Pope Innocent III bas-relief in the U.S. House of Representatives chamber

[doeriver]

Pope Innocent III marble bas-relief, one of 23 reliefs of great historical lawgivers in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives in the United States Capitol. Sculpted by Joseph Kiselewski in 1950. Diameter 28 inches.

Pope Innocent III (1161-1216) decreed that a monk who had arranged for his lover to have an abortion was not guilty of murder if the fetus was not "animated" at the time and that the soul enters the body of the fetus at the time of "quickening" - when the woman first feels movement of the fetus.

The explicit prohibition of abortion is not biblical, but rather papal.

The triregnum (papal tiara) depicted by the Kiselewski Innocent III marble bas-relief is also historically incorrect as to the number of "crowns" featured on the tiara during the period of Innocent III.

According to the Holy See Press Office:

The Triregnum (the Papal Tiara formed by three crowns symbolizing the triple power of the Pope: father of kings, governor of the world and Vicar of Christ) from the XVIII Century, with which the bronze statue of Saint Peter is crowned every June 29th, the feast day of the Saint.

Use of the Tiara, a ritual during solemn ceremonies, was abandoned during the Papacy of Paul VI.

The Tiara is a headdress ending in an ogive and made of silver, and during the times of Boniface VIII [Papacy began: December 24, 1294, Papacy ended: October 11, 1303] two crowns were added, and from 1314 three crowns (the reason it is called the triregnum), topped by a small globe with a golden cross...

The triregnum (papal tiara) depicted by the Kiselewski Innocent III marble bas-relief is also historically incorrect as to the number of "crowns" featured on the tiara during the period of Innocent III.

This is revealing a lot of information: although wearing the papal tiara "was abandoned during the Papacy of Paul V", papal tiaras are still yet used as papal and church icons.

[HockeyMom]

1. I argued something like this with a priest at 15 years old

If a soul is put in at the moment of conception, what about identical twins where the fertilized egg splits in two? Put another soul in later? Put in souls of zygotes which are miscarried days later? It makes no sense and I said that to him. He got mad at me and refused to answer. Blind faith. Don't QUESTION!

[doeriver]

5. Rule 13 of St. Ignatius' Rules for Thinking with the Church...

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Society of Jesus - Controversies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Jesus#Controversies

The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu, S.J., SJ, or SI) is a religious order of men called Jesuits, who follow the teachings of the Catholic Church. Jesuit priests and brothers[2]—also sometimes known colloquially as "God's Marines"[3] and as "The Company", (this terminology is related to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background, and their willingness to go anywhere in the world and live in the most extreme conditions)—are engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations on six continents reflecting the Formula of the Institute (principle) of the Society. They are known in the fields of education (schools, colleges, universities, seminaries, theological faculties), intellectual research, and cultural pursuits in addition to missionary work, giving retreats, hospital and parish ministry, promoting social justice and ecumenical dialogue.

The Society was founded by St. Ignatius who, after being wounded in battle, experienced a religious conversion and composed the Spiritual Exercises in order to help others to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ more closely. In 1534, Ignatius gathered six young men, including St. Francis Xavier and Bl. Pierre Favre, and together they professed vows of poverty and chastity, and then later, obedience, including a special vow of obedience to the Pope.

Rule 13 of [St.]Ignatius' Rules for Thinking with the Church said: "That we may be altogether of the same mind and in conformity[...], if [the Church] shall have defined anything to be black which to our eyes appears to be white, we ought in like manner to pronounce it to be black."[4]

[izquierdista]

2. Innocent III also wasn't inflatable.

It was Vatican I and Pius XII in 1870 that decided that the Pope was full of hot air when he spoke on matters of dogma.

[doeriver]

3. Germans present Pope Benedict with his own papal crown

Germans present Pope Benedict with his own papal crown
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/germans-present-pope-benedict-with-his-own-papal-crown/
By David Kerr

Vatican City, May 25, 2011 / 07:05 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI did not have a papal tiara until today. At the May 25 General Audience he was presented with one by the Catholics of his native Germany.

The man behind the project, Dieter Philippi, met with CNA before the handover ceremony.

“Well, we thought how every Pope in the past had a tiara. Even John Paul II had one. That was a present from Hungarian Catholics given to him in 1981. So we thought about making a tiara from German Catholics to hand over to the present Pope.”

Dieter is from Kirkel in the Saarland region of western Germany. By day he’s a chief executive of a telecommunications company. In his spare time, though, he’s an avid collector of religious headgear. In fact, he now has over 500 hats from numerous world religions.

And it was Dieter who commissioned the tiara from a workshop in the Bulgarian capital of Sophia.

“They specialize in Orthodox vestments and Orthodox mitres. So they have the knowledge and skill to make a tiara, because in other countries it’s now very difficult to find craftsmen and women with the knowledge of how to make a tiara. That’s because it takes such specialist skills.”



The metal used is a mixture of zinc, silver and brass. This made it very malleable when sculpting fine detail. The stones used are semi-precious.

Milka Botcheva, who was part of the team that worked on the project, explained, “When we were working on it we never expected it would come this far, that it would come to Vatican.”

“So I’m proud of all of us, all the team. I believe this really is a miracle,” she said.

The papal tiara was worn by Popes at their coronation between the 14th and 20th centuries. The last Pope to have a coronation was Pope Paul VI, in 1963.

It seems there’s no absolute certainty about the symbolism but during papal coronations the following words were uttered as the tiara was placed on the Pope’s head:

“Receive the tiara adorned with three crowns and know that thou art Father of Princes and Kings, Ruler of the World, Vicar of Our Savior Jesus Christ on earth, to whom is honor and glory in the ages of ages.”

Pope Benedict, of course, didn’t undergo a coronation. Neither does he have the tiara on his papal coat of arms. Dieter Philippi, though, would like to see some of the traditions surrounding the papal tiara revived.

[Astrad]

4. Innocent III and Genocide

Sadly he also ordered the Albigensian Crusade which wiped out the entire population of Cathars in Southern France.

[doeriver]

6. @Astrad

Pope Innocent III ordered Albigensian Crusade which resulted in approximately 20,000 Cathar AND Catholic men. women, and children being slaughtered during the first major military operation --- the Massacre at Béziers --- in Southern France. The July 22, 1209 Massacre at Béziers was under command of the Papal Legate, the Abbot of Citeaux Arnaud Amalric.