Why is the Pope called Holy Father?

Answer 1

Catholics refer to the pope as the "Holy Father". It is merely a title. Christians agree or disagree with whether this appropriate.

Why Catholics use the term "Holy Father"

• He is called upon to practice exceptional sanctity in imitation of Jesus Whose office he serves. The pope is also the "Father" to all the catholic churches while alive.
• Jesus chose the apostles to be the earthly leaders of the Church. He gave them his own authority to teach and to govern not as dictators, but as loving pastors and fathers. That is why Catholics call their spiritual leaders "father." In doing so we follow Paul's example: "I became your father in Jesus Christ through the gospel" (1 Cor. 4:15).Against the term "Holy Father"
• Catholics and Orthodox Christians call priests "Father" based on St. Paul's theology of the spiritual fatherhood of priests: "I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (1 Cor. 4:14-15).

The qualifier "holy" underlines the spiritual dimension of this fatherhood exercised in the name of God; though is does not imply a moral judgment on the person of the Pope. The expression "Holy Father" was born in the time of the controversy over lay investiture, and it seemed normal that in its becoming common usage in the acts of the chancery, the Roman Curia had then wished to underscore the spiritual and supernatural level of the mission of the Pope by adding the adjective "holy" - to defend implicitly the superiority of papal power over imperial power.

The Pope is referred to as "the Holy Father" by Catholics not because he is any holier than anyone else on earth but because of his mission of spiritual fatherhood over the whole Catholic Church. The "Holy" part emphasizes that this is a spiritual relationship.

Protestant Christians do not follow this tradition.

Answer:

Also, Jesus specifically referred to Abraham as "our father in Faith." The pope ("papa"/father) is "our father in faith."

Catholic AnswerGod is holiness itself, He is the very definition of holiness, and we can only grasp barely a glimmer of what He actually is, who is Being and Love itself. Nevertheless, He became incarnate as a human being so that He could communicate Himself to us, and we could approach Him without being destroyed at the very thought. To be with us through the rest of history, He formed His Church, and appointed His apostle Peter as its first Vicar. The Vicar of the Kingdom in the Davidic kingdom in the Old Testament held the "keys of the kingdom" and ruled with the King's own authority - read Isaiah. Our Blessed Lord gave the "keys", His own authority and prestige to His Vicar on earth, Peter and His successors, so out of honor for God, we offer the honor due to Him to His Vicar NOT because His Vicar is holy in an of himself, but because of Whom he represents.

Answer 2

Answer

The word "pope" is latin for "Papa." The pope is considered the "father" of the church.

AnswerIn The Bible, spiritual leaders such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and even the Apostle Paul, are called fathers in a spiritual sense.

"Holy" refers to the fact that the pope has been given a job to do by God, and set apart (which is what holy means) for this purpose.

Jesus' prohibition on using the terms "father" and "teacher" refer to a matter of pride, not a prohibition on the use of certain words. Otherwise the Bible wouldn't use the terms for humans, and we couldn't call our male parent "father".

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Catholic AnswerGod is holiness itself, He is the very definition of holiness, and we can only grasp barely a glimmer of what He actually is, who is Being and Love itself. Nevertheless, He became incarnate as a human being so that He could communicate Himself to us, and we could approach Him without being destroyed at the very thought. To continue to be with us through the rest of history, He formed His Church, and appointed His apostle Peter as its first Vicar. The Vicar of the Kingdom in the Davidic kingdom in the Old Testament held the "keys of the kingdom" and ruled with the King's own authority - read Isaiah. Our Blessed Lord gave the "keys", His own authority and prestige to His Vicar on earth, Peter and His successors, so out of honor for God, we offer the honor due to Him to His Vicar NOT because His Vicar is holy in an of himself, but because of Whom he represents.