Can Benedict XVI Still Make an Ex Cathedra Statement?

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garysibio

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I heard a Protestant in a podcast say that, since he has received the anointing to be the pope, Benedict XVI can still make an ex cathedra statement even though he is not the acting pope. My first thought was that this was wrong because we only have one pope at a time but then the thing about the anointing made a lot of sense also. After all, priests never lose the ability to function as priests even if they leave the priesthood because hands were laid on them. Why wouldn’t being anointed pope work the same way?

Anyone have an answer?
 
No. He can no longer speak ex cathedra, which literally means “from the chair”.as Bishop of Rome. The power resides with the position of the Bishop of Rome, NOT his anointing. As Pope Emeritus, he is no longer serving in that capacity.
 
Rolltide said:
No. He can no longer speak ex cathedra, which literally means “from the chair”.as Bishop of Rome. The power resides with the position of the Bishop of Rome, NOT his anointing. As Pope Emeritus, he is no longer serving in that capacity.
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Is there a special anointing when a man is made pope? I mean something other than being ordained a bishop.
 
garysibio said:
Is there a special anointing when a man is made pope? I mean something other than being ordained a bishop.
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There’s a ceremony, but there is no higher degree of Holy Orders than the episcopacy. The Pope is a bishop. He can’t stop being a bishop, but he can stop being Pope and lose the powers associated specifically with that office.

Usagi
 
garysibio said:
I heard a Protestant in a podcast say that, since he has received the anointing to be the pope, Benedict XVI can still make an ex cathedra statement even though he is not the acting pope. My first thought was that this was wrong because we only have one pope at a time but then the thing about the anointing made a lot of sense also. After all, priests never lose the ability to function as priests even if they leave the priesthood because hands were laid on them. Why wouldn’t being anointed pope work the same way?

Anyone have an answer?
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Popes are not anointed. The papacy is an office, not a sacrament. Infallibility belongs to the office. Benedict XVI is no longer the Bishop of Rome. Therefore, he’s no longer a pope.
 
How could Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI make a statement “Ex Cathedra” (from the chair) when he no longer sits in the Cathedra (chair) ?
 
LionHeart777 said:
How could Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI make a statement “Ex Cathedra” (from the chair) when he no longer sits in the Cathedra (chair) ?
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The person making the claim was under the impression that there is a special anointing that the pope receives when he takes office. Following the principle that a priest’s ordination cannot be revoked, neither could the pope’s. I wasn’t certain if there was a special anointing that was given to a new pope which was why i asked. I now know.
 
garysibio said:
The person making the claim was under the impression that there is a special anointing that the pope receives when he takes office. Following the principle that a priest’s ordination cannot be revoked, neither could the pope’s. I wasn’t certain if there was a special anointing that was given to a new pope which was why i asked. I now know.
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Gotcha, my sarcasm (?) wasn’t directed towards you, but it does seem like a smart allecky response I gave. Forgive me if I was uncharitable.
 
Rolltide said:
No. He can no longer speak ex cathedra, which literally means “from the chair”.as Bishop of Rome. The power resides with the position of the Bishop of Rome, NOT his anointing. As Pope Emeritus, he is no longer serving in that capacity.
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Agreed.

Slightly off topic, but relevant – the doctrine of Papal infallibility was made official by the first Vatican Council. I have met people who say that since the first Vatican council decreed the infallibility of the pope when speaking ex cathedra, there have been only 2 ex cathedra pronouncements (Both Marian dogmas --Immaculate Conception and Assumption, respectively) since that time.

I believe that this is a convenient way for the liberal/heterodox to sweep all the previous ex cathedra pronouncements of previous pontiffs under the rug (and off the radar screen).
As far as I know Papal infallibility has always been understood in the church (Just as the Marian dogmas were), though not official until 1870.
 
garysibio said:
I heard a Protestant in a podcast say that, since he has received the anointing to be the pope, Benedict XVI can still make an ex cathedra statement even though he is not the acting pope. My first thought was that this was wrong because we only have one pope at a time but then the thing about the anointing made a lot of sense also. After all, priests never lose the ability to function as priests even if they leave the priesthood because hands were laid on them. Why wouldn’t being anointed pope work the same way?

Anyone have an answer?
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“Pope” is an office, not an ordination. You are installed in an office, and you can resign it. Ordination, like marriage, is a sacrament. It changes you, and you don’t “unchange.” Even a laicized priest is not a lay person.

Sally
 
NHInsider said:
“Pope” is an office, not an ordination. You are installed in an office, and you can resign it. Ordination, like marriage, is a sacrament. It changes you, and you don’t “unchange.”
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This is true, but I would have prefered Baptism as an analogy, because matrimony can be dissolved by the death of a spouse, but nothing can dissolve Baptism (or Ordination, or Confirmation). These are indelible Sacraments.

Whomever the Church recognizes as the Bishop of Rome is (by extension) the Pope. The current Bishop of Rome is Pope Francis.
 
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