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In keeping with the (infamous) "spirit" of Vatican II, at the conclusion of the council, Pope Paul VI descended the Papal throne and laid his tiara on the high altar, in a dramatic gensture intended to convey the renunciation of earthly glory and might for the Church. It was a "warm & fuzzy" sort of moment, the crown had been surrendered and was later sold to the U.S. and the money given to the poor. Pope Paul's tiara can still be seen at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. At the time, I'm sure it looked like a very humble and pious gesture, but, like many of these sorts of gestures, it had consequences no one seemed to think about.
Paul VI had not made any official change in Vatican procedure regarding the tiara, he simply stopped using it. Yet, his gesture made the tiara seem like a negative symbol, a fact which Pope John Paul II lamented at his own installation. Since the triple crown had been rejected as a symbol of earthly glory, what pope would be eager to take up the tiara again and so send the message that he was in favor of having a little earthly glory? After the passing of Paul VI, his successor, the short-lived Pope John Paul I, refused to be crowned at all, the first time in centuries a papal coronation was not held. |
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| Pope Paul VI surrenders his crown |
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Pope John Paul II also refused a coronation, but at least pointed out that the papal tiara had been given an unfair reputation by those who applauded its loss. Some misguided traditionalists even went to the extreme of saying that Pope Paul VI had somehow abdicated his power by giving up the tiara and that no succeeded popes were legitimate since they were not crowned. This is an absurd argument to make however, considering that the earliest popes were never crowned and given the fact that, even when coronations were held, they were symbolic like those of temporal monarchs; the pope did not become pope at his coronation, but as soon as the conclave elected him.
However, it must also be given that the surrender of the tiara was an act which needlessly caused plenty of confusion. Even for those not as extreme as the sedevacantists, it did seem as though the Pope, long stripped of most temporal power, had finally thrown up his hands and given up the tiara in an attitude of "why keep pretending". The mistake there is that the Pope, inside the Vatican, was still the ruler of an independent electoral monarchy, it ignored the fact that the tiara was used in issuing spiritual decrees and it seemed to fly in the face of the heroic defiance by previous popes that, come what may, human hands cannot take away what God has given, in this case the supreme position of the Bishop of Rome. |
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It is also just as absurd to argue that the use of the tiara is opposed to a more pastoral approach of leadership for the pope. Blessed Pope John XXIII made use of the tiara, and his very worst enemies could never imagine him as anything but a very friendly, down-to-earth pastoral sort of pope. It is also strange when one considers that, even pre-Vatican II, the tiara was only used on certain special occasions. Like any of the crowned heads of Europe, the Pope did not walk around all day wearing his tiara and barking orders at people. And, we have to ask, if the tiara is such a terrible symbol of autocracy, why is it still retained in the papal coat of arms and used to crown the statue of Saint Peter every year?
The fact is, the tiara is a symbol of authority, but so is the papacy itself, so is the term "Father", so are most of the vestments in use, which come down from those worn by Imperial Roman officials. Whether or not the tiara is used does not and cannot change the position, authority and honor God has given to the Throne of Peter. The surrender of the tiara however, has caused many people to believe |
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Blessed Pope John XXIII |
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that this can happen, as well as coming to an incorrect conclusion about the nature of the tiara and the papacy as a whole. Hopefully, some future pontiff will step out of the pit of denial and put the tiara back in service along with a careful explanation to the world about what it really means and what the papacy truly stands for. Lest we forget, the power exercised by the Successors of Peter is not their own, but is of God. |
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Pope John Paul II on the Papal Tiara |
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Popes wearing the Papal Tiara |
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Additional Papal Tiaras |
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