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Popes: Roman Catholic
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There have been 266 Popes. The keys have been handed down. The Catholic Church can trace historically through each era until the present day. A timeline of the early Church is here, There is a section on Priestly succession here.
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The Roman Catholic Church paints a picture of an orderly chain of succession of popes who followed in the footsteps of the Apostle Peter. If even one of these men was not a valid Pope, then the chain is broken.
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By virtue of their position of world importance, many popes are persons of fame. Among those who greatly increased the secular power of the papacy were St. Gregory I (the Great, 540?–604), pope from 590 to 604, who ... was influential in matters of doctrine, liturgy, and missionary work; St. Gregory VII (Hildebrand, 1020?–1085), pope from 1073 to 1085, who engaged in conflict with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, forcing him to do public penance at the village of Canossa, and later was driven from Rome by him; and Alexander VI (Rodrigo Lanzol y Borja, b. Spain, 1431?–1503), pope from 1492 to 1503, who also divided colonial territories in the New World between Spain and Portugal.
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There will be additional Popes following Petrus Romanus, about which Malachy did not write. There is ... possibility that these additional popes might be considered antipopes, which could justify their omission in St. Malachy's eyes.
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Critics of the claims of Catholicism often use the historical incident of the three Popes as evidence that the claims of the Catholic Church are false. But this claim is based on a misunderstanding of the historical events.
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