Sources of information

[catholica]

A post on another board reminds me of something seen too often. Someone said a pope must name another as “The Great” for it to be “official”.

Who says?

I’m not trying to drag that post here, but just making a point.

The Catechism, Catholic Encyclopedia, and many other great resources out there on the net - so it’s easy to include links to the “official” answer to some things.

…just my 1.5 cents worth on the issue…

 

[DavidFilmer]

I agree that it’s good to cite information, but some things may be assumed to be “common knowledge” and not cited. For example, most Catholics know that it takes a Pope to canonize a Saint. I wouldn’t normally cite such a statement.

Some people may likewise consider it common knowledge (or at least obviously true) that a Pope likewise must instigate such a title as “The Great.” If you think about it (how else would it happen?) it seems pretty obvious (at least to me).

But it never hurts to cite a reference.

 

[catholica]

You are right; not all things require a citation. I’m probably wiser to push more for a citation in the individual posts that I find need it.

I think this one is a perfect example:

My question was “is there a “technical” way to get that title [The Great]?”
and the answer was “Yes, he would have to be named so by another pope.”

Common knowledge?

I’ve searched and searched - including this Forum - and found no reference to anything official…but lots of guesses…

My best guess is

— The Church does not have a policy or procedure on naming a Pope “The Great”, however in the past only two Popes have chosen to give a previous one this title…and the faithful have followed suit and rememembered them designated thus —

…or are we all guessing?

I’'ve started a new thread on this specific issue at
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=583283#post583283

I’m quite curious.

…maybe I’m just too analytical (and know well that sometimes I’m only being the first four letters of analytical )