God the Holy Spirit
The State of Vatican City
The Soldiers of the Pope
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| The Pope May Be a Simple Sinner, But He Has Many Guardians Above and Below | ||||||||||||||||||
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| God the Son, Jesus Christ God the Holy Spirit The State of Vatican City The Soldiers of the Pope |
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| The first and greatest protection for the Pope comes from the very foundation of the Papacy and that is the words of Jesus Christ to Saint Peter, our first Pope. It is an amazing thing to consider that God the Son gave to the first Pope the keys to Heaven and promised St Peter that the gates of Hell would never prevail over the Church He founded on St Peter. Nothing like this was ever said before or since in the entire history of the worship of the one and only God. The Papacy is protected first and foremost by the very word of the Word of God Made Flesh, and the promise Christ made has never been broken, despite Satan's best efforts. When Nero had St Peter crucified, the Church survived. When Rome fell, the Church survived, when Luther threatened to wash his hands in the Pope's blood, the Church survived. When the Ottoman Turks vowed to turn St Peter's Basilica into a mosque they failed and ultimately their empire collapsed while the Church remains standing. The French Revolutionaries, Italian liberals and even Adolf Hitler vowed to destroy it and yet the Church continues her work and the Popes continue to lead the faithful on earth as Christ promised. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Probably the most over-looked member of the Holy Trinity, God the Holy Spirit has been the most ever-present defender of the Papacy throughout the ages. Given to all of the apostles at Pentacost and given by Christ Himself in a special way, the Holy Spirit ensures that the right Pope is always elected and guards these frail and sinful men from harming the Church and the deposit of faith through their own weaknesses. One of the best examples of this special protection is seen in the life of Pope Vigilius. He had been coveting the throne of Peter for a long time and proved that he was willing to do anything to satisfy his ambition for it. Finally he was placed on the papal throne by the Byzantine Empress Theodora, a heretic, on the understanding that he would change Church doctrines to coincide with her heretical views. However, an amazing thing happened; one Vigilius had become Pope, and was approved in the proper way, he suddenly had a change of heart and refused to give in to Byzantine demands that he alter Church teaching. He was protected by the Holy Spirit, in spite of his own weakness, from causing any error to creep into the deposit of faith. This special protection is also seen in the uncanny way that over so many centuries just the right Pope is chosen to reign at just the right time. God always provides what is needed through the protection of the Holy Spirit over the conclave. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| The State of Vatican City, although smaller than New York's Central Park, is nonetheless an important protector of the Pope simply by being an independent, sovereign state. Many try to downplay the importance of the Pope being the ruler of a sovereign country, mostly as a way to feel better over the loss of the Papal States, but the fact remains that the independence of Vatican City allows the Pope a freedom and security he would not otherwise have. As the Patrimony of St Peter once did, this autonomy gives the Pope the assurance that he can say what must be said and teach what must be taught without the fear of interference from any government. When Blessed Pope Pius IX was refusing to submit to those who wished to absorb the States of the Church into the new Italian nation he said that to do so would make the Pope simply the King of Italy's chaplain. Having his own country, even if it is a micro-nation, also allows the Pope to have a voice in international affairs and a platform to preach the gospel at the highest levels of global society. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Last, but not least, the Pope also relies on the practical protection of his guards. In the old days this included the Noble Guard and the Palatine Guard, but today consists of the oldest of the three, the Papal Swiss Guard Corps which was first recruited by Pope Julius II 500 years ago. Other troops have also been employed as part of the Papal Army over the centuries. During the "Sack of Rome" hundreds of Swiss Guards fought to the death to defend Pope Clement VII. Papal troops fought in the Napoleonic Wars in Italy and troops from all over the world defended Blessed Pius IX from invasion, most famous being the Papal Zouaves who included troops from as far away as Canada. Today, the Papal Swiss Guards stand guard at the gates into Vatican City, watch over the Pope at all functions and on all of his travels and are highly trained soldiers despite their very antique appearance. The Swiss Guards became much more aware and alert about the importance of their mission followed the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in 1981. All Catholics should remember to pray every now and then for the men who guard our guardian of truth. | ||||||||||||||||||