More Than One Pope?

[bobbymac]

Hi

I was reading a book about the histrory of the church, right from the word go until the present. It is the Lion Handbook to the History of Christianity. I am not even close to finishing it , but have read enough to learn a few things I never knew before.

One thing that was really surprising (and I assume I read it right) was there was, at times, more than one pope (or at least some dispute over who was "the" pope). I understnad the catholic church believe the pope to be infallible. I am full of respect for the pope today, think he does a lot of good in the world, and I have no reason to think much different of popes in the past, but how does this work with more than one?

It seemed more prevalent leading up to the reformation - perhaps this was a contributing factor to the splits?

I'd appreciate your understanding of this - it's kind of confusing.

Paul

[Pio Nono]

JMJ
4/26 - Third Monday of Easter

bobbymac,

Good questions. First, there can only be one Roman Pontiff at any one time; there can be a number of men claiming to be the Pope, but just like Highlander, "there can be only one" (except the Pope doesn't get cool things like a sword). Different men claiming to be the Pope is not some sort of medieval conflict - it continues into our day, though these other men are not nearly as popular as they would have been back then. As I recall, I believe that there are three men claiming to be Pope Pius XIII...

At any rate, when more than one man claims the Papacy, naturally much dissension follows. I am sure that it played a factor in the Reformation, but many other historical circumstances played their own role in Luther's (et al.) attempt to shipwreck Europe. To find out more about this, I recommend you read Mr. Hilaire Belloc's various books on the history of the Church, primary amongst them [i]Europe and the Faith[/i] and [i]Characters of the Reformation[/i]. I hope this helps.

Yours,
Pio Nono