By Rev. Fr. Stephen A. Okeke (Ph.D.)
The Catholic Church has always revered the Pontiff (Pope) as her visible head in the world and attributes this to the Petrine office which St. Peter as the first Pope. Jesus Christ handed over the mantle of leadership of the Church to Peter. The Catholic Church has always traced apostolic succession from Peter to the present Pope. The leader of the Catholic Church doubles as a Spiritual and Political Leader in the sense that it has its own state and government with appointed sub-leaders who are responsible to the Supreme Pontiff. The Pope also relates to other world leaders and influences some political decisions across the continents.
Apostolic Succession- Jesus Christ as the founder of the Christian religion was a historical and influential figure and more importantly a spiritual figure seen as the Son of God, the Redeemer, Savior, and Deliverer of man. When he began his public ministry, he appointed people from among his disciples whom he named “apostles” and later made St. Simon Peter the head of the church when he said: “And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven” (Mtt 16: 18-19). It is maintained that the word Pope dates back to the early church where it simply meant “Father’’, and was applied to all priests. The Pope once elected in the Sistine Chapel first and foremost becomes the Bishop of Rome. The first reference to the idea of an ‘Apostolic Succession’ giving the Bishop of Rome special authority came in the writings of the early Christian writer Ireneus of Lyon in AD 180. By AD 250, the shrine to St Peter had been built at the Vatican.
St. Ireneus writes that: “it is possible then, for everyone in every church, who may wish to know the truth, to contemplate the tradition of the apostles which has been made known to us throughout the whole world. And we are in a position to enumerate those who were instituted bishops by the apostles and their successors down to our own times.”
The Catechism of the Church teaches that: “The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter’s successor “is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful. “For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as Pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered’’.
In his exhortation to Timothy, St. Paul maintains that what they have heard from him before many witnesses should be entrusted to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Tim 2:2) This apparently refers to Paul’s generation of Christians as well as the time of Timothy and extends to generations after them.
The Office of the Pope and the Church Authorities span around the dispensation of the ministerial priesthood of Jesus Christ and the stewardship of the mysteries of faith. The Church has the mission and task of preaching the Gospel, governing, reconciling and sanctifying the people and it also has an eschatological dimension. This cuts across all cultures and religions as the church have relationship with other Christian Communities through its Ecumenical Dialogue and people of other faith traditions through Interreligious Dialogues. The Pope and Muslims, Jewish people and others usually have some good relationships established over time and being strengthened with time.
The Pope and World Politics- The position of the Pope in the world stage cannot be ignored by both Catholics and Non-Catholics with the office being the world’s oldest institutional office. In the words of a writer, “the Pope, in addition to his leadership of the global diplomatic corps and the Roman Curia, is also the uncontested central leader of a religious community numbering over a billion souls and present in virtually every corner of the globe”. The writer concludes that the Holy See brings Sovereignty, Supranationalism, and soft power to its participation in global politics.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the pope is an utterly unique actor in international relations. He acts in some ways like a State; Pope Francis currently enjoys formal diplomatic relations with over 180 individual countries across the globe, from Albania to Zimbabwe. At the same time, he is the spiritual head of the Catholic Church. He is a major global celebrity, first citizen of the global civil society.
It is on record that the Holy See intervened in Cuba, mediating conversations between then-President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro. The Vatican Diplomats attempted mediation in Venezuela between the government of Nicolas Maduro and the opposition. The Holy See was at the forefront of the United Nations push for new global treaty banning nuclear weapons. They were involved in peace talks in trying to end the war in Syria and the post-Apartheid South Africa.
Pope John Paul 11 was credited with the role he played in the collapse of Communism and other ways he influenced world’s politics and global policies through his speeches and writings. The social teachings of the church are part of its contributions to the global world politics and peace. The Pope is undoubtedly the religious leader of Catholic Church but his influences extends to other Christian and religious bodies while at the same time one of the most powerful voices to reckon with in global politics.
