What You Didn't Know About The Popes

My dad was Roman Catholic and I do not criticize them harshly, but this is just weird. I don't know how many of you knew about this practice but I would imagine not many.Pretty strange stuff....

What You Didn't Know About The Popes Of Rome

By Mark Owen
4-6-5

On the evening of Saturday April 2, 2005, after receiving the Rite of Extreme Unction, Pope John Paul II passed away. At this time his chamberlain would have gone to the papal hospital bed and asked the Bishop of Rome a question, "Are you dead?" There would be no reply from the Pope. The chamberlain would then pick up a silver hammer and strike the Pope on the head and repeat his question, "Are you dead?" Again there would be no reply. The chamberlain would then thrice call out the Pope's baptismal name. He would then declare the Pope to be dead.

This is the way the Church has determined papal deaths for centuries. This is the way of the world's oldest monarchy.

Since 1763 the august Almanach de Gotha has been the ultimate authority on the royal houses of Europe. Listed under 'Reigning Sovereign Houses' is the Holy See. Therein is stated, "the incumbent of the Holy See is considered by Christian sovereign families as the 'Father of the Family of Kings,' [and] his Holiness represents the OLDEST MONARCHY on earth"

John Paul's Death

I've heard that before. I've heard it's a myth and also that it was done at one time, but the practice was discontinued with the Vatican II council in the 1960s.

There is supposedly a silver hammer used to destroy the ring and seals of a pope after he passes, for symbolic reasons as well as to prevent forgery.

This is one of those secretive things we'll probably never know about for sure.

By the way, I don't think the Beatles' song, "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" has anything to do with this, although I've also heard speculation about that.

Urban Myth buster, Snoops hasn’t been able to determine is this is a myth or not.

Check out what they have found

www.snopes.com...

Good find, Umbrax. Here's another one-
italian.about.com...

Seems to indicate it's the real deal, although I'm doubtful.

More back-and-forth here-
www.andrewrogers.net...

So it's either a myth perpetrated by continually citing the same errored source, or true. But as the author of the above link states, "But, really, who cares?"

I'm not sure it really matters, but it's an interesting exercise in how "facts" get spread, if nothing else. The more info we have, the less we know.

Maybe.

Here is some more information in the same article that I found absolutely unbelievable...Crazy stuff

Without a doubt, there was one Pope who was completely mad. In 896 Stephen VII set in motion the trial of his rival, the late Pope Formosus who had been dead for 9 months at the time. Formosus' corpse was dragged from its tomb and arrayed on a throne in the council chamber. The corpse, wrapped in a hair shirt, was provided with council, who wisely remained silent while Pope Stephen raved and screamed at it. The crime of Formosus was that he had crowned emperor one of the numerous illegitimate heirs of Charlemagne after first having performed the same office for a candidate favored by Stephen. After Stephen's rant, the corpse was stripped of its clothes and its fingers were chopped off. It was then dragged through the palace and hurled from a balcony to a howling mob below who threw it into the Tiber. The body was later rescued by people sympathetic to Formosus and given a quiet burial. Stephen was strangled to death a few years later.

Link To Entire Article

I mean this is really nuts if it is true.

[edit on 19-9-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]