There has not been a Pope emeritus for centuries. As far as I know, if he ceased to be Pope, he would remain a bishop, but not a cardinal. Unless, of course, the subsequent Pope reelevated said bishop to the cardinalate.
On what basis would he lose his title as cardinal, assuming he was one to begin with?
Being a cardinal is a purely honorary title. It’s like a monsignor (of some kind) who is then consecrated a bishop sometime later. If Fr. X was a Supernumerary Protonotary Apostolic (a kind of monsignor) and is consecrated to the episcopacy, why would he continue to be a Supernumerary Protonotary Apostolic? He now outranks his old title, not only in title but in actual rank (bishop versus priest). It would be derogatory to refer to him by his old title, because that would be a verbal demotion.
In this case we’re talking about more than forms of address. If in your example the diocese had a health plan where dental coverage was provided only for serving and retired monsignors and serving bishops, I assume the retired bishop would qualify as a retired monsignor.
I know, we’re talking about forms of address and Holy Orders. One can be a cardinal without being a bishop. One can be a bishop without being a cardinal. Same with monsignors and priests. Monsignor is a purely honorary title. Cardinal is a purely honorary title. Pope is not.
That is not right; the cardinalate is more than a title, it is an office.
The analogy doesn’t hold, however, because under Art. I, § 6 of the Constitution, to become president the person must resign from the House of Representatives (or have had his term expire). Since one cannot both be president and be a member of the House, a fortiori one cannot be president and Speaker of the House.
You may be talking about Holy Orders, I was talking about voting privileges.
No. Pope isn’t a rank. There are only three ranks of Holy Orders–deacon, priest, bishop. The Pope is the Bishop of Rome. Pope and pontiff describe the additional responsibilities–the Petrine Ministry as Pope Benedict calls it–that come with the office of Bishop of Rome.
A retired bishop is still a bishop of the diocese. He takes on the title of bishop emertius. For the time that a bishop emeritus is alive, the diocese has two bishops–the actual bishop with the actual authority and responsibility and the bishop emeritus.
The Pope is more than just the Bishop of Rome.
That may be true within the Church, but the Coptic Orthodox also have a pope.
Indeed; Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy See of Saint Mark, currently ** Pope Shenouda III.** At the moment, about 10% of Egyptians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.
Thanks, I thought I was going to have to jump in there for a second but you explained it perfectly. In the end, ‘bishop’ is the highest a priest gets.
the term Pope, cardinal and ArchBishop are honary tiles. In effect [in theory] they are ALL Bishops and “equal”… First among equals ect.
If he actually used the word “cardinal” in that sentence, it would lend eminent weight to the argument that popes remain cardinals. Unfortunately, I don’t think even the basic story can be proven, much less his exact words.
If memory serves, not counting anti-popes, there have been two ever–and one of them was executed for it!
“Pope” is a title, not a rank, of the (Arch) Bishop of Rome, who has special roles in the church.
“Archbishop/Metropolitan” is not an honorary title! It is the term for a bishop of a see with “suffragan” sees. An archbishop has some authority and obligation with regard to these other sees. Today in the Latin church, these have been largely (but not completely) lost or usurped by the Vatican.the term Pope, cardinal and ArchBishop are honary tiles. In effect [in theory] they are ALL Bishops and “equal”… First among equals ect.