He's just an old guy in a dress with a hat....no magic to him.
Does the Pope have special and/or magical powers?
Yes indeed!
In a news report yesterday it was revealed that Catholic bishops are "not necessarily" obliged to report paedophile priests to the police.
I'm not sure whether you'd call it a magic power or just sleight of mitre, but the Pope has the ability to make heinous crimes disappear.
No but he has an uncanny way of getting people to give him money to support his lavish lifestyle.
He's a normal guy !
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.
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.
He is just a man.
He has a position as the leader of the Catholic church, but mere flesh and bone as are we all.
My shine has more spirits in it then he has. After drinking it its been known to cure all sorts of ailments
No he does not, he is just a human like all the rest of us who get sick grow old and die.
Yes he protects priests who
rape children.
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)