I mean, come on. If a Pope tried to start a war and expand the Vatican's territory or declare that Catholic's are an autonomous nation regardless of the country they live in in this day and age, how do yo think that'd go?
US 2024 Presidential Election
- Thread starter gorfias
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I get where you're coming from, but the ability to wage war or willingness to threaten others isn't the only (or even a very good) metric of the height of an office.
Mark Zuckerberg and other billionaires are building underground bunkers because they expect massive civil unrest and violence when AI and machines replace millions of jobs.
Well, well, well, how the turns table.
www.the-independent.com
Here's hoping those laid-off workers organize and shove a thick, fat unlubed one right up where the sun doesn't shine on Capitol Hill.
Trump team scrambles to rehire workers cut by DOGE to fill critical government roles
Rescinding reduction-in-force notices, asking for volunteers, and offering jobs to fired federal workers are some of the ways departments are trying to bulk up staff.
www.the-independent.com
Here's hoping those laid-off workers organize and shove a thick, fat unlubed one right up where the sun doesn't shine on Capitol Hill.
What is power in this millennium isn't much different from any other millennium. Although the technology changes.
But the pope doesn't have much power. The Catholic Church is very ideologically and institutionally rigid, which means the pope can't really make much happen. And most definitely, fewer people than ever really care what the pope says. Sure, there are lots of Catholics that follow Catholicism, but they're following the church - that rigid institution - not the pope that happens to be its figurehead. The pope can tell Catholics all sorts of stuff, and they just carry on believing what they already did. Like how right-wing American Catholics just dismiss him as a "woke pope" whenever he says anything that doesn't suit their politics, and left-leaning Catholics ignore him as a stuffy conservative if he says anything too right for their tastes.
One might at least say the papacy is the highest religious office in the world, given number of adherents, that even many non-Catholic demoninations accept the Bishop of Rome has primacy of honour (if not ecclesiastical primacy), and all other religions are either much smaller or lack central authority.
That story could have come from any point this year.Well, well, well, how the turns table.
Trump team scrambles to rehire workers cut by DOGE to fill critical government roles
Rescinding reduction-in-force notices, asking for volunteers, and offering jobs to fired federal workers are some of the ways departments are trying to bulk up staff.
Here's hoping those laid-off workers organize and shove a thick, fat unlubed one right up where the sun doesn't shine on Capitol Hill.
What is, then? Economically? What trade does the Vatican do that would give it it any global leverage?
What it has is being the central authority of Catholic Christianity. Which, don't get me wrong, isn't nothing but it's also not that much, globally speaking. On a quick search, the global number of Catholics is 1.4 billion. A lot of people, sure. But even if we are being generous and say that that technically gives the Pope power over 1.4 billions, that's still less than the population of China or India and he couldn't put those numbers to use the way an actual country could.
I'm not saying that its cultural influence is insignificant but it's limited to Catholic Christians. That's not enough for fir me to buy that the papacy is still the highest office in the world.
While this in no way excuses the Trump administration, it is interesting:
The policy gets worse and worse under successive administrations in a bipartisan manner. The mass media talks about due process when it is Trump, and talks about "mass immigration" when it is Biden or Obama... or Trump as well. In this way, opposition to the deportation without due process policy is effectively barred from politics by an illusive trick.
The policy gets worse and worse under successive administrations in a bipartisan manner. The mass media talks about due process when it is Trump, and talks about "mass immigration" when it is Biden or Obama... or Trump as well. In this way, opposition to the deportation without due process policy is effectively barred from politics by an illusive trick.
Trump orders National Guard to LA after clashes
The city sees a second day of clashes over raids by federal agents on undocumented migrants.
www.bbc.com
Identity. Societal power is whatever gives a person influence or control over another, and in this moment in time, weapons and money are doing less of that than identity is.
Are you talking about in the US? Because Catholicism is not conducive to the US identity. If anything, the US Identity has changed US Catholics. The current US identity is prosperity gospel massed with exceptionalism massed with Technolords massed with neo-monarchirm. The last two might be the same thing, depending on how you talk to
If you are talking about other countries like in South America or Africa (and a little South East Asia), I'd agree with you
"In this moment in time"?
Heavens, man, it's always been true. The phrase "the pen is mightier than the sword" is merely the modern form of a saying that goes back thousands of years.
I mean, first, I said identity, which is a much more specific concept than just words.
Second, the people who say words are stronger than swords tend to be the ones using words rather than doing the stabbing. I think there's a little bias in the saying... like Popes have used words over swords for a couple millennia, but not continuously, cause at some point the Muslims showed up with swords and the words weren't cutting it in that moment.
The Papal states rarely ever fought Muslims. The Popes mostly lead their own troops against other Italian Catholics. Who also had no problem whatsoever with fighting the Pope. So much for the Influence Popes had oever the Catholic world.
And yes, while some knight orders technically got orders from Popes and fought Muslims, generally the Role of Popes against Muslims was to diplomatically get some king do do something about them. In some cases going so far as threatening "Go on a crusade or i excommunicate you". Though they also did occasionally "No, you can't go on a crusade because i excommunicated you".