Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid

Author:Patrick Madrid [Madrid, Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-12-02T10:03:19+00:00

18

Three popes reigning at one time?

In the middle ages, there were often three competing popes reigning simultaneously.

Not exactly. It's true that at different times in Church history, several men simultaneously claimed to be the pope, but this is in no way the same as there being three popes reigning simultaneously.

Imagine you own a very expensive watch. One day, while walking in a park, you lose the watch. You search everywhere, but in the end, can't find it. Heading home disheartened, you notice two men fighting over something. As you approach them, you see the object of their dispute is the very watch you lost. You go over to claim ownership, but they refuse to give it over. A police officer arrives and begins to deliberate as to the true owner of the timepiece. He finds three claimants to the watch, but knows there can only be one true owner.

So it was with the papacy. Just because two or three individuals claimed to be the pope, doesn't mean that they were the pope. There can be only one legitimate bishop of Rome; the others are mere counterfeits.

This objection refers to a specific time in Church history: the Great Western Schism. The story begins, surprisingly enough, not in Rome but in Avignon, France. In 1305, Pope Clement V was forced to move the papal residence from Rome to Avignon. At the time, violence was breaking out among the noble families in the Eternal City. This put the papacy in physical danger, so the move was an important one.

After seventy years of exile in France, Pope Gregory XI moved the Holy See back to Rome. When he died in 1378, it became necessary to choose a pontiff who would be able to draw both the French and the Roman factions of the Church together. With this intention, the well respected Archbishop Bartolomeo Prignano was elected, becoming Urban VI. It's important to note that his election was supported by all major parties in the Church.

Unfortunately, Urban VI's character soon changed after his ascendance to the papal throne. He became a difficult individual to work with, being vocally critical of anyone he disapproved of. This quickly alienated his former supporters, who then conspired to replace him. Thirteen members of the Sacred College met in a secret conclave, and elected another pope, the former Robert of Geneva. After his election, the anti-pope, Clement VII, moved his claimed see back to Avignon, and reigned in schism there.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.