Pope Francis Quotes
Lithuanian bishops have been heroic!
Pope Francis. "Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Lithuania." Vatican.va, 2 Feb. 2015.
Epic Historical Poet. Noteworthy is the Poem in that it shows the king fighting with his Christian and Pagan supporters. His conversions were not forced and he managed to govern and fight without religion being the societal cleavage—rather it was nationality and culture and in this sense he was somewhat ahead of his time.
Philip II, by this statement, and his subsequent behavior, made a major step forward in France for the separation of church and state. Previously, French kings played a major part in the selection of the bishops and other high clerics of the realm. Phillip ceased that type of interference. He did however, close down a religious commune for misbehavior, but that was at the request of both the church and civil authorities. See {617074} . The religious authorities at the time were delighted with this form of separation of church and state, but they were adamant that their church should be able to influence the monarchy and laws of the realm. In contrast today, the Chinese government does not allow any religion to interfere with the operation of the government, but insists that the Dali Lama and the Bishops of the Catholic church can only be appointed with their approval. Separation of church and state is a two way phenomenon.
The Roman Catholic Clergy as well as the Vatican was quite corrupt in Luther’s time which was one of the reasons for his reform effort. Throughout history some clerics have abused their positions and roles and acted as impediments to the faith in their own religions.
Pope Francis is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. Francis is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope from outside Europe since Gregory III, a Syrian who reigned in the 8th century.
