I Love It When You Call Me Big Pope-pa

Well, not anymore. The Pope is dropping his "patriarch of the West" title which I think is a pretty progressive idea because he isn't and hasn't been the leader father of "Western civilization" in like ... centuries.

The Vatican took the unusual step Wednesday of explaining its decision to renounce a title popes have used for nearly 1,500 years, saying the omission of 'patriarch of the West' should benefit relations with the Orthodox Church, not hinder them.

In the 2006 edition of the Annuario Pontificio, the Vatican's 2,373-page directory of prelates, Vatican offices and dioceses around the world, the title 'patriarch of the West' was left out of the list of titles that Pope Benedict XVI holds.

Some Orthodox scholars questioned the motives behind the omission, asking whether it might mean Benedict was signaling a broader, or at least different interpretation, of his role as pope and the role of patriarchates in the Eastern traditions of Christianity.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches split in the Great Schism of 1054, largely because of disagreements over the primacy of the pope. The issue remains the main stumbling block to efforts to reunify the two churches.

One official of the Russian Orthodox Church, Bishop Hilarion of Vienna, Austria, told the Interfax news agency this month that the omission would not improve Catholic-Orthodox relations and 'could be viewed as a further claim to the church's worldwide jurisdiction, which is reflected in the pontiff's other titles.'

Those include bishop of Rome, vicar of Christ, successor of the prince of the apostles, and supreme pontiff of the universal church.

I'm not sure it matters much. It's not like he had the power and the Orthodox churches are suspicious of the Pope's reason for doing so. I'll bet there are a few other titles they could take off of the list as well.