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Hi Ellen,
Thanks for the question.
You said:
The best biography of Pope John Paul II, can probably be found on the Vatican web
site:
You said:
- Also, could you explain how a person becomes the Pope or a bishop and what roles they actually
have?
We should probably say something about the priesthood first. The priesthood is a
calling; a calling from Our Lord Jesus Himself, through the Church. A man is called
to the priesthood.
No man has a right to be a ministerial priest. This discernment involves seminary
prayer and study for a period of time. Through this period of prayer and study, some
men find a calling, while others don't. Take me,
for an example: I didn't feel called
to the priesthood, but I feel very called to being a lay Catholic Apologist for the
Church.
Important Side note: No woman can be a priest, because Jesus was a man and priests act in
the place of Jesus, the man.
Priests are collaborators with the bishop. Priests help bishops carry out their responsibilities
in the local diocese. Bishops are successors of the Apostles. They have the highest
order of the threefold ministry with the fullness of Christ's priesthood, with
the power and authority to administer all the Sacraments, including Ordination. They
are responsible for preaching, teaching, sanctifying and governing the local Catholic
Church in their diocese.
The Pope is also a bishop who is responsible, not only
for the Universal (Catholic) Church, but, for the diocese of Rome as well.
Because of the large population of Catholics in some dioceses, some bishops need
extra helpers to manage the diocese fruitfully. The bishop appoints priests with a solid spiritual
and theological formation, as well as financial experience and maturity, to serve him
as auxiliary bishops.
The Pope appoints either a bishop or an auxiliary bishop to be a bishop for a specific
diocese.
And again, within that diocese, the newly appointed bishop can appoint
other auxiliary bishops,
if he believes he needs the extra help. A bishop in one diocese
cannot tell another bishop in another diocese which auxiliary bishops to appoint.
He can make a recommendation, but only the local diocesan bishop:
- does the appointing, and
- is solely responsible for the Catholics in the diocese that the Lord has given him.
Note: In a similar manner that auxiliary bishops are helpers to the diocesan
bishop, the deacon is a helper to the pastor of a local Catholic
parish. The deacon, though, is not a priest. He can:
- baptize
- assist
in distributing Holy Communion
- preach the Gospel
- give the homily,
and
- witness marriages, but he can't:
- hear Confessions or
- celebrate the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
A cardinal is the highest-ranking prelate below the Papacy itself. The cardinal assists the Pope as a member of the College of Cardinals. They are usually appointed by the Pope to serve in dioceses that have large Catholic populations. Their
garments are a distinctive red color. The color red symbolizes their wiliness to shed their own blood for the Catholic Christian faith.
It is from the College of Cardinals that the Holy Spirit chooses
the next Pope for the Church.
Thanks for e-mailing.
I hope this answered most of your question.
Mike start here
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