The Pope: Difference between revisions

* Francis (2013- ): The current guy, formerreal name Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Formerly served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He set a lot of firsts: the first Jesuit pope (a quite controversial move, given the historic tensions between the Holy See and the Society of Jesus), the first American (he is Argentinian), the first from the Southern Hemisphere, the first non-European pope (since the Syrian Gregory III, who died in 741), and the first pope choosing a new, original name [[Planet of Steves|not used by a predecessor]] since Pope Lando in 914. Before his ascension he has a long career criticizing the succession of dictatorships in his natal Argentina, and having frequent impasses with its presidents. Is known to be a quite informal, humble pope, a very "no frills" person preferring simpler vests, refusing the traditional papal mozzetta cape upon his election, choosing silver instead of gold for his piscatory ring, and keeping the same pectoral cross he had as cardinal. While keeping the traditional views of the Church, he maintains that the ChrurchChurch must be more welcoming, and has been known by approaching with other Christian denominations. He apparently was one of the biggest influences in the restoration of relations between Cuba and the USA.

* Benedict XVI (2005-2013): The one before him, formerreal name Joseph Ratzinger. He hails from Germany (and yes, he ''was'' recruited by the Hitler Youth as a kid; ''forcibly'', as it was The Law, though he and his family had contempt for the Nazi regime) and was at one time Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Was very well-known as an intellectual before his ascension. Bets on his imminent demise by old age are ongoing as are speculations that he is gay. Conservative and not very good with getting the media to accurately express his views. He's tabooed condoms, and reconciled (de-excommunicated) four traditionalist Bishops who were illicitly ordained. Among them was [[A Nazi by Any Other Name|Bishop Richard Williamson]], a Holocaust denier, [[Did Not Do the Research|for lack of a Google search]]. [[Face of a Thug|Looks just like]] [[Star Wars|Emperor Palpatine]] according to some, this being the source of one too many [[Memetic Mutation]]s, and the accusation is not helped by the fact that his previous job was the the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (previously known as the Holy Office, or more importantly, the Roman ''Inquisition''); his infamous nicknames "God's Rottweiler" and "Panzerkardinal" also don't help, nor does the aforementioned Hitler Youth membership. He reinstatedre-emphasized the [[wikipedia:Tridentine Mass|Tridentine Mass]] (the traditional Latin ritual)Mass, asmandated anworldwide optionuntil the 1960s and then made optional), to the glee of some Catholics and the dismay of others, and directed the production of new vernacular translations of the Mass (producing word-for-word translations from the official Latin text, rather than the more holistic translations produced immediately after Vatican II); the new English translation was implemented under his watch. Again, some Catholics rejoiced, some despaired, most (churchgoing ones at least) simply resolved to read the new responses until they were memorized. He eventually got too tired and resigned from the charge, surprising everybody and making the first pope doing so since 1415.

** His beatification on May 1, 2011 (preliminary step to canonization), makes him the latest pope to be beatified. At his funeral, young people chanted ''"Santo subito!"'' (saint immediately); Pope Benedict XVI officially waived the traditional 5-year wait before official sainthood inquiries begin.

* Paul VI (1963–78): His predecessor, real name Giovanni Battista Montini. An intellectual type, he oversaw the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II for short), which introduced numerous sweeping reforms to Church practices, including authorizing the use of local ("vernacular") languages in church, ratherservices than(previously, requiringMass allwas servicesrequired to be conducted in Latin), in an attempt to make the modern Church more 'user-friendly'. Also famous for being the first Pope in centuries to travel outside the Vatican more or less regularly. He's also famous for releasing the encyclical ''Humanae Vitae'', which reiterated the Church's opposition to birth control (or birth control that's not NFP, the rhythm method, or total abstinence). [[Sarcasm Mode|It was widely accepted, noncontroversial, and obeyed by nearly all Catholics.]]

* St. John XXIII (1958–63): His predecessor, real name Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. Considered more liberal and progressive in his time, compared to his immediate predecessors. 76 years old when elected, he was expected to rule for only a short, uneventful term, but revolutionized the office by his warm down-to-earth approach to the job. He called the Second Vatican II Council, which wouldwas intended to update the practices of endthe upChurch renewingand Catholicismmake asit amore whole'user-friendly', and was finished by his successor Paul VI. Generally known as "The Good Pope" for his easy smile and gentleness. Canonized alongside St. John Paul II, 2014.

* Alexander VI (1492-1503): Formerly Rodrigo Borgia (or Borja), he was from Spain. Bought the vote and appointed a lot of relatives to Church jobs. He let Rome fall into a state of decay, and had a little party called the [[wikipedia:Banquet of Chestnuts|Banquet of Chestnuts]] (which, to borrow the words of [[Stephen Fry]], revolved around a night of naked prostitute racing in the Vatican). His son [[Magnificent Bastard|Cesare]]'s transformation of the Romagna district into a tyrannical, yet ordered state inspired a writer by the name of [[Niccolo Machiavelli]]. Also fathered a daughter, [[Femme Fatale|Lucrezia]], widely (but wrongly) rumored to have [[Black Widow|poisoned her husbands and several lovers]] (she would've had a much better life had the rumors been true). He was not [[Deadly Decadent Court|that far from the norm in those days]], to be fair. Also, he handed King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile the ''Inter Caethera'' documents that let them start colonizing America. He was subject to a [[Historical Villain Upgrade]] for ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' and ''<nowiki>[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]</nowiki>'', with Cesare joining him for the latter in said upgrade. In ''[[The Borgias]]'', he's played by Jeremy Irons.

== {{examples|The Pope Inin Fiction ==}}

* The Pope becomes a relatively major character in ''[[20th Century Boys]]'' and the subject of a plot to assassinate him ({{spoiler|actually an [[Evil Plan]] by the bad guys to [[Hero Syndrome|take credit for saving him]]}}) becomes one of the major driving forces of the latter half of the story.

* The [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Assassin's Creed]] II]]'' is Rodrigo Borgia, who is the leader of the [[The Knights Templar|Templars]] in-game. The final confrontation against him occurs after he becomes Pope Alexander VI.

* Bennedict XVI appears as the [[Big Good]] mentor figure in ''[[The Legend of Koizumi]]'', organizing a [[Five-Man Band]] of mahjong-master world leaders to combat the moon-based [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|fourth]] [[Those Wacky Nazis|Reich]]. He seems to have a personal grudge against them, possibly as a reference to his having grown up in the third reich.

* ''[[The Black Adder]]'' parodies the ... complex religious politics of the medieval period, by having Edmund excommunicated by "all three Popes".

* An automobile version of the Pope can be seen in the Italy scenes from the Pixar film ''[[Cars|''Cars 2]]'']], complete with an anthoropomorphic Popemobile.

* Surprisingly enough, considering the role of the Roman <s>Catholic</s> "Orthodox" Church as a primary antagonist during much of ''[[To AruA MajutsuCertain noMagical Index]]'', the Pope himself is actually somewhat of a [[Reasonable Authority Figure]]. {{spoiler|When he learns of [[Man Behind the Man|Fiamma of the Right's]] plans to plunge the world into war to obtain the Holy Right, he tries but fails to stop him. Later on, he retakes control of the Catholic Church from God's Right Seat and cooperates with the Anglican and Russian churches to bring down the Star of Bethlehem, knowing full well that Fiamma's defeat would signal the end of God's Right Seat and the era of Catholic supremacy over Christianity.}}

* Pope Urban VIII appears regularly in the various novels in the ''[[1632]]'' series, particularly as the frequent subject of failed assassination attempts. This happens in ''1634: The Galileo Affair'', ''1635: The Cannon Law'', and ''1635: The Papal Stakes''. He is also expected to be a main character in the upcoming ''1636: The Vatican Sanction''. He also has a small part in ''1634: The Bavarian Crisis'', {{spoiler|partially involving the laicization of the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand, younger brother of King Philip IV of Spain, so that he could marry the Archduchess Maria Anna and become the King in the Netherlands.}}