The typical American probably views the pope as a harmless old man presiding over an irrelevant institution; the typical Catholic outside the U.S. (and many American Catholics as well) sees him as the representative of God on Earth. The actual claims of the papacy are megalomaniacal: All power on Earth-political, ecclesiastical, and economic–belongs to the alleged successor of Peter. Dr. Henry T. Hudson, a resident of Italy for many years, explains the origin and growth of papal power. PB 252 pg.
