He was pope, but he was opposed by a faction who elected another man pope, an anti-pope, which resulted in factional violence. He was accused of murder and adultery, but eventually cleared himself in both civil court and a Church synod. These are not particularly auspicious events in the life of a pope!
St. Damasus I, pope from A.D. 366-384, lived in the time of the Church when it was no longer officially persecuted. Emperor Constantine I signed the Edict of Milan in A.D. 315, which allowed freedom of religion, thus finally legalizing Christianity. The Catholic Church then enjoyed the privileges of peace! During his papacy, the Catholic Church was named the state religion of the Roman Empire by Emperor Theodosius I in 380. So, it fell to St. Damasus to make sure that the Catholic Church did not fall into error, condemning numerous heresies, especially Arianism, which taught that Jesus was not God! He also commissioned St. Jerome, his personal secretary, to write an updated translation of the Bible into Latin, called the Vulgate. He also called the Council of Rome in 382 to codify the official canon of Sacred Scripture, which was identical to that declared as dogma at the Council of Trent in the 16th century.
St. Damasus was quite a busy man, with controversies, successes, and setbacks. How does his life reflect on today's situation? One, popes are not universally liked. Two, popes are not always appreciated for what they do and sometimes opposed. Three, popes are given to us by God to do the hard work of shepherding Jesus' flock, which can be quite difficult. Four, popes deserve our respect and prayers regardless of their popularity or ability to persuade us of God's ways for us. May God give us holy men to shepherd us.
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