The Bishop of Rome

Theology and Life Series #5

by J.M.R. Tillard

Book by Tillard, J.M.R.

Genres: Religion

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1983

Reviews

[Timothy Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-thought theological treatise on the Roman Papacy, it's powers, privileges, and duties in light of the thought of the Eastern Churches and protestant communities. The author's conclusion (reached by well articulated argument) is as follows:

"Has the bishop of Rome not become 'more than a pope'? The two Vatican councils did not demand that! At the close of this work we therefore express our conviction without prevarication. The Roman 'primacy' belongs to the mystery of the Church in her pilgrimage on earth; it could not be dispensed with without doing violence to God's plan We must, however, ask whether, in spite of generous and sincere statements, this 'primacy' is not still being fulfilled at the cost of another wound, inflicted this time on the episcopate. The bishop of Rome is the sentinel who 'watches' over the people of God, which is his true function; but he often prefers to act as if he were the only one in charge, instead of alerting the bishops as authentic pastors in the Church of God. Vatican II reaffirmed the irreplaceable role of the bishops. The Juridical institutions since set up have not enabled the intentions of the Council to pass into fact..."

[sch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended by Christian Smith, in his "how to" manual for becoming a good Catholic, as providing the skeptical evangelical with a less authoritarian and more authentically Catholic view of the papacy. Tillard is (was? Wikipedia has no entry on the man) a deeply learned Dominican, and his task in this book is to more precisely understand the role of the Bishop of Rome (conceptually distinct from the papal office) in the Church, primarily for ecumenical purposes.

He succeeds in the task Smith assigns to him, though naturally I couldn't speak for Tillard's authority within the Catholic Church, or whether the book has had any effect since it was first published 30 years ago. I picked up a great deal of Church history along the way, mostly before the Great Schism. I'll also confess to being not infrequently bored in the reading, though that's really an indictment of myself. It was translated from the French, but the prose was clear. As a novice in theology I was sometimes stymied by technical language, but pressing on, I usually found the matter clarified to my satisfaction.

Addendum: There is substantial illuminating discussion of the two Vatican Councils.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for those interested in ecumenism. In this book, Tillard brings some much-needed clarity to the role of the Pope. He has a clear ecumenical interest, and proceeds with a thoroughly historical approach. Many of his findings will be challenging and/or shocking to Catholics, but we would all benefit from that challenge. For example, Tillard observes that to speak of the 'vicar of Christ' leads to the dangerous idea that the Pope is a direct representative of Christ, and answerable to God alone. Instead, we should follow the older tradition of the 'vicar of Peter' in the sense that the Pope represents the same type of servant leadership that Peter exercised among the apostles.

Through such observations, Tillard articulates a vision of a humble and servant Pope. This vision has significant ecumenical value, but Tillard rightly insists that Catholics should not adopt this merely for ecumenical goals. We should adopt this vision because it is actually a more authentic and traditional vision of the role of the Pope.