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Papacy
The Papacy, together with its administrative arm, the Roman Curia, today stands at the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the largest Christian denomination in the world, and perhaps the largest denomination of any religion. At times in the past, especially during the Medieval period, it represented a force in society and history to the extent that it can be difficult to separate the history of the papacy from that of the Church or, indeed, Western Europe.
The Pope has been the head of the Roman Catholic Church for over 1600 years. The Eastern Orthodox churches reject his claims to supremacy. Even more vigorously the Protestant Reformation reject the Papacy and theology of the Roman Catholic Church. As secular leaders the Popes controlled Rome and the Papal States in central Italy until 1871, and especially in the 16th century were notable patrons of the arts, turning St. Peter's Church in Rome into an architectural wonder, especially notable for the artwork in its Sistine Chapel.[1]
Since 1929 the Pope controls only the small Vatican city-state (located inside Rome), but has diplomatic relations with most nations. The Pope's power comes from his remarkable prestige among Catholics, his ability to speak for the Church, and his power to appoint all the bishops and cardinals. In 1870 the First Vatican Council proclaimed that certain official announcements of the Pope are infallible (and have always been so.)[2]
In terms of personalities and morality, the 260-odd Popes were saints and sinners who ranged very widely indeed.[3]In recent centuries most have been holy men and in recent decades they have been linguists able to speak to Catholics in many languages. In recent centuries most Popes have been scions of Italian nobility; notable exceptions are Pope John Paul II (1978-2005) the first Polish Pope, and Benedict XVI (2005-2013) the first German since 1523.
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