Previous to becoming Pope Pius XII, Eugenio Pacelli hobnobs with German officials.
Here, Pacelli (center) oversees the Concordant with Hitler, which guaranteed the Vatican would be safe from German attack. At the far right is the future Pope John VI.
Visitors since May 27, 2001
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The Pope
The head of the Catholic Church is the pope, which is the Italian word for “Papa.” That is why English speaking Catholics call the pope and priests “Father.”
As Frances Nall put it in his book The Church Through the Centuries,
Gradually, during the fourth and fifth centuries, there arose the custom of referring to the bishops in the larger cities as “father bishops” (“pater” or “papa” bishops) or “pope-bishops.” Since Rome still kept its place of prominence, the bishop of Rome was often referred to as “the pope bishop” and, later “the pope.” This name has lasted up to the present.
Jesus strictly forbade this practice in Matthew 23:9:
And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
No doubt, when Jesus commanded us to call “no man your father,” He foresaw the false religion of the “Holy” Roman Empire, had the popes, cardinals, bishops and priests in mind, and knew that people would worship and show reverence to these men that was only reserved for God, Himself!
God's plan for His church (local) was for a man to be a pastor over his people. The true definition of bishop in the Bible means "overseer," and was never meant to be a separate position as was created by Rome. On purpose I say “man” because of the unscriptual, liberal trend today in ordaining women to be pastors. There is no record in the New Testament of any women pastors. Quite the contrary is true. The only reference of women speaking in a church was in the worldly, carnal church in Corinth, which God, through Paul rebuked in I Corinthians 14:34:
Let the women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; for they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
Along the same line of pastoral leadership comes the false doctrine of celibacy. God never intended for a pastor to remain unmarried. This is for obvious reasons, not only that the pastor have a wife to be his help meet, but for fidelity:
This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach. . .one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
Modern-day woman libbers don't like this type of talk. They think this is sexism by male chauvinists who hate women. Quite the contrary. When a woman leaves her God-given position of being a help meet to her husband and the responsibility of eternally influencing her children for good and for God, there is no loftier position. Any other position is taking a step down, whether it be a bank president, a member of the Supreme Court, Congress, or even President.
That is why our society today is crumbling. Mother takes the children to a daycare center and trades them in for a few dollars, so she can buy a big house that she doesn't have time to live in because she has to keep up with the Joneses.
Furthermore, Catholicism has taken the position of the pastor (bishop), and has redefined it into a separate position for which God never intended. Rome has also carried over the Old Testament office of the priesthood and created other non-Biblical positions called cardinals and archbishops.
In I Timothy 4:1-3, we see God taking a direct stab at Roman Catholicism:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
Other than the Roman Catholic Church, what other religion practices that their full time “servants” (popes, priests, bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and nuns) remain celibate (unmarried)? Other than the Roman Catholic Church, what other religion observes the abstaining of meats (Lent)?
In Matthew 23:9, we also see that we are to call no man “Father.” What religion do you think God had in mind here?
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