Papacy in Theory and Practice. The office and power of the pope discussed in the context of the theological work of Adrian VI and his plans for a reform of the Church

The paper explores the office and the power of the pope as reflected in Adrian’s own theological writings. He believed that the crisis of the church could be attributed to the transgression of canon law and the misuse of the so-called “plenitudo potestatis” by some Popes. For Adrian, real reform could only be possible by returning to canonical legislation and to the re-establishment of the original church, including a renewal of the value of the church’s laws and obedience to those laws.