ABSTRACT
The Pope may determine his own competence, define the scope of his power, and judge all cases, even those in which he is involved. The history of the Church reveals, as Gustave Thils has noted, ‘the imperturbable movement towards the same point – the concentration of everything in the papacy’.14 The expansion of papal power may be understandable in view of historical circumstances, but to many it seems far removed from the scriptural idea of authority as humble service within and for the people of God. Catholics and non-Catholics inevitably ask about the limits of papal authority. What are the boundaries that determine the legitimate exercise of papal authority? This chapter attempts to address this issue… .
