While discussing the category of authority seen in the Catholic church, an immediate response is that of a comparison of the Catholic church’s highest human authority, the Pope. The role of a pope has experienced several changes over time as seen among their role in politics, attitude towards the Catholic community, and even simply attire.
Among the three aspects of the Catholic Tradition and History including community, authority, and text, authority will be the focus of this discussion among media in the Catholic church. Authority in the Catholic church can be defined as the leaders and influencers that take on certain traditional roles throughout the church community as presented in Dr. Heidi Campbell’s lecture on Friday, March 29, 2019. Specifically, the Catholic church demonstrates a line of hagiarchy among its leaders beginning with a pope, then cardinals, and so forth.
Among the two images shown below depicting different popes of differing centuries, there are several distinctions that are immediately and simply evident. One such difference includes the two men’s wardrobe. In the painting of Pope Sixtus IV from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, he is illustrated wearing a white dress underneath an intense red cloak and red hat. However, in the magnet photo of Pope Francis, he is solely wearing white. While Pope Francis still wears the color of red among his wardrobe, he is prominently captured in white. The significance of colors may contribute to the contrasting attitudes popes of these eras were trying to reveal. Red is a powerful color worn popularly by powerful men of the time, in this case exhibiting an authoritative role of Pope Sixtus IV. On the other hand, white is a color of purity and innocence. Wearing white, Pope Francis may be attempting to prevent communicating an intimidating authoritative feeling towards the Catholic community today.
Furthermore, the represented attitudes of the two men dramatically differ as well. The portrait of Pope Sixtus IV portrays a serious and dominant figure. He is painted in the profile view which reveals a sense of disconnect with the viewer as he looks away. Having a portrait painted for him with such a powerful theme depicts a manner of raising himself above the community and bearing a more commanding role. In contrast, the picture on the magnet of Pope Francis shares almost the opposite feeling. Pope Francis exhibits a warm smile with eyes gazing towards the viewer. Additionally, he is making the positive and commonplace sign known as “thumbs up.” These attributes of the photo communicate a comfortable and relatable feel to the audience. Furthermore, the photo allows Pope Francis to informalize and lower himself into an equal status among members of the Catholic community.
Lastly, there is a substantial difference in the hand that the pope had in politics. Catholic popes during the reign of the Medici family were elected based on their family’s influence as a powerful Florentine banking family. Furthermore, during this time, many goals of the Catholic church were sometimes skewed for political purposes. On the other hand, in the Catholic church today, Pope Francis leads an attitude of faith first. Pope Francis cannot avoid political opinions, but it is evident that he understands the negative side effects politics are so often are followed by.
In conclusion, authority among the Catholic church has observed many changes over time transforming traditional Catholicism values into contemporary ideals. These changes, specified among the role of a pope, can be seen among politics, communal attitude, and wardrobe and are further illustrated using the two images below.
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