Pope Talks

Factual Questions
1

A few questions about the papacy:

  1. Who was the youngest Pope?
  2. Has a Pope ever retired?
  3. Who picks the Pope? Who picks the people who pick the Pope?
  4. Can someone give me a brief recap of the “Babloyian Captivity?”
2

Skipping question 1 (I have no clue, and I’m sure somebody has quick access to resources that will give the answer):

2. Has a pope ever retired?

Not in the strict sense, no. I believe a few left the Papacy to live out their old age in retreat in monasteries. And any number were forced to resign by political pressure.

3. Who picks the pope? Who picks the people who pick the pope?

The College of Cardinals elects the pope. Cardinals are bishops (usually archbishops) named by the incumbent pope; they function as an international advisory council to him during his papacy, and convene – called into session by the Camerlengo, the Chamberlain of the Vatican, who is himself a cardinal – to administer the church collegially during periods of sede vacante (the interval between the death [or resignation] of a pope and the election of his successor) and to elect the new pope.

4. Can anyone give me a brief recap of the “Babylonian Captivity”?

Someone else can do this better, but effectively, at a time in the Middle Ages when there was intense political pressure on Rome, a French archbishop was elected Pope, and moved his entire operation to Avignon, from where he and his successors reigned for about 70 years. Antipopes were named by disgruntled factions on and off during this period. Eventually there came to be two popes, one in Avignon supported by France and Scotland and another in Rome supported by England and the German states, a period called the “Great Schism of the West.” An Ecumenical Council called in Pisa to resolve this, after another 50 years or so had passed, ended up electing still a third pope.

Eventually they got the rivals to agree to resign after the election of a pope that would content all factions.

3

  1. I think it may have been John XII, (reigned 955-64), who came to the throne of St. Peter at the age of 18. He wasn’t a very good pope, evidently.

  2. Celestine V. He was a pious hermit, chosen as a compromise after the cardinals were divided for over two years. He didn’t do well, yes there were some politics involved, and he abdicated on Dec. 13, 1294.

(Source, Catholic Encyclopedia)