Pope

The Pope (Latin: papa) is the Bishop of Rome and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The importance of the Roman bishop is largely derived from his role as the traditional successor to Saint Peter, to whom Jesus gave the keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the church would be built.

The office of the Pope is the papacy. His jurisdiction, the Diocese of Rome, is often called "the Holy See" or "the Apostolic See". The pope is also head of state of Vatican City, a sovereign city-state entirely within the Italian capital city of Rome.

The papacy is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in Terran history. The popes in ancient times helped in the spread of Christianity and the resolution of various doctrinal disputes. In the Middle Ages, they played a role of secular importance in Western Europe, often acting as arbitrators between Christian monarchs.

Popes, who originally had no temporal powers, in some periods of history accrued wide powers similar to those of temporal rulers. Popes were gradually forced to give up temporal power, and papal authority is now once again almost exclusively restricted to matters of religion.

Since the Ascent, the Catholic Church has split into several branches,  (New Galactic Catholic Church,  Galactic Catholic Church and others), mainly due to the actions of Pope Hubertus the First and his actions at the Ascent.