The first reason, I believe, for the longevity of the
papacy is its solid 'claim to right'.
Tellenbach also portrays the growing attempts by the
papacy, after 1050, to take the practical leadership of the church out of the hands of the secular rulers as part of a wider, and deliberate, campaign to clericalize the church to a degree never known before, as well as to magnify the distinction between clergy and laity.
Coppa's political history of the
papacy avoids, for the most part, these potential pitfalls, especially between the end of the eighteenth century up until the end of the
papacy of Pius XI in 1939.
A Companion to the Medieval
Papacy: Growth of an Ideology and Institution
Rather, the pope, without the active participation of the clergy and people, appoints the bishops, choosing men known for their fidelity to the
papacy and their doctrinal orthodoxy.
On the contrary, Benedict spoke openly, both during the waning years of Pope John Paul II's
papacy and after his own election, of the possibility of a pope resigning.
Finally, Part VI, "The
Papacy as a Global Institution," charts the story of the long 20th-century
papacy with a lengthy essay on John Paul IF rounding off the volume.
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI has spent much of his eight-year
papacy in the shadow of his larger-than-life predecessor John Paul II, only to burst into the limelight with his shock resignation announcement on Monday.
The
Papacy since 1500: From Italian Prince to Universal Pastor.
The edited book at hand gathers various responses to John Paul II's invitation in Ut unum sint to provide fresh ecumenical perspectives on the role of the
papacy in a united church.
Keepers of the Keys of Heaven: A History of the
PapacyThe sixth-century controversy provoked one of the most serious and long-lasting schisms of the early Medieval Church, exposing fault lines not only between East and West and between the Empire and the
papacy, but also between the developing churches and monarchies of western Europe and the Roman Church.
