Definitions:
Ø Pope – The word used for the head of the Roman Catholic Church
Ø Papacy – The system of ecclesiastical government in which the pope is recognized as the supreme head.
Note that neither of these words is found in the Bible. Both of these words come from the Latin word papa, meaning “father”.
Jesus specifically forbade his disciples from taking upon themselves special spiritual distinctions as “father” or “rabbi”:
"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ.”
Matthew 23:8-10, NIV