Posts Tagged ‘Catholic History’

Popes that have resigned – Precedents in history

History of the papacy

Fr Nicholas Schofield, CTS author and archivist for the archdiocese of Westminster, explains the fascinating history of papal resignations.

The Holy Father’s unexpected resignation means that the Church enters uncharted territory. Many decisions will now have to be carefully made about the procedures during the period of transition and the status and role of Pope Benedict after 28 February.

However, although this news will have stunned many, it is not completely unprecedented. Over the centuries a handful of popes have stepped down because they felt they could not, in all conscience, continue to effectively function in the Petrine Ministry. In some cases the evidence is ambiguous about what really happened.

According to the Liber Pontificalis, St Pontian (230-35) abdicated on 28 September 235, which happens to be the first precisely recorded date in papal history. He did this for a very good reason: he had been arrested and deported to a life of hard labour in Sardinia, where he died shortly afterwards. Eight centuries later we have the case of Benedict IX (1032-44, 1045, 1047-48), who was unique in having three spells as pope although his various departures from office were linked to the turbulent politics of the time.

Then there was Gregory XII (1406-15), who lived at the time of the Great Schism and was, at one stage, one of three claimants to the Throne of Peter. He abdicated in 1415 so that a new pope could be elected; the two antipopes, meanwhile, were deposed by the Council of Constance. It is interesting to see what happened to Angelo Correr (formerly Gregory XII): he was created Cardinal Bishop of Porto and Legate of the March of Ancona (a strategically important part of the Papal States). He died, as it turned out, before the new pope could be elected but he would have ranked next in precedence to him.

The most famous papal resignation, of course, was that of St Celestine V (1294). It is curiously appropriate, given recent events, that Pope Benedict declared a ‘Celestine Year’ three years ago to commemorate the 800th anniversary of his predecessor’s birth.

The future Celestine V (often referred to as St Peter Celestine) had joined the Benedictines and went on to discern a vocation as a hermit. Try as he might to live alone, others wanted to join his way of life and he soon attracted a community around him. This eventually became the Celestine Order.

Others things being equal, Peter would probably have died peacefully in his eremitical solitude. However, following the death of Pope Nicholas IV in 1292, the cardinals could not agree on his successor and were locked in a stalemate that lasted two years. One day the cardinals received a letter from Abbot Peter, who was then eighty-five, encouraging them to quickly elect a pope so as to avoid the wrath of God. He was already well-known as a holy man and the cardinals decided to throw caution to the wind and elect him as pope. It was one of the most extraordinary papal elections in nearly two thousand years of history!

At first, Celestine seemed an inspired choice. His first appearance was on a donkey, led by the kings of Hungary and Naples, and he chose to be crowned at his native L’Aquila on 29 August 1294. However, despite his personal holiness and his experience as a founding abbot, Celestine knew nothing about politics or diplomacy. He lavishly gave out benefices and gifts, and quickly became a puppet of the King of Naples, who had supported the Celestine monks in the past. The new pope even moved the papal court to Naples and never resided in Rome.

At Advent 1294, Celestine retired into his apartments to make a retreat and left the government of the Church in the hands of three cardinals. Of course, this led to more disorder and the very real likelihood of having three competing centres of power or even three rival popes. Wishing simply to return to his monastery, Celestine decided to resign from office. Pope Celestine became ‘Brother Peter’ once again. His successor, Boniface VIII, kept a close eye on him so that he did not become a threat in the hands of his enemies and the elderly hermit was kept in Fumone, near Anagni. ‘I wanted nothing in this world but a cell’, he would say, ‘and a cell they have given me’. He died on 19 May 1296 – probably naturally although a hole in his skull has suggested to some that he was murdered – and was canonised in 1313.

Uncharted territory it may be but the right of the Supreme Pontiff to resign has long been recognised and Pope Benedict’s courageous and honest decision has been taken before. Let us pray for him, for the Cardinal Electors and the Universal Church.

The History of the Papacy by Fr Nicholas Schofield is available from CTS, priced £1.95

Of related interest:

Election of a Pope Election of a Pope (revised ed.) -This booklet explains the new norms promulgated by John Paul II in 1996 and combines the technical with the historical and spiritual elements of the process to produce a unique and highly informative summary.
Benedict XVI Benedict XVI Biography – revised ed – Here we discover a ‘humble and thoroughly kind man’, a leading thinker very much in touch with this modern age.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 09:05

Catholic terms: A serious & not so serious look

Do806

When talking about the new translation of the Mass recently, Abbot Cuthbert Johnson spoke of professions such as the medical one, having very specific language. The Catholic Church is rediscovering that specific language too.

But even very specific language can be learned and understood. Columnist for the National Catholic Register, Matthew Archbold has taken a humorous look at 12 terms which have specific uses in either the Catholic liturgy, or wider Catholic culture.

“Zucchetto – I’ll take extra parmesan on my zuccheto please with some lean mutton on the side. It’s a small skullcap worn by clerics.”

Here at CTS, our booklet, A Simple Glossary of Catholic Terms does the same job, only without the wisecracks. Written and expanded by respected academics, Fr Jerome Bertram &, Dr Raymond Edwards, it also gives you the root of the word as well as its meaning, for example:

“Acolyte (Greek AKOLUTES, “follower”) Originally, the fourth grade of Holy Orders, now suspended in the Latin Church. Now used for a lay ministry, assistant to the priest, hardly ever conferred except for those on the way to ordination as deacon or priest.

Communion of Saints The unity and mutual solidarity of all Christians living and dead, forming the Church.

Embolism (Greek EMBOLISMOS, ‘something stuck in or intercalated’ from EMBALLEIN, “to throw in”) Generally, any prayer inserted into another, or amplifying it; usually refers to the prayer at Mass after the Our Father, which develops the last petition of that prayer.

Indult (Latin INDULTUM ‘something allowed for’) A letter from the Pope giving permission for a particular Canon Law to be suspended in particular circumstances.”

Others are Catholic expressions which have entered into common usage.

“Promoter of the Faith An official of the Curia charged with presenting objections to a cause for canonization or beatification, or resolving controversies connected with it; sometimes known informally as the Devil’s Advocate.”

A Simple Glossary of Catholic Terms is available from CTS priced £1.95

Of related interest:

LF34 Signs and Symbols Inside a Catholic Church - What you will see inside a Catholic church and what it all means.
History of Mass The History of the Mass Explained – This booklet looks at how the Mass has changed and developed over the centuries, and how changes have occurred at different times in the Church’s history.
DV34 The Catholic Mass Revealed, revised edition – The Catholic Mass is the most sacred act of worship a person can participate in upon earth. This DVD from the USA, with accompanying audio CDs and book, takes you through each part of the Mass, explaining its significance and drawing out deeper spiritual lessons.
Friday, 08 July 2011 14:22

Never mind John Julius Norwich read the CTS history of the Popes instead – says Francis Phillips

Historical Popes

The CTS booklet on the Papacy is a better read than John Julius Norwich’s glossy history of the world’s oldest institution, according to Francis Phillips.

Writing in the Catholic Herald, she is full of praise for Fr Nicholas Schofield’s work, pointing out that it does not fall into the same old clichés as this latest effort, including unfounded accusations against Pope Pius XII, and the myth of a female Pope.  She writes:

“The same old ignorance; the same old slur. Turning to the chapter on Pius XII I checked Norwich’s sources: there was only one: Hitler’s Pope by John Cornwell. [Cornwell's work] has been comprehensively demolished by respectable historians such as Michael Burleigh in Sacred Causes and Sir Martin Gilbert in The Righteous.”

Then she goes on to talk about the CTS booklet:

“In the useful little CTS booklet, ‘A History of the Papacy by Fr Nicholas Schofiel the author concludes: ‘Pius XII’s concern for the Jews impressed many outside the Church. In 1945 the chief rabbi of Rome, Israel Zolli, became a Catholic and took as his baptismal name ‘Eugenio’, in tribute to the pope.’ (Pius’s baptismal name was ‘Eugenio’.)”

At less than one tenth of the price of The Popes, it’s a bargain according to Philips, “I think readers might save themselves £25 and read Fr Schofield’s booklet in the CTS’s ‘concise histories’; it is only £1.95.”

On the subject of Pope Pius XII, EWTN has today reported a possible miracle through his intercession. A 42 year-old Italian teacher has journeyed to Rome to tell how she was cured of cancer.

A history of the Papacy by Fr Nicholas Schofield is available from CTS priced £1.95

Of related interest:

B673 Pius XII - Pius XII was Pope at a very turbulent time in history (1939 – 1958), and widely admired and respected in his lifetime. Since 1963 attacks against him have increased, notably concerning the plight of the Jewish people in the second World War – each attack has been fully answered by those who have studied the facts.
DV40 Pius XII and the Holocaust – Using rare archive footage and interviews with witnesses and experts, the film shows the steps Pius took to protect the persecuted.
B692 John XXIII – Angelo Roncalli, intelligent, modest, joyful and from the humblest of origins, became Pope aged 78. Yet his short papacy (1958-1963) inaugurated the most significant event in Church life for centuries: the Vatican Council II.
Thursday, 07 July 2011 16:18

An English doctor historian and more – St Bede

B742

This week, we have been looking at the Doctors of the Church. We wanted to end the week by looking at the only Englishman in this illustrious list of 33, so far!

The venerable Bede, or St Bede of Jarrow, to give just two of his titles, is known primarily as an historian; if Herodotus is the ‘Father of history’, Bede is the ‘Father of English history’. He was proficient in other academic disciplines too, however, and corresponded with scholars across the world, as Fr Jerome Bertram explains in Doctors of the Church:

“Bede is remembered above all as an historian. In fact he wrote a great deal more than his famous Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, producing deeply spiritual commentaries on some of the more unpromising parts of the Old Testament, such as the instructions to Moses on building the Tabernacle. He also produced an amazingly complicated work of mathematics and astronomy, intended practically to enable anyone to calculate the date of Easter.”

He was also one of the first to use a system of counting years beginning with the Birth of Jesus, and it is for these and other achievements in the field of history that he is known as ‘Venerable’, a title that was used for him even during his own lifetime. He saw that clear research can help dispel the lies and misunderstandings that time almost necessarily breeds. His monastery was said to contain a staggering 200 books, and Bede himself was familiar with Solinus, Eusebius and other ancients; his History set out the growth of the Church in his lands, taking the Acts of the Apostles as his model.

“Bede showed how an accurate and well-researched account of the past can help us to brush away the cobwebs of false history, and serve the Church for the future.”

He was made a Doctor of the Church in 1899 and his feast day is on May 25th. Next week, we will see what gives saints the right to this special title, and whether any other modern saints might make the cut.

St Bede, pray for us.

Doctors of the Church is available from CTS priced £2.50

Of related interest:

B703 Augustine of Hippo - St Augustine was a bishop, is a father of the Church and a Doctor of the Church, but above all is a man with an extraordinary story to tell. This booklet uses the famous Confessions of St Augustine to recount the wonderful journey from a life of sin and error to a life lived for Christ.
DO798 Spiritual Masters: Medieval Fathers and Writers – In this richly illustrated, beautifully bound hardback volume, Pope Benedict examines the great saints of the Middle Ages from St Odo, Abbot of Cluny, to St Peter Lombard the twelfth-century theologian.
DO780 The Fathers of the Church – Following his series of Catecheses on the Apostles and major figures of the primitive Church, Benedict XVI turns all his knowledge and insight to the preachers, writers, homilists and theologians of the next five centuries.
Friday, 10 June 2011 09:15

Catholic Herald features CTS Booklet Lumen

Lumen

A few months ago, when this blog started, we did a series of posts about Lumen: The Catholic gift to civilization. Now, a run-down of those gifts has also been featured in the Catholic Herald.

You can view the feature article here, complete with a picture of Steven Hawking and the Pope – who presumably disagreed over whether, according to the physicist’s now famous phrase “There was anything left for the creator to do” – during an audience for scientists.

The article itself is, however, much more interesting than the picture on top of it. The author, of both the article and the book in question, is Fr Andrew Pinsent, who begins with an analysis of the change in attitude towards Christianity in recent years. He writes:

“Whereas we were regarded recently as nice but naïve, today we are increasingly regarded as evil. As a result, teaching the faith and defending Christian ethics has become much more difficult.”

Luckily, however, not everybody takes this view, as Fr Andrew points out:

Jesus said: ‘You will know them by their fruits,’ and even some outside the Church appreciate her fruitfulness. In 2007, for example, an atheist businessman, Robert Wilson, gave $22.5 million (£13.5 million) to Catholic education in New York, arguing that, ‘without the Roman Catholic Church, there would be no Western civilisation.’”

This, Fr Andrew says, was one of the events that inspired him, together with Fr Marcus Holden, to write Lumen as a reminder of how much good the Catholic Church has done and how diverse the areas of that good work have been.

As controversy grows over the display of Christian symbols in Europe, a clear and reasonable look into this continent’s history is vital. Obviously a book like this is only a starting point, but it is no less important for that. Achievements highlighted include: the spread of literacy, the alphabetization of music, the development of a body of law backed-up by philosophy and much, much more.

The book is also printed in colour with beautiful illustrations. We hope this little gem will help to arm the faithful against the increasingly aggressive, and often ill-informed and prejudiced attacks on our mother the Church.

LUMEN -The Catholic Gift to Civilisation is available from CTS, priced at £2.95

Of related interest:

EV4 Credo – This new, illustrated, pocket catechism offers a succinct and reliable introduction into the fullness of the Catholic faith.
Creation Creation and Science – Who created the Universe? Is a creator even necessary? Can science explain how the Universe came into being without reference to a creator God? This booklet explores these ideas and the arguments that have been brought forward.
Apologia Apologia – The rise of secularism and the new atheists has led to many difficult questions being regularly posed about religion in general and the Catholic Faith in particular.
Thursday, 12 May 2011 15:30
« Older Entries

Donate To CTS

CTS Catholic Compass Twitter Feed

Login