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*Schatz, Klaus (1996). Papal [[Petrine Primacy|Primacy]]. Liturgical Press. pp. 28–29. ISBN 9780814655221.</ref> The earliest record of the use of this title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria, Pope Heraclas of Alexandria (232–248).<ref>Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica Book VII, chapter 7.7</ref> The earliest recorded use of the title "pope" in English dates to the mid-10th century, when it was used in reference to Pope [[Vitalian]] in an Old English translation of Bede's ''Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum''<ref>"pope, n.1". OED Online. September 2011. Oxford University Press. 21 November 2011</ref>—however, in the particular case of Vitalian, the term was applied [[Irony|ironically]] as a form of [[sarcasm]].

The Pope and Ecumenical Patriarch of the Catholic Church is the head of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] (the Latin Rite of the [[Catholic Church]]). Throughout the world "'''The Pope'''" (as a title, without specification) is universally understood to designate the Patriarch of the West. His Catholic titles include Bishop of Rome, in which position he is considered by Roman Catholics to be the successor of [[Saint Peter|St. Peter]]. The Pope is the chief pastor of the whole Church Catholic, the "[[Vicar ]] of Christ upon earth." <ref>Until 1870 he also was the secular ruler of an independent country in central Italy, the Papal States. Since 1929 the Pope rules Vatican City, an independent country inside the city of Rome.</ref> The titles ''Summus pontifex'' and ''Pontifex maximus (Supreme Pontiff)'' are titles of dignity.<ref>[http://www.liquisearch.com/pontifex_maximus/roman_catholic_use_of_the_title Pontifex Maximus - Roman Catholic Use of The Title (liquisearch.com)]</ref> In ancient Rome ''pontifex maximus'' was the title of the chief priest of Rome, the Roman Pontiff.

Today the Pope is [[Pope Francis]], (formerly Jorge Mario Bergoglio, born December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina) who became the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church on March 13, 2013. Pope Francis, elected as 266th Roman Catholic pontiff, is the first Jesuit and the first Latin American pope; First non-European pope in 1300 years. He succeeded [[Pope Benedict XVI]], to whom he was reportedly the runner-up in the papal election of 2005.<ref>[httphttps://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/13/us-pope-succession-bergoglio-idUSBRE92C15X20130313 Reuters article: Argentina's pope a modest man focused on the poor (reuters.com)]</ref>

The [[First Vatican Council]], of 1870, anathematized all who dispute the [[Petrine Primacy|Pope's primacy ]] of honor and of jurisdiction (it is lawful to discuss the precise nature of that primacy, provided that such discussion does not violate the terms of the Council's Dogmatic Constitution). The [[Second Vatican Council]] of 1965 '''modified''' many of the dictates of 1870.

Professional historians are generally agreed that at least four or five Popes were guilty of serious moral lapses, perhaps more. Some critics of the Church have tried to use this documented factual information to undermine the Catholic teaching on infallibility by confusing ''infallibility'' with ''impeccability''. Infallibility is the divinely imposed inability of the Holy Father to teach error when he speaks [[ex cathedra]] on a matter of faith and morals which must be finally clearly defined and settled, but impeccability would be a divinely imposed inability of the Holy Father to commit any sin. The Church has never claimed impeccability for any Pope, although many of them have lived lives of extraordinary [[Saint|holiness]], because we are all sinners,<ref>Romans 3:23-26; 1 Timothy 1:16.</ref> but it has claimed the unmerited [[Charism|charism ]] of ''infallibility of teaching'' for every Pope, because of Christ's promises of the abiding presence and guidance of the [[Holy Spirit]] to lead us into all truth forever, the commandment to "''obey your leaders and submit to them''",<ref>[http://www.biblehub.com/commentaries/hebrews/13-17.htm Hebrews 13:17]</ref> and his promises to be with His Church all days, and that the gates of Hell shall never prevail against it, even if "''fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.''".<ref>Acts 20:29-30</ref>

*[https://www.catholic.com/tract/was-peter-in-rome Was Peter in Rome? (catholic.com)]</ref><ref>Paul was not the original founder of the church in Rome. See [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans1:8-15&version=KJV Romans 1:8-15].</ref> and Peter served as the bishop for 25 years until A.D. 67 when he was [[martyr]]ed. Paul's [[Epistle to the Romans]] most clearly and plainly is written to an already established Christian community that he himself had never before seen or visited, and is therefore written to a church obviously founded by someone other than himself.<ref>See '''Romans 1:11-13; 15:22-24'''. Writers who assert that the Apostle Paul is actually the one who founded the church in Rome are either ignorant of scripture, or they are lying. If they have in fact actually read the Bible, especially ''Romans'', but still insist beyond any doubt that Paul himself by the Holy Spirit originally founded the church in Rome, and they are not lying, but only unknowingly repeating a [[falsehood]], then they are blinded by a false doctrine which teaches that Paul was the real founder of the Christian community of believers in Rome, a doctrine in opposition to the clear teaching of the Bible. Writers and denominations that teach this false doctrine should be avoided, but if they are unavoidable, then they should be calmly and gently corrected by simply pointing out and emphasizing these passages in ''Romans''. See Titus 3:10-11; James 5:19-20; 2 Peter 3:15-18. <br>Compare [[Falsehood]], [[Lie]] and [[Deceit]].<br>See also [[Cafeteria Christianity#Proof texts|Proof text]].<br> See the following articles:

:*[http://www.babylonforsaken.com/romepeter.html '''Was Peter the founder and Bishop of the Church of Rome.''' (babylonforsaken.com/romepeter) <br>—"'''Point Two. The Bible teaches that Paul established the Church at Rome.'''"]The argument of the author of the above article promoting Paul as sole founder of the church in Rome [[Confirmation bias|utterly ignores]] the clear teaching in the Bible itself that Peter was chosen to give the Gospel to the Gentiles, as can be plainly seen in Acts 11:12-18 and 15:7 in which Peter testifies "''that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe.''" KJV. Any reader of the Bible can see this. Besides the constant witness of apostolic tradition, this scripture is the primary basis for the assertion that Peter preached the Gospel to the uncircumcised Gentiles as well as to the circumcised Jews (see [[sola scriptura]]). Compare 2 Peter 1:1, in which Peter universally addresses "them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ." (KJV) — "to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ." (RSV). While the First Epistle of Peter explicitly addresses the Christian Jews of the [[Diaspora|''diaspora'', "the dispersion"]], if he was not addressing together as one persecuted people those Gentile and Jewish Christians who were both alike scattered abroad because of the persecution of the church (Acts 8:1; 9:31; 11:19-26), here in the Second Epistle of Peter he does not exclude the Gentiles, but addresses all Christians without any distinction whatever. This emphatically affirms the statement in Acts 11:18 "then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life"—"a like precious faith"—and reaffirms the teaching that Peter preached to the Gentiles. Acts 11:19-26 shows that after Peter had begun preaching that to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto salvation, some men of Cyprus and Cyrene, when they came to Antioch now began speaking the Gospel of the Lord Jesus to the Greeks; and when news of this came to Jerusalem, Barnabas was sent to Antioch, and a large company of people was added to the Lord; and only then did Barabas go to Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch, and then for a whole year they met with the church and taught a large company of people. Up to that point the Bible says that Paul had been preaching only to the Jews. Acts 9:20-30; 11:25-26. Greg MaGee points out in the article above, ''Origins of the Church at Rome'', that Peter need not have been always residing in Rome to be the chief bishop or pastor, and may well have been traveling around to the other Christian communities ("in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia") when Paul was imprisoned there.</ref> However, the primacy of the bishop of Rome as patriarch in the Western Roman Empire, always acknowledged as "first in dignity", was not unequivocally established as having ''[[Jurisdiction|juridical]]'' primacy for several centuries, and even then a claim to universal primacy "based on history, reason and scripture"<ref>[[First Vatican Council]] of 1870</ref> was rejected by eastern bishops who guide the Eastern Orthodox Church under the leadership of the Patriarch of Constantinople<ref>[https://orthodoxwiki.org/Primacy_and_Unity_in_Orthodox_Ecclesiology Primacy and Unity in Orthodox Ecclesiology (orthodoxwiki.org)]</ref>

====The First Ecumenical Council: ==== [[Council of Nicaea|First Council of Nicaea]] 325, called by the Roman Emperor [[Constantine]] the Great with Pope [[Saint Sylvester I]] sitting on the Throne of Peter as the 33rd successor of Saint Peter.

====The Second Ecumenical Council: ==== [[Constantinople I|First Council of Constantinople]] 381 convened by the Roman Emperor of the West [[Gratian]] and the Roman Emperor of the East [[Theodosius&nbsp;I]]. Neither the Holy Father Pope Saint [[Damasus I]] or his papal legates attended because of friction between him and the eastern emperor over authority. Already the split between East and West was manifesting itself. 186 bishops did attend, including [[Saint Gregory Nazianzen]] and Saint [[Cyril of Jerusalem]]. Canon 3 of this Council states: "''Because it is new Rome, the bishop of Constantinople is to enjoy the privileges of honor after the bishop of Rome.''"<ref>[http://papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum02.htm#3 Canon iii]</ref> Constantinople was second only to Rome. Many eastern bishops disagreed.

====The Third Ecumenical Council: ==== [[Council of Ephesus]] 431 called by the Roman Emperor of the East Theodosius II, influenced by his saintly sister [[Saint Pulcheria]], in harmony with Pope [[Saint Celestine I]].

====The Fourth Ecumenical Council: ==== [[Council of Chalcedon]] 451 called by the Roman Emperor of the East [[Marcian]], influenced by his wife Saint Pulcheria, in coordination with Pope [[Saint Leo the Great]].

====The Fifth Ecumenical Council: ==== [[Constantinople II|Second Council of Constantinople]] 553 summoned by The Emperor [[Justinian]] and Pope [[Vigilius]]. The Roman pontiff refused to take part in the council, because Justinian had summoned bishops in equal numbers from each of the five patriarchal sees, so that there would be many more eastern than western bishops present, and [[Eutychius]], patriarch of Constantinople, presided.

====The Sixth Ecumenical Council: ==== [[Constantinople III|Third Council of Constantinople]] 680-681 called by the Emperor [[Constantine IV]] in agreement with Pope [[Saint Agatho]], in light of the growing threat of [[Islam]]ism. The Council was convened with over 200 bishops.

====The Seventh Ecumenical Council: ==== [[Nicaea II|Second Council of Nicaea]] 787 was called by the orthodox catholic Christian [[Empress Irene]], widow of the late Emperor Leo IV and mother of the Emperor Constantine IV, to quell the growing violent unrest against those Eastern Bishops who were spreading the heresy of [[Iconoclasm]] supported by [[Emperor Leo III]], who had been fiercely condemned by Pope [[Hadrian I]], as well as by his predecessors Popes [[Gregory II]] and Pope [[Gregory III]].

====The Eighth Ecumenical Council: ==== [[Constantinople IV|Fourth Council of Constantinople]] 869-870 was called jointly by the [[Emperor Basil]] and Pope [[Hadrian II]] to deal with the paramount issue of declaring the Patriarch [[Photius]] a heretic for openly criticizing clerical [[celibacy]], for challenging Pope Saint Leo III's crowning of [[Charlemagne]] as Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas of 800, and for questioning the ''[[Filioque]]'' of the [[Apostles' Creed]]. This Council is not recognized as legitimate by those churches of the east not in communion with Rome.

The 14th century was the scene of dramatic humiliations that reduced the secular power and religious prestige of the papacy. The French king made his man Pope and moved the papal court to Avignon in France, 1309-1377. During the "Babylonian Captivity" of the papacy, seven French popes were seen as mere tools of France. Avignon was not a holy city, like Rome, and the men there were scarcely concerned with holiness; the papal entourage demanded bribes and fees to deal with terns of thousands of petitions that flooded in. As the paperwork and expenses multiplied and the prestige of the Papacy slipped.<ref>Ullmann (2002) p. 287</ref> The return to Rome in 1378 was followed by an even greater catastrophe. A split between French and Italian factions in the Curia resulted in the "Great Schism" of 1378-1417, during which Rome and Avignon each had their own series of popes, who claimed legitimacy and authority over the church. After enormous confusion the decision was made to appeal to a church council. The [[Council of Constance ]] healed the schism in 1415.

Gallicanism in France was damaged by the rise of ultramontanism in the 1850s and the devotional revolution that shifted [[piety ]] to devotions sponsored by Rome. Gallicanism was officially suppressed by the First Vatican Council in 1870, which established the paramount authority of the pope as a matter of dogma. However informal manifestations of Gallicanism continue in some countries, especially China. In Canada, the Irish clergy fought for ultramontanism against the French clergy, who were Gallican. The [[Catholicism in Ireland|Irish]] won out with the support of the Vatican.

* Pastor, Ludwig von. ''History of the Popes From the Close of the Middle Ages'', (1894-1930), 16 vol, older Catholic history [httphttps://books.google.com/books?spell=1&lr=&q=pastor+history+popes&as_brr=1 online from books.google.com]