Day 5 within the Octave of Pentecost

Baltimore track

Baltimore Catechism No. 3

Lesson 12 — On the Attributes and Marks of the Church

Q. 537.What does anti-pope mean, and who were the anti-popes?

A.Anti-pope means a pretended pope. The anti-popes were men who by the aid of faithless Christians or others unlawfully seized and claimed the papal power while the lawful pope was in prison or exile.

Q. 538.Why must the Pope sometimes warn us on political and other matters?

A.The Pope must sometimes warn us on political and other matters, because whatever nations or men do is either good or bad, just or unjust, and wherever the Pope discovers falsehood, wickedness or injustice he must speak against it and defend the truths of faith and morals. He must protect also the temporal rights and property of the Church committed to his care.

Q. 539.What do we mean by the "temporal power" of the Pope?

A.By the temporal power of the Pope we mean the right which the Pope has as a temporal or ordinary ruler to govern the states and manage the properties that have rightfully come into the possession of the Church.

Q. 540.How did the Pope acquire and how was he deprived of the temporal power?

A.The Pope acquired the temporal power in a just manner by the consent of those who had a right to bestow it. He was deprived of it in an unjust manner by political changes.