the pope is the anti christ

Holy Father

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Holy Father may refer to:

• God the Father, the title given to the god of many monotheistic religions
• An honorific often used instead of, or prefixed to, the name of the Catholic Pope

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Pope From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the leader of the Catholic Church. For the popes of other churches, and other uses, see Pope (disambiguation). "The Pope" redirects here. For the current pope, see Pope Francis. For prior popes, see List of popes. Bishop of Rome Bishopric Catholic Incumbent: Francis Since 13 March 2013 Province: Ecclesiastical Province of Rome Diocese: Rome Cathedral: Archbasilica of St. John Lateran First Bishop: According to traditional Christianity, Saint Peter Formation: According to traditional Christianity, the 1st century Website: The Holy Father The Pope (Latin: papa; from Greek: πάππας pappas,[1] a child's word for father)[2] is the Bishop of Rome and the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church.[3] The importance of the Roman bishop is largely derived from his role as the traditional successor to Saint Peter, to whom Jesus gave the keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing," naming him as the "rock" upon which the church would be built. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI.[4] The office of the Pope is the papacy. His ecclesiastical jurisdiction is often called the "Holy See" (Sancta Sedes in Latin), or the "Apostolic See" based upon the Church tradition that the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul were martyred in Rome. The pope is also head of state of Vatican City,[5] a sovereign city-state entirely enclaved within the Italian capital city of Rome. The papacy is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in world history.[6] The popes in ancient times helped in the spread of Christianity and the resolution of various doctrinal disputes.[7] In the Middle Ages they played a role of secular importance in Western Europe, often acting as arbitrators between Christian monarchs.[8][9][10] Currently, in addition to the expansion of the Christian faith and doctrine, the popes are involved in ecumenism and interfaith dialog, charitable work, and the defense of human rights.[11][12] Popes, who originally had no temporal powers, in some periods of history accrued wide powers similar to those of temporal rulers. In recent centuries, popes were gradually forced to give up temporal power, and papal authority is now once again almost exclusively restricted to matters of religion.[7] Over the centuries, papal claims of spiritual authority have been ever more firmly expressed, culminating in 1870 with the proclamation of the dogma of papal infallibility for rare occasions when the pope speaks ex cathedra—literally "from the chair (of Saint Peter)"—to issue a formal definition of faith or morals