it on the head of the Pope,
he says:
Accipe thiaram tribus coronis
ornatam, et scias te esse Patrem
Principum et Regum, Rectorem
Orbis, in terra Vicarium Salvatoris
Nostri Jesu Christi, cui est honor
et gloria in sæcula sœculorum.
Tiara of Pope Leo XIII (1903)
displayed in the
Saint Peter and the Vatican:
The Legacy of the Popes museum tour.
Detail from a photo at
Clear Channel Exhibitions © 2003-2004
[Receive the tiara adorned with
three crowns and know that thou
art Father of Princes and Kings,
Ruler of the World, Vicar of Our
Savior Jesus Christ on earth, to him
be the honor and glory forever and
ever.]
Source: Catholic World, Volume 27, Issue
158, May 1878, The Coronation of Pope Leo
XIII, page 282.
Color print declaring Leo XIII Lumen Coeli, Latin for the "Light of Heaven".
THE NATION AND KINGDOM THAT WILL NOT SERVE ME WILL PERISH
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The above papal medal from the 2nd year of the reign of Pope Leo XIII (1879) is
inscribed on the reverse with the Latin phrase GENS ET REGNUM QUOD NON
SERVIERIT MIHI PERIBIT, which translates to: THE NATION AND KINGDOM THAT
WILL NOT SERVE ME WILL PERISH, (Isaiah 60:12 from the Latin Vulgate). The figure
on the reverse is that of the church depicted as a papal tiara crowned queen, sitting on her
throne, which calls to mind Revelation 18:7How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment
and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no
widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Claims of Obedience to Pope as to God (Leo
XIII)
22. ... But the supreme teacher in the
Church is the Roman Pontiff. Union of
minds, therefore, requires, together with a
perfect accord in the one faith, complete
submission and obedience of will to the
Church and to the Roman Pontiff, as to
God Himself.
Leo XIII Pontifex Maximus
Source: Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter,
Sapientiae Christianae (On the Chief Duties
of Christians as Citizens), dated January 10, 1890, trans. in The Great Encyclical Letters of
Pope Leo XIII (New York: Benziger, 1903), p. 193.
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Pope Leo XIII
Claims to hold the place of God on Earth.
... We [the pope] hold upon this earth the place of
God Almighty, ...
Source: Pope Leo XIII, Apostolic Exhortation
Praeclara Gratulationis Publicae (The Reunion of
Christendom), dated June 20, 1894, trans. in The
Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII (New
York: Benziger, 1903), paragraph 5, page 304.
Pope Leo XIII Pontifex Maximus
wearing the 1834 tiara of Pope Gregory
XVI
Pope Leo XIII Affirms Supreme Universal Papal Authority
9. ... But he who dissents even in one
point from divinely revealed truth
absolutely rejects all faith, since he
thereby refuses to honour God as the
supreme truth and the formal motive of
faith. ...
13. ... the Pontiffs who succeed Peter in
the Roman Episcopate receive the
supreme power in the church, jure
divino. "We define" (declare the Fathers
of the Council of Florence) "that the
Holy and Apostolic See and the Roman
Pontiff hold the primacy of the Church
throughout the whole world: and that the
same Roman Pontiff is the successor of
St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, and
the true Vicar of Christ, the head of the
whole Church, and the father and teacher
of all Christians; and that full power was
given to him, in Blessed Peter, by our
Lord Jesus Christ to feed, to rule, and to
govern the universal Church, as is also
contained in the acts of ecumenical
councils and in the sacred canons"
(Conc. Florentinum). Similarly the Fourth
Council of Lateran declares: "The
Roman Church, as the mother and
mistress of all the faithful, by the will of
Christ obtains primacy of jurisdiction
over all other Churches." These
declarations were preceded by the
consent of antiquity which ever
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1887 neo-gothic tiara of Leo XIII
Photo: Papal Sacristy, The Vatican
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acknowledged, without the slightest
doubt or hesitation, the Bishops of Rome,
and revered them, as the legitimate
successors of St. Peter. ...
15. ... But the authority of the Roman
Pontiff
is
supreme,
universal,
independent; that of the bishops limited,
and dependent. ...
16. ... What Christ has said of Himself
We may truly repeat of Ourselves: "Other
sheep I have that are not of this fold:
them also I must bring and they shall hear
my voice" (John x., 16). ...
... Our soul goes out to those whom the
foul breath of irreligion has not entirely
corrupted, and who at least seek to have
the true God, the Creator of Heaven and
earth, as their Father. Let such as these
take counsel with themselves, and realize
that they can in no wise be counted
among the children of God, unless they
take Christ Jesus as their Brother, and at
the same time the [Roman Catholic]
Church as their mother.
Pope Leo XIII wearing his 1887
neo-gothic tiara
Source: Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter
SATIS COGNITUM (On the Unity of
the Church), June 29, 1896.
The Roman Pontiff is God's instrument of salvation
"This is Our last lesson to you: receive it, engrave it in your minds, all of you:
by God's commandment salvation is to be found nowhere but in the Church;
the strong and effective instrument of salvation is none other than the Roman
Pontificate." − Pope Leo XIII, in Allocution for the 25th Anniversary of His
Election, given on February 20, 1903.
Source: Papal Teachings: The Church, selected and arranged by the Benedictine Monks of
Solesmes, translated by Mother E. O'Gorman, R.S.C.J., Manhattanville College of the
Sacred Heart, St. Paul Editions, Boston, © 1980, 1962 by Daughters of St. Paul, Library of
Congress catalog card number 62-12454,
par. #653, page 353.
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Does the pope speak?
It is Jesus Christ who is speaking!
Pope Pius X wearing the 1834 tiara
of Pope Gregory XVI
Photo copyright 1914 by Underwood &Underwood
"The Pope is not simply the representative of Jesus Christ: On
the contrary, he is Jesus Christ Himself, under the veil of the
flesh, and who by means of a being common to humanity
continues His ministry amongst men ... Does the Pope speak?
It is Jesus Christ Who is speaking. Does he teach? It is Jesus
Christ Who teaches. Does he confer grace or pronounce an
anathema? It is Jesus Christ Himself Who is pronouncing the
anathema and conferring grace. Hence consequently, when
one speaks of the Pope, it is not necessary to examine, but to
obey: there must be no limiting the bounds of the command,
in order to suit the purpose of the individual whose obedience
is demanded: there must be no cavilling at the declared will of
the Pope, and so invest it with quite another than that which
he has put upon it: no preconceived opinions must be brought
to bear upon it: no rights must be set up against the rights of
the Holy Father to teach and command; his decisions are not
to be criticized, or his ordinances disputed. Therefore, by
Divine ordination, all, no matter how august the person may
be — whether he wear a crown or be invested with the
purple, or be clothed in the sacred vestments: all must be
subject to Him Who has had all things put under Him."
Source: Evangelical Christendom, Vol. 49, January 1,
1895, pg. 15, the organ of the Evangelical Alliance,
published in London by J. S. Phillips. (See also Index page
pg. 14)
Frequently quoted, this blasphemous claim is attributed to the inaugural sermon (given in
St. Mark's) of Cardinal Giuseppe Melchior Sarto, Patriarch of Venice (1893-1903). His
elevation to Cardinal and Patriarch, in June of 1893 by Pope Leo XIII, was contested and
delayed for 18 months by the Italian government, who claimed the right of exequatur, but
withheld their approval. (See Evangelical Christendom, Vol. 48, May 1, 1894, pg. 142.)
During that time, Cardinal Sarto was even denied entry into the city of Venice. King
Humbert finally relented September 5th of 1894, giving his assent to the appointment. In
his first pastoral letter to the Venetians, Cardinal Sarto then wrote:
"Harmony between the different social classes must be re-established; peace
must reign on earth. This is the task I intend to perform for you; this is the duty
I promise to fulfil that all may once again be subject to the dominion of God,
Jesus Christ and His Vicar on earth."
Source: Saint Pius X, The New Italian Life Of The Saint, by Fr. Hieronymo
Dal-Gal, translated and adapted by Rev. Thomas F. Murray, M.A., fourth
revised impression, published by M. H. Gill and Son Ltd., 50 Upper O'Connell
Street, 1954, pg. 104.
Dal-Gal continues:
"On the afternoon of November 24th 1894, a steamboat of the Royal Marine
carried Cardinal Sarto over the peaceful waters of the Grand Canal, stopping
in the close vicinity of the Golden Cathedral of St. Mark. All the bells of the
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city announced the joy and triumph of the multitudinous throngs lining the
canals and crowding at the windows of the palaces. They waved their white
flags beneath the rich marble balconies and shouted a prolonged chorus of
jubilation as the Cardinal in his scarlet robes passed by, blessing them as a
father does his children. ... Midst such festivity, flourish and magnificence did
the humble Patriarch enter the city of the Doges; ... [pg. 107] Cardinal Sarto's
first real meeting with the Venetians took place the following morning when he
celebrated Solemn High Mass in the Cathedral of St. Mark and addressed his
first words to them from the pulpit. The Cathedral was brilliantly illuminated,
and a huge crowd of people hastened to take a closer glance at their new
Patriarch and listen to his words."
Source: Ibid, pgs. 106 & 107.
As first reported by Evangelical Christendom, the Cardinal's homily was, in context,
boldly asserting the Pope to be the sole authority to appoint the Princes of the Roman
Catholic Church. Cardinal Sarto later became Pope Pius X (1903-1914). His sermon was
also cited in:
Catholique Nationale, July 13, 1895 (Reported in the Protestant Church Review of
October 3, and November 14th, 1895, and the India Watchman, in The Friend, A
Religious And Literary Journal, Volume LXIX, 1896, Philadelphia, pg. 154.)
Daniel and the Revelation: The Chart of Prophecy and Our Place In It, A Study of
the Historical and Futurist Interpretation, by Joseph Tanner, published in London
by Hodder and Stoughton, 1898, pages 153, 154.
In Publications of the Catholic Truth Society, Volume 29, 1896, The Catholic Truth
Society of London published a booklet by Rev. Sydney F. Smith S. J. titled Does The Pope
Claim To Be God. On pages 10 and 11 it reveals that Cardinal Sarto was queried about the
alleged homily, and that he gave the following reply in a letter written sometime before Jan.
10, 1896:
"... I have read all the homilies I have made since my coming here in Venice,
and only in the sermon for the anniversary of the election of the Holy Father, I
said these exact words: 'The Pope represents Jesus Christ Himself, and
therefore is a loving father. The life of the Pope is a holocaust of love for the
human family. His word is love. Love, his weapons; love, the answer he gives
to all who hate him; love, his flag, —i.e., the Cross, which signed the greatest
triumph on earth and in heaven.' ... &c."
The Pope at the time, Leo XIII, was elected on February 20th, 1878, so the date referred to
by Cardinal Sarto for his homily celebrating the Pope's anniversary would have been on or
about February 20th of 1895, while the blasphemous homily attributed to him was given at
the first Mass he celebrated in St. Mark's, which was on Sunday November 25th, 1894,
some three months earlier. Note that the above article in Evangelical Christendom was
already in print and on the street some two months before Cardinal Sarto gave the sermon
he offers as the genuine one! I find that very curious indeed.
Clearly when Cardinal Sarto was contemplating his reply, he was not aware of the
Evangelical Christendom article of January 1st, 1895, that essentially pinpointed the
homily as the one he gave the day after he had so triumphantly entered the city of Venice
as its new Patriarch, a mere five weeks earlier. And who would need to check their records
in order to ascertain if they had ever given such a sermon and made such claims? I would
suggest that rather than being a credible denial, Cardinal Sarto (Pius X) offered an evasive
and inadequate reply that does not exonerate him, rather it tends to support the reported
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blasphemous homily as being completely genuine.
A new and revised edition of Rev. Smith's booklet titled Does The Pope Claim To Be
Divine? published in 1929 makes no mention of, or defense of, Cardinal Sarto's homily.
Very curious indeed.
The Pope is the ruler of the world.
Pope Pius X shown wearing the
1887 neo-gothic tiara of Pope Leo XIII
Tell us we are Catholics first and
Americans or Englishmen
afterwards; of course we are. Tell
us, in the conflict between the
church and the civil government we
take the side of the church; of
course we do. Why, if the
government of the United States
were at war with the church, we
would say tomorrow, to hell with
the government of the United
States; and if the church and all the
governments of the world were at
war, we would say, to hell with all
the governments of the world. * * *
Why is it that in this country where
we have only seven per cent of the
population, the Catholic church is
so much feared? She is loved by all
her children and feared by
everybody. Why is it the Pope has
such tremendous power? Why, the
Pope is the ruler of the world. All
the emperors, all the kings, all the
princes, all the presidents of the
world are as these altar boys of
mine. The Pope is the ruler of the
world.
Source: The Western Watchman, a paper
published in St. Louis by Father D. S. Phelan,
June 27th, 1912.
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The above photo, which is probably the first of a papal coronation, is from page 8 of the
October 14th, 1914 edition of the newspaper The Humeston New Era, of Iowa.
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Coronation Tiara of Pius
XI
Rome. Feb. 6.―The Papal
tiara which will be worn by the
successor of Pope Benedict
XV, is a magnificent sample of
the goldsmith's and jeweler's
work. It is formed on a basis of
very fine felt covered with a
kind of silver mesh on which
there are three crowns. Each
of which consists of a gold
band of extremely light
construction, set with jewels
and edged with two rows of
pearls.
There are 90 pearls in each
row, making 540 pearls in all.
The first crown is, in addition
to the pearls, adorned in the
order given with 16 rubies,
three emeralds, a hyacinth, an
aquamarine, three rubies, a
sapphire, and eight gold points
with five garnets and two
Balas rubies. The second
crown has 10 emeralds, 8
Balas rubies, one chrysolite,
two aquamarines, six small
rubies and three sapphires.
In the third are 16 small Balas
rubies, three larger Balas
rubies, four sapphires, three
hyacinths, three aquamarines,
one garnet, eight gold floral
ornaments each with two
emeralds, one Balas ruby, a
chrysolite and eight gold
points, each adorned with a
garnet.
The top of the tiara is covered
with a layer of thin gold, in
which there are set eight rubies
and eight emeralds. The gold
covering is surmounted by a
golden globe enameled in blue
on the top of which is cross
composed of 11 brilliants.
Finally the fanions of the tiara,
which will bear the arms of the
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Tiara of Pope Gregory XVI (1834)
as personalized by Pope Pius IX
Photo: Papal Sacristy, The Vatican
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new Pontiiff, are adorned with
topazes, emeralds, and other
jewels.
Altogether, without reckoning
the six rows of valuable pearls,
there are 146 jewels of various
colours and 11 brilliants. Reuter
Source: The Daily Gleaner,
Kingston Jamaica, Tuesday
March 14th, 1922, page 4.
Papal Sovereignty Claimed Over All the People of the World.
67. ... the hand of God, who
guides the course of history,
has set down the Chair of
His Vicar on earth, in this
city of Rome which, from
being the capital of the
wonderful Roman Empire,
was made by Him the capital
of the whole world, because
He made it the seat of a
sovereignty which, since it
extends beyond the confines
of nations and states,
embraces within itself all the
peoples of the whole world.
The very origin and divine
nature of this sovereignty
demands, the inviolable
rights of conscience of
millions of the faithful of the
whole world demand that
this sacred sovereignty must
not be, neither must it ever
appear to be, subject to any
human authority or law
whatsoever, even though
that law be one which
proclaims certain guaranties
for the liberty of the Roman
Pontiff.
Pius XI Pontifex Maximus
Source: Pope Pius XI,
Encyclical Letter
UBI
ARCANO DEI CONSILIO
(On the Peace of Christ in
the Kingdom of Christ),
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December 23, 1922.
The above medal celebrates the Lateran Treaty of 1929, by which Vatican City was
formally recognized again as a political state, with the Pope as its absolute monarch. A bust
of the pope is on the front, and on the reverse is the apostle Peter, with the keys of
authority, depicted as having global dominion from his seat, the Vatican City, Rome. As the
successor of Peter, Pius XI was symbolically depicted by this medal to be the ruler of the
world, and Vatican City to be its capital, as plainly stated in his encyclical of 1922, cited
above.
Tiara of Pope Pius XI
(1922)
Pius XI enthroned in St. Peters, wearing the
tiara from the people of Milan in 1922.
The papal medal shown below, also dated 1929, depicts Pius XI wearing his 1922 kingly
triregno tiara.
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Pius XI Declares the Roman Catholic Priest "another Christ".
12. ... Thus the priest, as is said with
good reason, is indeed "another
Christ"; for, in some way, he is himself
a continuation of Christ. ...
Source: Pope Pius XI, Encyclical AD
CATHOLICI SACERDOTII (On the Catholic
Priesthood), promulgated on 20 December 1935.
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
John 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to
stone him.
John 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good
works have I showed you from my Father; for
which of those works do ye stone me?
John 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a
good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy;
and because that thou, being a man, makest
thyself God.
Pius XI wearing the 1834 tiara
of Pope Gregory XVI
Submission to Papal Authority
Must Extend Beyond Infallible "Ex Cathedra" Decrees.
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25. ... This religious submission of mind
and will must be shown in a special way
to the authentic magisterium [teaching
authority] of the Roman Pontiff, even
when he does not speak ex cathedra;
that is, it must be shown is such a way
that his supreme magisterium is
acknowledged with reverence, the
judgments made by him are sincerely
adhered to, according to his manifest
mind and will. His mind and will in the
matter may be known either from the
character of the documents, from his
frequent repetition of the same doctrine,
or from his manner of speaking. ...
Source: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, promulgated by Pope Paul
VI on November 21, 1964, published by St. Paul Books & Media, Daughters of St. Paul, 50
St. Paul's Ave., Boston, Ma. 02130.
THE SUPREME PONTIFF - PONTIFEX MAXIMUS
Pontifex Maximus: a Pagan Title of the Roman Emperor.
[p. 306] The Edict of Milan (313),
issued jointly by Constantine and
Licinius, proclaimed liberty of
conscience and showed partiality for
Christianity. His policy at first was
not to interfere with pagan worship,
but by filling the chief offices with
Christians and surrounding himself
with Christian teachers to make the
condition of Christians enviable… He
… [p. 307] enjoined the civil
observance of Sunday, though only as
the day of the Sun, and in connection
with an ordinance requiring the
consultation of the soothsayer
(321)…As the Roman emperor was
Pontifex Maximus of the pagan State
religion, he would naturally assume
the same relation to Christianity
when it became predominant. This
headship the gratitude of the
Christians heartily accorded. In all of
his dealings with Christian matters
the supreme motive seems to have
been that of securing unity. About
doctrinal differences he was almost
indifferent.
But
he
dreaded
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John XXIII wearing the 1877 tiara of Pius IX
Photo by Felici, Roma
dissension among those on whom he
depended for the support of his
government.
Source: Albert Henry Newman, A Manual of Church History, Vol. 1 (rev. ed.;
Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication Society), pp. 306, 307.
Copyright 1933 by The Judson Press, Philadelphia.
Above you see a Denarius or "Tribute Penny" minted at Lugdunum (Lyon) during the reign
of Emperor Tiberius (14-37 A.D.) The obverse with Tiberius' bust is inscribed TI CAESAR
DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS. The reverse is inscribed PONTIF MAXIM and depicts the
emperor's mother Livia as Pax (peace) holding an olive-branch and long vertical scepter.
This is the type of coin mentioned in Matt 22:19, Mark 12:15, and Luke 20:24. If someone
had asked the apostle Peter who the "Pontifex Maximus" was, he would likely have shown
them a tribute penny like that above and replied "The Roman Emperor". Peter would not
have known of any other application of the title.
Now below is a very similar papal medal proclaiming Pope John XXIII, the claimed
successor to Peter, to be the reigning "Pontifex Maximus" on the front (appropriately
wearing the triregno crown) and "Obedience and Peace" on the reverse.
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Unity with the Roman
Pontiff
Necessary to Salvation
"Into this fold of Jesus Christ, no
man may enter unless he be led by the
Sovereign Pontiff; and only if they be
united to him can men be saved, for
the Roman Pontiff is the Vicar of
Christ and His personal representative
on earth."
Photo: Maryknoll Fathers, Maryknoll, N.Y.
Pope John XXIII waves to the
crowd after his coronation
with the 1877 tiara of Pius IX.
(3). Hoc in Iesu Christi ovile, nonnisi
Summo Pontifice ductore, quisquam
ingredi potest; et homines turn
solummodo, cum ei coniunguntur, tuto
possunt salvi fieri, quandoquidem
Romanus Pontifex Vicarius est Christi,
eiusque in terris personam gerit.
— Pope John XXIII, homily to the
Bishops and faithful assisting at his
coronation on November 4, 1958.
Source: Papal Teachings: The Church, selected
and arranged by the Benedictine Monks of
Solesmes, translated by Mother E. O'Gorman,
R.S.C.J., Manhattanville College of the Sacred
Heart, St. Paul Editions, Boston, © 1980, 1962 by
Daughters of St. Paul, Library of Congress catalog
card number 62-12454,
par. #1556, page 791.
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Pope John XXIII wearing the tiara given
to
him by the people of Bergamo Italy in
1959.
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Photo: IMMAGINI DEL CONCILIO: CITTA DEL VATICANO: 1966
by Fausto Vallainc and Giovanni Fallani
Press Office of the Ecumenical Council.
A papal mitre (left) and the 1959 tiara of John XXIII
(right)
in procession during the Second Vatican Council.
Papal Rome a Continuation
of the Roman Empire
[p. 269] Whatever Roman elements the
barbarians and Arians left … [came] under the
protection of the Bishop of Rome, who was
the chief person there after the Emperor’s
disappearance… [p. 270] The Roman Church
in this way privily pushed itself into the place
of the Roman World-Empire, of which it is the
actual continuation; the empire has not
perished, but has only undergone a
transformation… That is no mere “clever
remark,” but the recognition of the true state
of the matter historically, and the most
appropriate and fruitful way of describing the
character of this Church. It still governs the
nations… It is a political creation, and as
imposing as a World-Empire, because the
continuation of the Roman Empire, the Pope,
who calls himself “King” and “Pontifex
Maximus,” is Caesar’s successor.
1959 Tiara of Pope John XXIII
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Source: Adolf Harnack, What Is Christianity? trans. by
Thomas Bailey Saunders (2d ed., rev.; New York: Putnam,
1901), pp. 269, 270. [Ernest Benn Ltd., London, has
recently published a new edition of this book.]
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The Papal title of Pontiff originated with the Caesars of Rome, which declared Caesar to
be the head of the Sun worshipping Pagan church. This title was adopted by the Bishop of
Rome with the demise of the Roman empire, and it makes the Pope the head of the pagan
church of Rome.
Pope John Paul II claims to take the place of Jesus Christ on
Earth.
From "Crossing The Threshold of Hope", by Pope John Paul II, published by
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., copyright 1994 by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, ISBN
0-679-76561-1, First Chapter, "The Pope": A Scandal and a Mystery First Chapter: "The Pope": A Scandal and a Mystery:
The Pope is considered the man on earth who represents the Son
of God, who "takes the place" of the Second Person of the
omnipotent God of the Trinity. [pg. 3]
The Pope is not the only one who holds this title. With regard to
the Church entrusted to him, each bishop is Vicarius Christi. [pg.
13]
If you translate "represents the Son of God" into Latin, the official language of
the Church, you get Vicarius Filii Dei, which in Roman Numerals will add up
to 666. John Paul II also claims to "take the place" of Christ, which in Latin is
Vicarius Christi, which has precisely the same meaning as the word
AntiChrist.
Acts 10:25 And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at
his feet, and worshipped him.
Acts 10:26 But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
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While Peter prohibited Cornelius from prostrating himself before him in worship, Peter's
claimed successor; Pope John Paul II, in striking contradiction, has his new Bishops
prostrate themselves before him in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, at the alleged tomb of
Peter, during their ordination ceremony.
Passional Christ and
Antichrist
Christ washes his disciples feet.
The Pope demands his feet be kissed.
The above woodcuts are from Passional of Christ and Antichrist of 1521, illustrated by
Lucas Cranach with captions by Martin Luther. These were the themes of other
illustrations:
Christ fled from an earthly crown — Antichrist ever seeks earthly dominion
Christ is given a crown of thorns — Antichrist wears a triple crown of gold
Christ paid taxes — The Pope is exempt from taxes
Christ lived in humble poverty — Antichrist fares sumptuously
Christ was bowed to earth with the cross — The Pope is carried about in state
Christ rode into Jerusalem on a humble ass — Antichrist rides a beautiful, caparisoned
steed
Christ sought neither silver nor gold — Antichrist rules cities and empires
Christ's kingdom was not with observation — Antichrist subjects the whole world
Christ drove out the moneychangers — The Pope sells indulgences.
Christ ascends to heaven — The Pope will descend into hell
Martin Luther summarized in a later edition of Passional of Christ and Antichrist:
"Christ and the pope are here presented opposite each other. Please note the
case of each. It will not be difficult for you to decide whether or not the pope
is the Antichrist, who is against our Lord Jesus Christ."
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At left: Pope John XXIII
enthroned during the opening
ceremonies of the Second Vatican
Council.
2 Th 2:3 Let no man
deceive you by any
means: for that day
shall not come, except
there come a falling
away first, and that
man of sin be
revealed, the son of
perdition;
2 Th 2:4 Who
opposeth and exalteth
himself above all that
is called God, or that
is worshipped; so that
he as God sitteth in
the temple of God,
showing himself that
he is God.
John XXIII Pontifex Maximus
Photo: Maryknoll Fathers, Maryknoll, N.Y.
Clearly, in light of the above
evidence, this passage speaks of
the Papacy of the Roman Catholic
Church.
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