Easy! Just remit your taxes to the Vatican instead. They don't pay taxes anyways. And, there is a over Billion of us. One Billion! Just think of it! One Billion of us, worldwide, and then some, suddenly just up and remit our taxes to God, care of the Pope - instead of the Fed.

What would they do? What could they do? Nothing. We would have all the money deposited in Vatican Gold around the world in a heartbeat. And, it's done. That's it, it's over. No more fed without us and the Pope acting as middle man to our money.

WooHoo! We conquer the world in one day! And, rule them all with our stipends issued upon our clergies approval of "their" plans.

And, now they come to us, Kings, hat in hand begging for 'Change.'

Sincerely yours

Jehovah God

"It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning." Henry Ford

The current economic system completely fails the constitutional, moral, ethical, and financial tests. Failure to change it permits a few, mostly non-productive, nefarious, individuals, groups, and corporations to continue to suck the life-blood from hard-working wage earners and the entire society. The time has come to drive a stake through the heart of this evil and unjust system, once and for all.

"Most Americans have no real understanding of the operation of the international money lenders. The accounts of the Federal Reserve System have never been audited. It operates outside the control of Congress and manipulates the credit of the United States" Sen. Barry Goldwater (Rep. Az)

"We are completely dependant on the commercial banks. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the banks create ample synthetic money we are prosperous; if not, we starve. We are absolutely without a permanent money system It is the most important subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it becomes widely understood and the defects remedied very soon." Robert H. Hemphill, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank (January 24, 1939)

"Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce." James A. Garfield, President of the United States

The heart of the US economy is the "Federal" Reserve System. If we are to extricate ourselves from this evil financial regime, then the "Federal" Reserve System must be discontinued and replaced. The US Constitution gives Congress the duty to create and regulate money. Yet, in 1913, the financial system of the US was handed over (sold) to corrupt, private interests, in complete violation of the US Constitution, both in spirit and in word.

Article 1, Section 8, clause 5 states: "The Congress shall have Power To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures." No where does it give Congress the right to "sell" this responsibility to a private corporation. No where does it permit Congress to completely ignore and abandon the General Welfare clauses of the US Constitution. Nowhere in the Constitution does it permit Congress or the President to install a Government of Big Money, for Big Money and by Big Money.

"The few who understand the system, will either be so interested from it's profits or so dependant on it's favors, that there will be no opposition from that class." Rothschild Brothers of London, 1863

"Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes it's laws" Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild

What's worse, many of the so-called "stockholders" of the "Federal" Reserve System are foreign controlled corporations. It's bad enough that our politicians sold control of the US money supply to private corporations, but to give a Constitutional duty and responsibility over to foreign profiteers is treasonous. There simply is no other way to characterize it. Additionally, the very concept of turning over control of the money supply of the nation and the issuing authority thereof, to a private corporation and a network of private banks is corruption at its worst. Talk about putting the fox in charge of the hen house! The conflict of interest inherent in permitting private banks to issue (create) money, for profit, is obvious. But, to give them a complete monopoly to control a vital Constitutional duty, reserved to Congress, is beyond absurd. This is a level of criminality that boggles the mind.

"The financial system has been turned over to the Federal Reserve Board. That Board administers the finance system by authority of a purely profiteering group. The system is Private, conducted for the sole purpose of obtaining the greatest possible profits from the use of [the American] people's money" Charles A. Lindbergh Sr., 1923

The current financial system is based completely on debt. Every dollar created, currency or credit, must be borrowed into existence, with compound interest. When banks create money (loans), they create the loan amount, but never the interest amount. This means there can never be enough money on the books or in circulation to ever pay outstanding debts. This guarantees the money supply will always be too low, that a percentage of loans must always fail, that there will always be inflation and that the national debt will always continue to grow. This, is the specific financial mechanism that guarantees the existence and persistence of poverty and high crime rates!

This is also the very mechanism that drives the constant destruction and exploitation of nature. The only way to keep the system afloat is by extracting more resources from nature, manufacturing new value, and forever chasing an unreachable goal. No matter what you do, it's mathematically impossible to ever pay off the national debt and/or all private debts. The very process of creating new money, under this evil banking and currency system, always creates more new debt. The result of this mathematical structure is to create a giant economic treadmill, with people always chasing the illusion of financial security. A computer programmer would call this an endless loop. In short, it's a math/logic trap. Money, when created as a positive ledger entry (asset), persists in the economy. When created as a negative ledger item (debt), plus interest, it disappears from existence when the debt is repaid and always leaves more debt behind in the economy. The bigger the economy, the bigger the debt. It's simply impossible to ever produce your way out of this system. Just when it looks like things are going good, it'll always crash. The only way to escape the trap is to understand it and to end the current financial and banking model that drives it.

The unavoidable, end-result of this math/logic structure is, eventually, one person or "entity" will own everything and everyone. No matter what you, I or even the nation does, this system will deliver ownership of the entire nation and everyone in it, to some shadowy owner at the top of the economic pyramid. Now, look at the pyramid on the back of a dollar bill. This is the symbol of the economic system installed by the Federal Reserve Board in 1913. Its sole function is to funnel wealth (ownership) up the pyramid, to the top. The math/logic structure I described is one of the mysteries of this system. It creates a voracious engine that chews up nature, people and whole nations, and pushes their wealth up the pyramid. Now look around at our society and world and how it's financially stratified, just like a pyramid. Notice how the rich keep getting richer, poverty never goes away, and middle-class debt keeps growing? Notice how the national debt never shrinks as we continue to pay taxes, just to cover the interest?
The system's (traps) negative effects are increased in several ways. First, the growing number of multi-national corporations concentrates the means of production, wealth, and power into fewer and fewer hands. Next, the tax code moves wealth out of the hands of citizens and up the pyramid, to the already obscenely wealthy. Our taxes pay the interest on the national debt, which is another source of profit for the "Federal" Reserve System's hidden "stockholders". At the same time your wealth is being stolen, the tax code permits multi-nationals and the super-rich to retain obscene amounts of wealth. Because the money supply is already too short, thanks to universal usury, this hoarding of an already short resource (money and wealth), further increases poverty and despair and their terrible side-effects on people, societies, and the world. So, why is it necessary to increase poverty and make life harder? Because poverty and the fear of poverty (the stick), and the resulting despair and greed, are what drives this economic treadmill, ever onward, towards the illusion of personal and financial security (the carrot). It also keeps most people too distracted to ever have any chance of understanding enough of the trap, to ever have any hope of escape.

"This [Federal Reserve Act] establishes the most gigantic trust on earth. When the President [Wilson] signs this bill, the invisible government of the monetary power will be legalized the worst legislative crime of the ages is perpetrated by this banking and currency bill." Charles A. Lindbergh, Sr., 1913

"A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the world no longer a government of free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominant men." President Woodrow Wilson

"From now on, depressions will be scientifically created." Congressman Charles A. Lindbergh Sr., 1913

When recessions and depressions occur, loan and business failures skyrocket. These are the direct result of reducing the money supply (increasing interest and/or reducing loans and/or crashing stocks and other speculative investments), under this corrupt financial system. Loan failures are extremely profitable to the banking industry. When property is repossessed, banks have earned the payments already made plus they can resell the entire property again, including the portion of the property already paid for. Exactly where is the justice in permitting bankers, who created the "money" they loaned out of thin air, to repossess the portion of the property already paid for with hard-earned money, plus interest? Even worse, the banking system controls the economy, by controlling the money supply, and causes recessions and depressions, at will. Every time there's a recession or depression (the money supply is reduced), banks take control of more property and funnel more wealth up the pyramid. In short, recessions pump profits up the pyramid to the head bankers.

Some may still counter that a capitalist should be able to loan their money at a profit. Perhaps, if they were actually loaning their money. Besides the unconstitutionality of the current banking and financial regime, they've institutionalized a massive deception that acts like a ball and chain attached to every person's ability to earn, achieve personal and financial security, and realize the American dream. They've privatized and monopolized all access to money and extract maximum profit from every dollar loaned by banks or printed by the US Treasury.

"We have yet to pay one dime toward the principal of this alleged debt. Because of the modern banking miracle of compounding interest, this debt continues to rise unabated. Whose debt is it, anyway? Is this what you work your fingers to the bone for to pay usury to a private group of bankers who make up the Fed? Some of its stockholders are identified as: Rothschilds of London and Berlin; Lazard Brothers of Paris; Israel Moses Seif of Italy; Kuhn, Loeb and Warburg of Germany; and the Lehman Brothers, Goldman, Sachs, and the Rockefeller families of New York. The stockholders are not you nor I, not America, not the U.S. government. They are a consortium of private international banking families and their stockholders!" Larry Burkett The Coming Economic Earthquake, page 90

Under this astoundingly corrupt system, even the US government must borrow its own money from private sources, deceptively called the "Federal" Reserve Board, and then pay back both the principal and interest. This is the source of the national debt. Why is our government borrowing money the US Constitution specifically directs Congress to simply issue? Who has enough money to loan trillions to the US Government? Where did they get that much money, anyway? Herein lies the Grand Deception!

The "Federal" Reserve System, all its member banks, all European banks, and most other national banks, practice "Fractional Reserve Banking". In other words, they only have a fraction of the money they lend, on deposit or in reserve. With this scheme, banks lend many times more money than they actually have. The minimum is 10 times the deposits but it can be much higher. If they have 5 million in deposits, they can loan out 50 million or more. In short, banks create the money they lend, out of thin air, and then charge you compound interest, on non-existent money. All money is created this way now! This is 100% immoral and unconstitutional. This bases the entire US, and most of the world's, currency system on usury. Now reflect again upon the persistent poverty, crime, despair, and desperation that are unavoidable in the current US and World economies and societies. Even the richest nations on earth are plagued by persistent poverty. As usury was increased worldwide, so did poverty, crime, drug abuse, and a long list of personal and societal afflictions. Now you can begin to appreciate why all major religions are so strongly against usury.

Now, let's revisit the question of whether a capitalist should be able to loan their money at a profit. The first thing to understand about banks and financial institutions is the money they have on deposit and in reserve is other people's money not their own. The second thing to understand, banks and financial institutions never loan their own money, nor do they loan any of their depositors money, nor do they ever loan any pre-existing money. Deposits and reserves simply serve the purpose of determining how much money they can conjure out of thin air, based on the currently allowed multiplier. It's this "conjured" or "multiplied" money, for which you pay compound interest. You break your back and sweat blood just to have a large percentage of your efforts and earnings in life go to pay for money, created by slight of hand and a simple ledger entry. This is the source of most aristocratic family fortunes, sucking the life-blood from hard-working people and nations the world over, by loaning non-existent money at an exponential profit. This is usury on an unbelievably grand scale.

"We have, in this country, one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board. This evil institution has impoverished the people of the United States and has practically bankrupted our government. It has done this through the corrupt practices of the moneyed vultures who control it." Congressman Louis T. McFadden in 1932 (Rep. Pa)

This is a complete and total perversion of the concept of money as a positive store of value and as a positive ledger entry. Currently, every dollar in circulation represents a dollar's debt plus interest. This means there is 0% real money anywhere! In fact, every dollar printed, earned, used, etc., puts the society and nation deeper in debt. There are multiple purposes for this deception. One is to establish an illusion of great wealth, when in fact they're playing a huge, multi-faceted shell game. Another is to permit the easy manipulation of the money supply to cause major economic effects, at will. This permits shadowy, hidden "entities" to manipulate entire economies. It also gives them the power of life and death over most of the world's citizens. It creates massive national debt to place entire nations at the behest of international bankers. The interest and principal on this "debt", paid by the sweat and taxes of hard-working people, goes straight to the mostly foreign stockholders of the "Federal" Reserve System or other National Banks. It permits the wealthy to greatly magnify their apparent wealth and power and to earn maximum profits from minimal investment, effort, and risk. This makes the Enron and WorldCom scandals look like child's play.

"Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." Thomas Jefferson

Now that you understand the international banking deception, reflect again on the operations of the IMF and World Bank. Think about how they force draconian measures on Third-World nations in exchange for the conjured, "illusion of money" they "loan". Nations must pay massive amounts of interest for these "loans". It drives millions upon millions into abject poverty when these banks shut down the money supply. Affected countries are forced to privatize (sell) national treasures and industry to foreign multi-national corporations. And how do you suppose these countries got into financial straits in the first place? Who are the only people in the world with enough "money" and control to manipulate national currency values? And guess what nation stands squarely behind these international extortionists and Lords of Usury? The USA!

This is why so many in the Third World hate America. The World Trade Center was attacked because it was the symbol of America's financial might. Most of the people that worked in the WTC worked in the financial and banking industry. It's vital that every American citizen understands exactly why the USA is being called the Great Satan. The USA stands behind the international financial and banking system that imposes usury on the world and impoverishes Third-World nations. The USA uses its financial, legal, political and military power to impose and enforce the system that causes and perpetuates worldwide poverty and suffering.

"The governments of the present day have to deal not merely with other governments, with emperors, kings and ministers, but also with the secret societies which have everywhere their unscrupulous agents, and can at the last moment upset all the governments' plans. " British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, 1876

Why force whole nations to submit to a global financial system that funnels profits from usury to a few shadowy "aristocrats"? These same groups are the driving force and the secret power behind the New World Order. These "aristocrats" are the leaders of the same secret societies that many of our leading politicians belong to. Research the "Skull and Bones" and the Illuminati. The Illuminati symbol just happens to be on the back of your Federal Reserve Note dollar bills! These are the secret societies to which both President Bush Senior and Junior are loyal and active members. These groups are preparing the world for a new Luciferian order. You do know whom Lucifer is, don't you? If GW Bush is such a good "Christian" leader, why does he secretly work for groups that worship Satan? Why does he so enthusiastically push the policies of Big Money that cause and perpetuate global poverty and oppression? Is it just to expand the profits and control of a few billionaires and shadowy European families?

"The government of the Western nations, whether monarchical or republican, had passed into the invisible hands of a plutocracy, international in power and grasp. It was, I venture to suggest, this semi-occult power which pushed the mass of the American people into the cauldron of World War I." British military historian Major General J.F.C. Fuller, l941

Even if you don't believe in Satan or Lucifer, you must understand that these people whole-heartedly do and are feverishly preparing the world for Lucifer via the New World Order. This is the reason for the headlong rush to globalization and multi-national corporations. This is the reason behind forcing the world to submit to usury via Fractional Reserve Banking. This is why the actions of many (not all) multi-national corporations are so often blatantly evil. They may claim they're trying to build up economies and end world poverty. But you should understand this cruel joke by now. The financial system at the heart of this rapidly emerging global economic structure both creates poverty and guarantees that it can never go away. And all of this is done with an ancient moneychanger's trick from Babylon, also known as usury and now officially called Fractional Reserve Banking.

"Men occasionally stumble over truth, most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." Winston Churchill

Now, reflect again on the nature of the US and World economies and financial systems. They're based 100% on deception and illusion (Mystery). You now understand the math and logic trap of Fractional Reserve Banking and compound interest (Usury). How it causes and perpetuates, great wealth and great poverty, crime and a host of personal and social ills, blights, and suffering (Iniquity). You see the clearly "Satanic" symbol of the Illuminati pyramid on your money. Now you know that it clearly and blatantly represents the exact mechanism designed to funnel ownership of everything and everyone to the top of that pyramid and to the "all-seeing eye". You've probably heard the explanation that the eye represents God, which is of course, another lie. If it represented God, then why all the secrecy? Would God need deception, illusion, usury, poverty and suffering to secretly gain ownership of the world that "he" already owns? No, this massive deception is designed to deliver us into an evil-inspired New World Order, based on deception, financial slavery and totalitarian control at the hands of some mysterious future ruler(s).

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The Catholic population, meaning those who have been baptized by the Roman Catholic Church, cracked the one billion mark in 2001, according to the church's Pontifical Yearbook. Catholicism is by far the largest Christian denomination in the world, and more than 62 million Americans belong to the Catholic Church.

Photo courtesy Adam J. Polczyk-Przybyla / DHD Multimedia Gallery Inside the Vatican

Catholics look to Vatican City in Rome, where the pope lives, for their spiritual leadership. The pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican's head of state. The pope's governance of the Catholic Church is termed his Papacy. You often hear the pope called by many other names, including Papa, Vicar of Christ, Holy Father, and Bishop of Rome.

In this article, we will examine the jurisdiction of the Papacy of the Roman Catholic Church, discuss how someone becomes pope, and review some of the duties a pope performs.

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Papal Authority

As head of the Roman Catholic Church, the pope is the supreme spiritual leader of the Church and controls the church doctrine. With a billion followers, the pope's decisions impact societies and governments all over the world.

Photo courtesy Adam J. Polczyk-Przybyla / DHD Multimedia Gallery Pope John Paul II at his window above St. Peter's Square in Vatican City

To understand the authority of the papacy, we should first understand a little history of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church dates back to the time of Jesus Christ, when Christ selected Peter to lead his Church. In the book of Matthew (16:18) of the Bible, Christ says to Peter, "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." This statement, now known as the Petrine guarantee, gave Peter the fullness of power, according to the New Catholic Encyclopedia.

Many theologians believe the "rock" of which Christ spoke is Peter himself. Peter's original name was Simon; Christ gave Peter another name, Cephas, an Aramaic word meaning "rock." Aramaic is the language that Christ spoke. Knowing this, Matthew 16:18 can be interpreted as Christ saying that he is building his Church on the strength of Peter. Further evidence of this conferment of power is in John 21:15-19, when Christ tells Peter, "Feed my sheep."

Upon Christ's ascension, Peter became the undisputed leader of the Church based on the powers given from Christ to Peter. At some point in his life, likely at the end of his life, Peter moved to Rome to spread the word of Christ, according to the New Catholic Encyclopedia. It was in Rome where Nero, the Roman emperor who persecuted the church, killed Peter. Through his death, Peter became a martyr. His body was buried on Vatican Hill. St. Peter's Cathedral was later erected over his grave.

Photo courtesy Caroline Skene / DHD Multimedia Gallery St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City

During his life, Peter was never officially the bishop of Rome or the pope, but in honor of his work and his role as the head of the Church, he is recognized as the first pope. Every pope since Peter is considered the immediate successor of Peter, and not of that pope's immediate predecessor. A pope is considered to be carrying on the power that Christ granted Peter. Today, a great amount of the pope's powers are derived from the Petrine guarantee, which is etched in Latin around the perimeter of dome of St. Peter's Cathedral.

The pope's powers were bolstered in the First Vatican Council in 1870, when 433 bishops passed the decree of papal infallibility. This decree declared that the pope was infallible in matters of faith and morality. According to the decree, the pope "is possessed of that infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer wished His Church to be endowed."

The next two sections explain the process of papal succession.

A Papal Who's Who John Paul II was the either the 265th or 266th pope of the Catholic Church, depending on the source. As the head of the Catholic Church, the papacy has always carried power and recognition, but there are some popes who stand out through history. Here are a few of them: St. Peter (64 or 67) - Although he never carried the title of pope or bishop of Rome in his lifetime, he is considered to be the first pope of the Catholic Church. St. Leo I (440-461) - He is one of three popes known to have the title "The Great" attached to his name. Leo bolstered the power of the papacy by issuing the Petrine Theory. According to this theory, Jesus appointed Peter as the head of the Christian Church, and evidence is found in the scripture. St. Leo III (795-816) - He crowned Charlemagne on Christmas Day in 800, an event that marked the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire. John XII (955-964) - He is believed to be the youngest pope in history, elected at approximately 18 years of age, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Innocent III (1198 - 1216) - He was elected pope at age 37. During a period when the imperial throne was empty, Innocent agreed to be guardian for King Frederick II of Sicily, whom Innocent would later crown emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. When Innocent accepted the guardianship of Frederick, Frederick's mother surrendered political rule of Sicily to Innocent. Gregory XI (1370-1378) - He returned the papal seat to Rome after a nearly 70-year period in which the papacy resided in Avignon, France. Later, after Gregory's death, this move back to Rome would cause the Great Schism (1378-1415), during which there were two popes: one from Avignon and one from Rome. Blessed John XXIII (1958-1963) - He influenced church doctrine by convening the Second Vatican Council, which brought together church leaders to discuss the possibilities of modernizing the church. John Paul II (1978 to 2005) - He was the first Slavic pope, often credited with helping to end communism in Central and Eastern Europe. John Paul II was also the most traveled pope in history.

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The Passing of a Pontiff

When a pope dies, the non-theological authority of the papacy passes temporarily to the Cardinal Camerlengo, or chamberlain, who is the Vatican's Secretary of State. Camerlengo has many responsibilities when the pope dies. First, he confirms the pope's death by calling the pope's name three times without response. He then authorizes the pope's death certificate, and closes and locks the pope's private apartment in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican. The Camerlengo also organizes and presides over the election of the next pope.

Photo courtesy Adam J. Polczyk-Przybyla / DHD Multimedia Gallery St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

At the time of death, the Camerlengo removes the Ring of the Fisherman, which the pope receives from the Camerlengo upon his election. Popes have worn the Ring of the Fisherman for over 800 years, according to The Catholic Encyclopedia. The gold ring includes an image of St. Peter in a boat, fishing, encircled by the name of the current pope. It and the pope's seals are destroyed during the Camerlengo's first meeting with the Cardinals following the pope's death.

The pope's body lies in repose for nine consecutive days, during which time the Cardinals of the Catholic Church celebrate the funeral rites. No one is allowed to photograph or film the pope while he is on his sickbed or after his death. The Cardinal Camerlengo may permit post-mortem photographs for documentary purposes only after the pope is attired in his pontifical vestments.

Prior to burial, the pope's body is placed inside a coffin that is encased in two others. The coffins are made of cypress, elm, and lead. The pope is typically buried in the tombs below St. Peter's Basilica, where St. Peter is buried.

During the time between the pope's death and the election of a new pope, the world focuses on the tiny sovereignty of Vatican City. In the next section, we will examine the complex process by which a pope is elected.

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Electing the Next Pope

The College of Cardinals elects a new pope in conclave, which is the process of sequestering the voting members of the college in Vatican City so that they have no contact with the outside world. The word "conclave" comes from the Latin phrase cum clavis, meaning "with key." The term is suitable since the cardinals are locked inside the Sistine Chapel in the Apostolic Palace during the voting process.

Where's That? Click here to view a map of Vatican City.

A conclave begins no earlier than 15 days and no later than 20 days after the pope's death. Cardinals participating in conclave stay in St. Martha's House, a hospice inside the Vatican that has 130 rooms. Arrangements are made to ensure that the cardinals are not approached as they are transported between St. Martha's and the Sistine Chapel.

In 1996, Pope John Paul II described the complex procedures that would be used to elect the next successor to St. Peter, in an Apostolic Constitution called Universi Dominici Gregis (UDG). It is an accepted practice for popes to publish the norms that regulate the election of their successors, and popes often make small adjustments to the procedures. According to John Paul II, these changes are made "with the intention of responding to the needs of the particular historical moment."

The UDG laid out these rules for electing a new pope:

• The maximum number of electors from the College of Cardinals is 120. The college is currently composed of 194 cardinals.
• Any cardinal who turns 80 before the day the Papacy is vacated, either by death or resignation, cannot take part in the election. Currently, 135 cardinals are eligible to vote under this rule (15 of those 135 would be disqualified from the vote because the limit is 120).
• A two-thirds-plus-one majority is required to elect a pope.
• Two ballots each are held in the morning and afternoon, for a total of four per day.
• If a new pope is not selected after 12 to 13 days, the cardinals may choose to impose a majority vote, which would allow selection of a new pope by a simple majority.

Each rectangular ballot is inscribed at the top with the words Eligo in Summum Pontificem, meaning "I elect as supreme pontiff." Below these words, each cardinal writes down the name of the person he chooses as the pope. The vote is done in secret with paper and pen. The voting cardinal then folds the ballot twice, holds it in the air, and carries it the chapel's altar. He then says, "I call as my witness Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who before God I think should be elected." The cardinal places the ballot on a plate that sits atop the ballot receptacle and uses the plate to drop the ballot into the receptacle. After bowing before the altar, he returns to his seat.

Three Scrutineers, who are selected by all of the cardinals, are charged with counting the ballots. Once the ballots are collected, the Scrutineers count the ballots to determine if everyone has voted. If the number of ballots doesn't match the number of electors, the ballots are immediately burned and another vote is taken.

Here are the steps for the vote-tallying procedure:

1. The first Scrutineer takes a ballot, notes the name on it, and passes it to the next Scrutineer.
2. The second Scrutineer notes the name and passes it to the third Scrutineer.
3. The third Scrutineer reads aloud the name on the ballot, pierces the ballot with a needle through the word Eligo at the top of the ballot, and slides the ballot onto a string of thread.
4. Each elector notes the name that is read.
5. Once all ballots are read, the Scrutineers write down the official count on a separate sheet of paper.
6. The third Scrutineer ties the ends of the thread on which the ballots are placed in a knot to preserve the vote.
7. The ballots are placed in a receptacle.

After each vote, the ballots and any notes regarding them are burned. Smoke from the burning of the ballots appears over the Vatican Palace. If no pope has been chosen, a chemical is applied to the ballots in order to create black smoke when burned. White smoke signals that a pope has been elected.

The newly elected pope remains pope for the term of his life, or until he retires. His reign is referred to as a pontificate. In the next section, you will learn what the pope does during his pontificate.

New Life, New Name As the newly elected pope accepts his new role, it is tradition for him to select a new name. This papal tradition dates to 533 and the election of Pope John II, whose birth name was Mercurius, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Mercurius is derived from Mercury, a pagan Roman god. Believing that a successor of St. Peter should not carry a name belonging to a pagan religion, Mercurius chose to change his name upon his election to honor a previous pope. While some that followed John II chose to retain their original name, it soon became commonplace for new popes to choose a new moniker. The name change also symbolizes the new life that the new pope is entering as the head of the Catholic Church. Typically, the new pope selects the name of his favorite Saint or a former pope whom he admires. John Paul II chose his name to honor his predecessor, John Paul I, who died just 33 days after being elected pope. John Paul I chose his name to honor predecessors Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI.

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The Next Pope

Photo courtesy Office of the Public Registrar Public Papers Pope John Paul II with U.S. President Clinton and then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, St. Louis, MO, 1999

Once the new pope is elected, he meets with the Cardinal Deacon, the Secretary of the College of Cardinals, the Cardinal Dean, and the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations. The Cardinal Dean asks the elected pope two questions:

1. Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?
2. By what name do you wish to be called?

If the elected pope accepts, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations certifies the acceptance by the new pope, as well as the pope's choice of name. The elected person immediately becomes the Bishop of Rome, which gives him supreme power of the Catholic Church. Each Cardinal elector then approaches the newly elected pope to pay homage and show his obedience to the pope.

After an election, it is tradition for the oldest cardinal in conclave to step to the balcony above St. Peter's Square and announce, "Habemus papam," which means "We have a new pope." The new pope then steps out on the balcony, addressing the world as pope for the first time, and imparts the Apostolic Blessing.

Once his inauguration is over, the new pope begins the day-to-day duties of papal responsibility. As spiritual leader of the world's largest religious following, and as the Vatican's head of state, the pope's responsibilities are vast. Here are just a few of his duties and activities:

• Serves as bishop of the archdiocese of Rome, providing spiritual guidance to its members
• Appoints bishops and cardinals
• Presides at beatification and canonization ceremonies
• Spreads the word of the Roman Catholic Church through his travels
• Writes documents that define the Catholic Church's official position on issues facing the world
• Confers with global leaders and politicians about these issues

The role of pope has evolved greatly in 2,000 years. At one time, the pope crowned emperors and carried military power. Today, the pope's secular power and duties are diminished, but the position still carries great spiritual influence as the leader of the world's largest religious sect.

Photo courtesy FirstGov.gov The U.S. Secret Service escorting Pope John Paul II during a visit to the United States

For more information on the Papacy, the Catholic Church and related topics, check out the links on the next page.

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• New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia
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Papal Supremacy in the Bible and Church Fathers

Referring to the doctrine of Papal Supremacy the Catechism notes in paragraph 882, “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." Paragraph 937 states, “"The Pope enjoys, by divine institution, 'supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls.'” (This is to be distinguished from the Infallibility, which is a supernatural gift whereby the recipient is shielded from teaching error as it pertains to the faith handed down to us by Christ). Before we examine some of the Biblical texts that reveal this supremacy, we need to point out that the Church, the family of God, is among other things a divinely ordained society and as in all societies there must be an authority whose word is final if chaos is to be avoided. The Jews, for example, had patriarchs, judges and the then kings as well as prophets. Other societies have authorities that govern have prime ministers, kings and presidents. Thus, ordinary human experience shows that the need for authority is primary, which is demonstrated by the fact that the “justification for the existence of authority is not that it works perfectly [for the authorities are sinners like us] or that it never makes mistakes, but simply the rule, ‘no authority, no society.’”

In the present age so often wandering without a moral compass, Catholics might be so bold as to ask, who but the Pope, as Christ's representative, has the moral authority to restore morality to society at large? Since Christ stands at the center of human history and all humans will stand before Him as He judges them at the end of time, it seems reasonable and Catholics believe He has provided His Church with a supreme pastor to rule in concert with bishops. When Simon was first introduced to Jesus, Jesus said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Kephas” (Aramaic for Peter). Underscore this please, Shimon Kephas literally means “Hear the Rock.” This pun is hardly accidental. Old Testament men being given a divine commission by God were given a new name beginning with Jacob and Abram, who became Israel and Abraham, respectively. Jesus spoke these words after Simon, first among the disciples, acknowledged Christ as the “Son of the living God” in sight of the great temple atop the huge rock at Caesarea Philippi on which stood a temple dedicated to Augustus.

With this backdrop, Jesus responds to Peter’s faith by saying: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death [gates of hell] shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” [Mt 16:17-19]

Those who try to claim that Jesus was referring only to Himself or to Peter’s confession of faith manipulate the words and ignore the fact that Jesus spoke in Aramaic, which has only one word for rock, Kepha. This is the word used by John in 1:42 and by Paul in 1 Cor 1:12; 3:22; 9:15 and 15:5 as well as throughout Galatians (e.g., Gal 1:18; 2:9; 2:11; and 2:14). Many prominent Protestant scholars agree today (e.g., R.T. France and D. A. Carson). Of course, the Old Testament is full of instances where God is referred to as “the Rock” (e.g., Ps 18:2) and St. Paul informs us that the Rock that followed the Israelites in their desert wanderings was Christ (1 Cor 10:4). Christ is of course the foundation (though in Ephesians 2:20 the apostles and martyrs are also referred to as part of the foundation with Christ), but here Christ appears as the architect not the foundation, declaring, “On this rock will I build.” A great apologist of the Counter- Reformation, St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) explains:

By these words Our Lord shows the perpetuity and immovableness of this foundation. The stone on which one raises the building is the first, the others rest on it. Other stones may be removed without overthrowing the edifice, but he who takes away the foundation, knocks down the house. If then the gates of hell [see Mt 16:18] can in no wise prevail against the Church, they can in no wise prevail against its foundation and head, which they cannot take away and overturn without entirely overturning the whole edifice . . .

St. Francis also notes:

The supreme charge which St. Peter had . . . as chief and governor, is not beside the authority of the Master, but it is only a participation in this, so that he is not the foundation of the hierarchy besides Our Lord, but rather in our Lord: as we call him the most holy Father in Our Lord, outside whom he would be nothing . . .

Peter and his successors as Bishops of Rome are the vicars of Christ [a "vicar" is one who stands-in for Christ] because Christ so ordained it. The keys are the symbol of the royal dynasty of David founded on a covenant with God about 1000 B.C., from which Christ the Messiah is descended (Mt 1) and which He holds as the rightful King (Rev 3: 7), but He entrusted them to Peter, whom He had, alone among his disciples, prayed that he be strengthen so that he might in turn “strengthen his brethren” (Lk 22:32). Although Christ is the rightful king, he entrusted these symbols of divine authority to Peter as his representative on earth. There is a Biblical analogy for just as King Hezekiah (715-686 B.C.) gave authority to his Prime Minister Eliakim (Isa 22: 20-21), so too did Jesus invest Peter. It is worth noting that Eliakim, not only exercised the King’s authority in the King’s name but was referred to in the scripture as a “father” to the people–-the word “pope” in Italian means “father.” Thus, Christ the King of the New Israel, the Church, appoints a Prime Minister to govern His household, which St. Paul says is "the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Tim 3:15).

Furthermore, the power to bind and loose refers to a power of jurisdiction in ancient Israel which only the King can override. These are also rabbinic terms which describe the legislative and judicial authority of the office of rabbi. They could literally bind men to their teaching with authority from God. Christ Himself said, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice” (Mt 23:2-3). Thus, just as Moses had an authoritative office, so Christ assigned a similar office to Peter. To the objection that the power to bind and loose was also given to the other Apostles (Mt 18: 17-18), we respond their power is similar but pertains only to their local jurisdiction, whereas Peter’s commission applies to the universal Church. It should be clear how important these keys are also from the Rev 1: 17-18, where Jesus says, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died and behold I am alive for evermore, I have the keys of Death and Hades. Rev 3: 7, refers to “The words of the holy one, who has the keys of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens.” These are the royal keys Christ presented to Peter.

In the 21st chapter of John’s Gospel, Peter is challenged three times to express his love for Jesus. Jesus’ response to Peter’s three professions of love are in succession “feed my sheep,” “tend my sheep,” “feed my sheep.” These are commands to exercise authority over Christ’s flock, under the authority of Christ. Earlier in this same Gospel (John 10:11-16), Jesus presents Himself as the Good Shepherd, and says how there is to be but “one flock and one Shepherd.” Therefore, the immediate question springs to mind: If Christ is the Good Shepherd, why can’t He “feed” and “tend” His own sheep? Now, clearly, Jesus can. After all, He is God. Yet, if that’s the case, why is He commissioning Peter to do it? Clearly, in John 21:15-19, Christ is speaking in an earthly, vicarious sense. Notice, for example, how the sheep do not cease to belong to Jesus. They are still “my sheep.” Yet, Peter is told to “feed” and “tend” them. He is, therefore, being commissioned to act as Christ’s “stand-in” after the Lord’s Ascension into Heaven. Jesus will remain the one Shepherd, yet Peter will “feed” and “tend” the sheep, in the sense that Jesus will not be physically present to do it. Thus, Peter will be the visible, vicarious shepherd of the flock. And we can see this more clearly in the original Greek. For example, the word which is used for “feed” in John 21 is “boskein” --a word which the Jewish historian Philo of Alexandria, and other 1st century writers, use to denote “spiritual nourishment.” Similarly, the word “tend” is actually the Greek “poimanao” --the same Greek word which is translated as “rule” in Matt 2:6, Rev 2:27, 7:17; 12:5, where it is applied to Jesus Himself. We see this “rule” in Rev 19:15, “From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords.” Therefore, like Jesus, Peter is to “rule” over the sheep, and to “supply them with spiritual nourishment.” Thus, Peter is established as the supreme pastor of the Church in Christ’s physical absence” [This term is also used to describe the rule of bishops in Acts 20:28 and 1 Pet 5:2].

The primacy of Peter is underlined by Scripture. In the Gospels and the first half of the Acts of the Apostles, Peter is the dominant personality. He is spoken of 191 times, while according to Archbishop Fulton Sheen, all the other apostles together are spoken of only 130 times (John is second to Peter with 48 mentions). Peter is always listed first when a list of the Apostles is given (e.g., Mt. 10:2; Mk 3:16; Lk 16:14) and even the angel tells Mary Magdalene to go and tell “His disciples and Peter” that He is risen. Paul informs us in 1 Cor 15:5 that Jesus appeared first to Kephas, then to the twelve. In Acts 1, it is Peter who calls for the filling of the office [episkopos], or as the King James versions translates it, the “bishopric” of Judas. In Acts 2, Peter exercises primacy again on Pentecost when he becomes the first Christian to preach the Gospel in the Church age, explaining the speaking in tongues as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel 2. In Acts 3, he performs the first miracle of the Church age when he heals the lame man and in Acts 4, after being arrested with John for preaching the Resurrection, Peter “filled with the Holy Spirit” speaks boldly in front of the Sanhedrin. In Act 5, Peter’s very shadow produces miracle after miracle for faith filled persons. Later in Acts 5, Peter prophesies, in turn, the immediate deaths of converts Ananias and his wife Sapphira, for holding back some of the proceeds from their property, which they alleged to have given entirely to the Church. Peter said they lied, not to him, but “to the Holy Spirit.” This was the first anathema. Peter is the first to refute heresy, when Simon Magus proposes the power to give the Holy Spirit be given him in Acts 8 and the first after Christ to raise a man from the dead in Acts 9:40.

In Acts 10, Peter exercises the power to bind and to loose by admitting the first Gentiles into the Church (Cornelius) after receiving a vision from Jesus to do so. Although some objections were raised at the thought of admitting the unclean Gentiles, Peter’s explanation was accepted by the other Apostles in Acts 11–-the Church was now Catholic (which means "universal"). In Acts 15, Peter annunciates another dogma, declaring that Jewish Christians need not follow the Law of Moses as regards circumcision, which is accepted by the first Church Council at Jerusalem "in silence" and without debate and sent out by letter to the Churches as the “decision of the Holy Spirit.” Other examples could be cited but I think the point is made that the papacy is biblically based and derived from the primacy of St. Peter. Subsequent expressions of humility by Peter (e.g., 1 Pet 5:1-3 where he refers to himself as a "fellow elder") do not negate the primacy he was given by the Lord Jesus, but rather are a reflection of divine injunction, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you."

In the Great Commission of Mt 28: 16-20, Jesus told the Apostles to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo I am with you always, to the close of the age.'" The office of the bishops and primacy of the Bishop of Rome or Pope, as he was later called, were to continue. This is evident in the writings of the early Church Fathers. St. Clement, the third Pope, writing to the Corinthians about 80 A.D. concerning a dispute over removing some of the clergy, noted, “"Our Apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would be strife for the office of bishop. For this reason, therefore, having received perfect knowledge, they appoint[ed] those who have already been mentioned, and afterwards added the further provision that, if they should die, other approved men should succeed to their ministry.”

When Pope Victor I (189-198) chose to excommunicate the Asian churches from the universal church and Rome for following their own tradition concerning the appropriate day to celebrate the Resurrection, a number of bishops were critical of him, but none challenged his authority to do so. St. Irenaeus urged him not “to cut off whole churches” and he relented, though he had called synods to consider the problem on his own authority. St. Irenaeus, writing his famous “Against Heresies” after 180 A.D. noted, 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 throughout the whole world. And we are in a position to enumerate those who were instituted bishops by the Apostles, and their successors to our own times . . . . The blessed Apostles [Peter and Paul] having founded and built up the Church [of Rome] handed over the episcopate to Linus. Paul makes mention of this Linus in the epistle to Timothy [2 Tim 4:21] To him succeeded Anencletus; and after him in the third place, from the Apostles, Clement." These men were the first three popes.

Tertullian, a Church Father writing about 200 A.D. in his work, "The Prescription Against the Heretics" notes, "Moreover, if there be any [heresies] bold enough to plant themselves in the midst of the apostolic age, so that they might seem to have been handed down by the Apostles because they were from the time of the Apostles, we can say to them: let them show the origins of their Churches, let them unroll the order of their bishops, running down in succession from the beginning, so that their first bishop shall have for author and predecessor some one of the Apostles [Titus 1: 7; 1 Tim 3: 1-2] or the apostolic men who continued steadfast with the Apostles. For this is the way the apostolic Churches transmit their lists: like the Church of the Symrnaeans, which records that Polycarp was placed there by John; like the Church of the Romans, where Clement was ordained by Peter. In just this same way the other Churches display those whom they have as sprouts from the apostolic seed, having been established in the episcopate by the Apostles."

Writing in 251 A.D., St. Cyprian of Carthage noted:

And again He says to him [Peter] after His resurrection: 'Feed my sheep' (John 21:17). On him He builds the Church, and to him He gives the command to feed the sheep; and although He assigns a like power to all the Apostles, yet He founded a single chair, and He established by His own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was; but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all our shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the Apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that his is in the Church?"

Fathers of the Church throughout the early centuries of the Church might be cited for hours, but what no one can provide is the testimony of even one of them denying this primacy. Even when their were disputed matters, such as involved St. Cyprian of Carthage and the pope, he still insisted on the primacy, writing in 255 or 256 A.D.:

Nevertheless, in order that unity might be clearly shown, He established by His own authority a source for that unity, which takes its beginning from one man alone. Indeed, the other Apostles were that also which Peter was, being endowed with an equal portion of dignity and power; but the origin is grounded in unity, so that it may be made clear that there is but one Church of Christ. Indeed this oneness of the Church is indicated in the Song of Songs, when the Holy Spirit, speaking in the Lord's name, says, 'One is my dove, my perfect one, to her mother the only one, the chosen of her that bore her." If someone does not hold fast to this unity of the Church, can he imagine that he holds the faith? If he resists and withstands the Church, can he still be confident that he is in the Church, when the blessed Apostle Paul teaches this very thing and displays the sacred sign of unity when he says: 'One body and one spirit, one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God' (Eph 4:4-6).

*If you have questions or comments, please e-mail us at catholicfaithandreason@hotmail.com. For a good new book on the papacy, we recommend Upon This Rock by Stephen K. Ray or Jesus, Peter and the Keys: A Scriptural Handbook of the Papacy by Scott Butler, Norman Dahlgren and Rev. Mr. David Hess.

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