Talk:Pope

Royalty

Should the Pope be classified as royalty?

In the real world, the Holy Father, or Supreme Pontiff, is elected by all the College of Cardinals (one of their own), and is more or less the only example of an "absolute monarch" in Europe. What does everybody think?

Kevin 'Chalky' Kaiba ☎ 14:15, 26 May 2023 (UTC)

Seems theologically dicey to me, and even then the category would only apply if it holds in the DWU. Has it been stated to be true in the DWU? Najawin ☎ 15:11, 26 May 2023 (UTC)

Your guess is as good as mine. The Holy See is technically an elective monarchy. In what way is the Pope being royalty a dicey concept?

Kevin 'Chalky' Kaiba ☎ 15:18, 26 May 2023 (UTC)

I don't think it would be applicable. Modern Popes are also monarchs, sure, but the earliest ones were just bishops of Rome, and unless explicitly stated there's no guarantee that some of the far-future Popes we see in some DWU stories are monarchs of anything.

Setting aside the question of whether it's applicable. I don't think we have a specific category for royal titles, so I don't know how we would categorize this page as such. – n8 (☎) 15:32, 26 May 2023 (UTC)

As Nate said. Our current popes happen to also be heads of state, but this isn't a necessary component of the office. Even putting aside the various issues surrounding the early patriarchs and antipopes. It's just an incidental fact. Najawin ☎ 16:08, 26 May 2023 (UTC)