Does the Pope have special and/or magical powers?

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10 Answers

John Doe Profile
John Doe answered

He's just an old guy in a dress with a hat....no magic to him.

Ancient Hippy Profile
Ancient Hippy answered

No but he has an uncanny way of getting people to give him money to support his lavish lifestyle.

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Jann Nikka
Jann Nikka commented
I read the Vancant is a very wealthy little country and he eats off pure gold dishes.
Ancient Hippy
Ancient Hippy commented
My daughter spent the better part of a day touring Vatican City. She said she's never seen such opulence.
Jann Nikka
Jann Nikka commented
Yep pure greed, IMO.
Rooster Cogburn Profile
Rooster Cogburn , Rooster Cogburn, answered

He's a normal guy !

Tom  Jackson Profile
Tom Jackson answered

Well, I don't know if he knows any magic.

And power can be real or assumed, but he is a head of state.

He does have a special authority for us Catholics, however.

And he does speak more languages than i do.

And he does say some rather interesting and insightful things at times.

Bottom line though, he is just a man, so he's not really any different from us, relatively speaking.

The following is an edit from me after seeing another answer to which I feel compelled to respond, preferably as an addendum to my answer rather than in a comment. 

http://www.smh.com.au/national/vatican-says-catholic-bishops-not-compelled-to-report-sex-abuse-20160211-gmr6v7.html

The above link refers to an article in the Sydney Morning
Herald, February 11, 2016 edition.

I don’t see how the article supports the implication that I
think I understand (perhaps incorrectly) to suggest that there is an
unreasonable position that has been taken by the Vatican.

Part of what the article says is that current mandatory
reporting laws do not apply to people who work for religious institutions.  That apparently is a fact in Australian law

The article also states that: “The instruction, in a new Vatican training manual advising
senior clergy
on how to respond to allegations of abuse, states that only
victims or their families should decide whether to report to authorities, but bishops should be aware of local legal
requirements.

“The definition of compelled means forced to do
something.”
  Read more at http://www.yourdictionary.com/compelled#VFFqxFMqLt5JLiDD.99

Seems to me that the pope is maintaining the separation between
church and state appropriately.  Let’s
not let what seems like expediency and what can be mistaken for common senses
get us in such a hurry to do good that we trample some basic principles.


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Tom  Jackson
Tom Jackson commented
I agree with this comment 100%, Didge
Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
And that's the problem, Tom.To hell with our kids as long as the veneer of "holiness" is maintained.
Tom  Jackson
Tom Jackson commented
I suspect you remember this from "Heretics" by Chesterton.

I think the phrase "unmediaeval practicality" applies now.

Suppose that a great commotion arises in the street about something, let us say a lamppost, which many influential persons desire to pull down. A grey-clad monk, who is the spirit of the Middle Ages, is approached upon the matter, and begins to say, in the arid manner of the Schoolmen, “Let us first of all consider, my brethren, the value of Light. If Light be in itself good—” At this point he is somewhat excusably knocked down. All the people make a rush for the lamp-post, the lamp-post is down in ten minutes, and they go about congratulating each other on their unmediaeval practicality. But as things go on they do not work out so easily. Some people have pulled the lamp-post down because they wanted the electric light; some because they wanted old iron; some because they wanted darkness, because their deeds were evil. Some thought it not enough of a lamp-post, some too much; some acted because they wanted to smash municipal machinery; some because they wanted to smash something. And there is war in the night, no man knowing whom he strikes. So, gradually and inevitably, to-day, to-morrow, or the next day, there comes back the conviction that the monk was right after all, and that all depends on what is the philosophy of Light. Only what we might have discussed under the gas-lamp, we now must discuss in the dark.
otis campbell Profile
otis campbell answered

My shine has more spirits in it then he has. After drinking it its been known to cure all sorts of ailments

Charles Davis Profile
Charles Davis answered

I'm unaware of any particular "magic" powers he has (and I doubt any) or any special powers. He is however the leader of the largest christian denomination in the world and is held to have the closest relationship to their God.

This is not unusual, there are others that consider their leader in even closer contact with their God, some claiming direct connection with their God. But you might find this video interesting on how each of the christian religion have a "relationship with God (Jesus for most christians)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLBDFe3mDtk

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