Pope Paul VI was the last pope to have an official triple crown Tiara made. The symbol for hundreds of years claiming some divine right to rule all of Christendom was more or less relinquished after Vatican II in the hopes of uniting or more closely bonding the Christian belief systems since the two major schisms of the ages – the one with the east with the Orthodox church and the one of the Protestant Reformation.
The first photo is of Paul VI’s last tiara that is never worn anymore but is probably in some vault in the Vatican. I saw that Tiara many years ago in the late sixties when it was on display in a bank lobby in Philadelphia making a world tour of sorts. So much of the promise of change from within the RCC was in the air shortly after Vatican II. Whatever happened to that spirit of change?
A bunch of lower level clerics who attended Vatican II mostly as administrative assistants to bishops have risen in the ranks over the years and seem to want to negate Vatican II both in style and substance.
Benedict XVI was gone back to the medieval practice of wearing ermine fur in the winter with his costume. Not very egalitarian or populist. Definitely medieval. The second photo is of Benedict wrapped in gold cloth.
We should also remember that it was backward looking John Paul II that insisted that wearng modern pants, jacket and collar were to be discontinued by priests in favor of the black cassock. A dress instead of pants so to speak.
The young Turks from Vatican II want to forget Vatican II. Thank God for the present meltdown of management in the Vatican at present. There is hope of a reformation of sorts at the Vatican still possible in the future.
When the President of a modern religion business such as the bishop of Rome wants to be in style in the future, he or she might consider the modern dress of say another President of a religion business, say that of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
The next two photos are of President Gerald B. Kieschnick LCMS in both his every day black business suit with collar and his official church service garb sans the gold cloth.
President Kieschnick is up for re-election as President of that business and running a distant second to his opponent at the moment before this summer’s convention and elections.
Something to think about and consider when you have tiaras, gold cloth, corruption and sex scandals going on now in Rome.
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