POPE RE-EXAMINING HIS POWER
I'm not sure what he has in mind but Pope John Paul II said on Wednesday that he is interested in re-examining "the exercise of papal power" in order to bring about Christian unity. He is quoted as saying: "It appears to me to be useful to propose a common reflection on the ministry of the bishop of Rome with the aim of finding a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation..."

Historically, the Bishop of Rome was seen as the first among equals of five apostolic sees. However, over the centuries the popes kept reading more and more into what being first meant until ultimately in 1050 there was a schism with the Eastern Orthodox bishops (the other four apostolic sees) who were not willing to recognize unilateral papal power.

The 16th century Protestant Reformation also focused on papal claims to power. The reformers had the conviction that the power of the church needed to be subservient to the clear teaching of the Bible. The papists further entrenched their position by restating at the Council of Trent (1564) the doctrine of papal infallibility. It became dogma at the First Vatican Council of 1870.

There are many non-Roman Catholics who would be more than willing to recognize the Pope as a first among equals. But papal infallibility -- at least as it is currently defined will be a stumbling block for both the Protestants and the Orthodox.

Again, I'm not sure what the pope's recent words really mean. But we do know that Pope John Paul II has consistently made the unity of the church a high priority and for that he is to be commended.