Why is the Pope always European?

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The combination of JPII’s reforms and modern transport and communications have led to the Church being less Roman and more Catholic (i.e. global) in recent times. Leading to the probability of a non-Italian and possibly a non-European Pope for the first time in a long time.

I also remember somebody saying that the Katholikos of the Armenian Catholics was considered a front-runner at the time of JPII’s election, leading to the possibility of a Roman Pontiff from outside the Roman Rite.

Interestingly, during the last conclave, many liberals began by saying “wouldn’t it be great to have a non-white Pope”, then looked at how ultra-conservative all the African, Asian and Latin American Cardinals are and back-tracked very quickly!
 
brockmac said:
Most of the Cardinals are European, and the greatest number from any one country is the Italian contingent. Also, he is the Bishop of Rome. Given that, It is in a sense suprising that we have had two non-Italians in a row.

I know that I would be suprised if a bishop from Japan was named as the Arch-bishop of Galveston Houston.

I acknowledge that the Pope is a unique bishop in that he is also the visible head of the universal Church, but as I said, he is also the Bishop of Rome, so I believe some consideration should be payed to the concerns of the Catholics in Rome.
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It’s also ironic, or fitting, that the last two popes (Benedict and John Paul II) have come from countries that were involved in the start of World War II. Two godly men of peace coming from countries that were involved in the beginning of the most devastating war in history.
 
The short answer is that any baptized Catholic eligible to be elevated to the episcopacy is eligible to be elected Pope. There is no requirement that any bishop be of an ethnic group already residing in the diocese to which he is given pastoral care.

Nevertheless, because the Pope customarily elevates members of the Roman Curia to the College of Cardinals, whose members alone cast the votes that select the Pope, and because people are more likely to elect someone they know over someone they don’t know, eligible candidates who are well-known around the Vatican have a far higher chance of being elected.
 
Freshman88 said:
“The faith is Europe and Europe is the faith.” - Belloc
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If one is familiar with the history of the Church and of Christianity after the first six hundred years, it is very obvious that the interplay between Christianity and Europe including Belloc’s England had a dramatic effect on the development of both. Today in trying to write a constitution for the European Union, the writers are trying to ignore the impact Christianity, until 1500 only the Catholic Church, had on their development as nations. They are basically denying a good bit of their “roots.” Christianity started in Jerusalem, was nurtured in Asia and North Africa, but with the rise of Islam in the 7th Century it bacame a European Religion. Properly understood, Belloc’s statement is absolutely correct.
 
rwoehmke said:
If one is familiar with the history of the Church and of Christianity after the first six hundred years, it is very obvious that the interplay between Christianity and Europe including Belloc’s England had a dramatic effect on the development of both. Today in trying to write a constitution for the European Union, the writers are trying to ignore the impact Christianity, until 1500 only the Catholic Church, had on their development as nations. They are basically denying a good bit of their “roots.” Christianity started in Jerusalem, was nurtured in Asia and North Africa, but with the rise of Islam in the 7th Century it bacame a European Religion. Properly understood, Belloc’s statement is absolutely correct.
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👍 🙂
 
brockmac said:
Most of the Cardinals are European, and the greatest number from any one country is the Italian contingent. Also, he is the Bishop of Rome. Given that, It is in a sense suprising that we have had two non-Italians in a row.

I know that I would be suprised if a bishop from Japan was named as the Arch-bishop of Galveston Houston.
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Not only is the Pope the Bishop of Rome, but he is the autocrat of Vatican City, a sovereign state in Italy. People would be shocked if the next President of France came from North America, and it would probably be less well received to the people there.
 
thecoach said:
So then the Church isnt Catholic(Universal) but European???
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You have a point but have you read “The Rhine Flows Into the Tiber?” It provides a good background of events leading to and during Vatican II.
 
brockmac said:
Most of the Cardinals are European, and the greatest number from any one country is the Italian contingent. Also, he is the Bishop of Rome. Given that, It is in a sense suprising that we have had two non-Italians in a row.

I know that I would be suprised if a bishop from Japan was named as the Arch-bishop of Galveston Houston.

I acknowledge that the Pope is a unique bishop in that he is also the visible head of the universal Church, but as I said, he is also the Bishop of Rome, so I believe some consideration should be payed to the concerns of the Catholics in Rome.
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I respectfully disagree. The only criterion as to who should be Pope should be whomever the Holy Spirit chooses. Note that the first Pope was a Jew…and though a subject of Rome, not even a Roman citizen.

The Bishopric of Rome is kind of unique among bishoprics, in that it is not only territorial to Rome, but of the whole world. The “diocese” of Rome’s bishop is the entire third planet out from the Sun…thus ethnicity should play no part in who is considered *papabile *of the Universal Church.
Kielbasi said:
Not only is the Pope the Bishop of Rome, but he is the autocrat of Vatican City, a sovereign state in Italy. People would be shocked if the next President of France came from North America, and it would probably be less well received to the people there.
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Not applicable; they are two completely different situations. Equating the Pope to the President of France is like equating him to the President of Italy. The Vatican, while geographically “in” Italy, is *not *an entity of the Italian Republic. We already have a ridiculous situation in Christendom where the Patriarch of Constantinople must be a Turkish citizen. Are we going to let ethnic chauvinism dictate who is going to be the Pontiff?

The Italians (those that are concerned, anyway) will just have to get used to the fact that the next Pope may just as easily be from Manila as Milan, because the Holy Spirit is just as likely to be found there.
 
brockmac said:
Most of the Cardinals are European, and the greatest number from any one country is the Italian contingent. Also, he is the Bishop of Rome. Given that, It is in a sense suprising that we have had two non-Italians in a row.
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Shouldn’t be. The current Pontiff always has a chance to “stack the deck” a little in his favor or favorite area. Pope John Paul II appointed many VOTING-AGE Cardinals in countries outside of Italy.

Having said this, Pope John Paul II was a surprise Pope as no one had expected someone from outside Italy to be chosen Pope, as Italy had been heavily stacked with Cardinals. Perhaps too many? 🙂
 
BayernAnhaenger said:
Saith the Episcopalian, whose “Church” was founded because his man-whore of a King wanted to get married to his 8th wife.
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Nice show of Christianity there Bayern…NOT
Whore…hmm, just how much did the Episcopal church pay out in sex abuse settlements?
 
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