pope

The bishop of Rome, head of the Roman Catholic Church, which claims that he is the spiritual descendant of St Peter. Elected by the Sacred College of Cardinals, a pope dates his pontificate from his coronation with the tiara, or triple crown, at St Peter's Basilica, Rome. The pope had great political power in Europe from the early Middle Ages until the Reformation.

The primacy of the pope is rejected by the majority of the world's Christian denominations. In a 1995 encyclical John Paul II called for greater unity among Christians, urging leaders to discuss the role of papal authority within the community, and indicating his willingness to consider a change in the way papal authority might be exercised.