Papacy vs. Philippine Presidency
DOCTOR’S PRESCRIPTION
By Santos T. Araña, Ph.D.
PAPACY vs. PHILIPPINE PRESIDENCY
I was fascinated by the process of choosing a new pontiff compared to the system a president of a republic is elected like Philippines. It cannot be avoided to compare the method because vote should be considered sacred conviction of those involve.
The selection of Pope Francis witnessed by the world was a sacred occurrence in Vatican participated by Cardinals from different parts of the world who composed the College of Cardinals. Pope Francis will be leading the entire Catholic Church in the world with about 1.2 billion Catholic believers as of 2010 Census of the 2012 Annuario Pontificio (Pontifical Yearbook).
The Catholic Church is headed by a Pope while a democratic Government is headed by a President. The structure of church government in choosing their leader is called Papacy which is the system of central government of the Roman Catholic Church of which the pope is the supreme head being accorded special respect; while the layman’s government known as presidency, the administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation.
The manner of choosing a pope begins with a papal conclave known as the meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a new Bishop of Rome. The conclave has been the procedure for choosing the pope for more than half of the time the church has been in existence, and is the oldest ongoing method for choosing the leader of an institution. These Cardinals are from different parts of the world.
On the other hand, the manner of choosing a pope and a president is significantly different. The Pope was selected by the cardinals for the papacy while the president is chosen by the people at large in a democratic or republican system.
However, the sacredness of selecting the new Pope is admirable;
By Santos T. Araña, Ph.D.
PAPACY vs. PHILIPPINE PRESIDENCY
I was fascinated by the process of choosing a new pontiff compared to the system a president of a republic is elected like Philippines. It cannot be avoided to compare the method because vote should be considered sacred conviction of those involve.
The selection of Pope Francis witnessed by the world was a sacred occurrence in Vatican participated by Cardinals from different parts of the world who composed the College of Cardinals. Pope Francis will be leading the entire Catholic Church in the world with about 1.2 billion Catholic believers as of 2010 Census of the 2012 Annuario Pontificio (Pontifical Yearbook).
The Catholic Church is headed by a Pope while a democratic Government is headed by a President. The structure of church government in choosing their leader is called Papacy which is the system of central government of the Roman Catholic Church of which the pope is the supreme head being accorded special respect; while the layman’s government known as presidency, the administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation.
The manner of choosing a pope begins with a papal conclave known as the meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a new Bishop of Rome. The conclave has been the procedure for choosing the pope for more than half of the time the church has been in existence, and is the oldest ongoing method for choosing the leader of an institution. These Cardinals are from different parts of the world.
On the other hand, the manner of choosing a pope and a president is significantly different. The Pope was selected by the cardinals for the papacy while the president is chosen by the people at large in a democratic or republican system.
However, the sacredness of selecting the new Pope is admirable;