1) Is it appropriate for an underling to refer to the Pope as 'your excellency' or is there a preferred name? This is just for normal conversation, IE, the character is answering a command by saying "Yes, your excellency." is that proper within the Catholic church?

2) Ok, the Pope is elected by the Council or Arch Cardinals right? Now, as assistants, would the pope have Arch Cardinals? or Cardinals, or Bishops? Essentially, what is the appropriate rank within the Catholic church to be one of the Pope's assistants, or is there a special branch within the priesthood that deals in aiding the Pope.

3) If the Pope and an assistant are discussing some action that the Pope wants the assistant to take, would it be appropriate for the assistant to ask permission to leave to perform it, or would the assistant simply stay silent waiting to be dismissed?

4) Does anyone have a website or information on how a Pope selects his name? I have found lists of former Popes, with their real names and the names they took, but I can't find anything on Why a Pope took a particular name (such as Benedict or Alexander)? Does the Pope choose the name, or does the Catholic community that elected him?

thanks in advance!

I'm reasonably certain that the pope chooses his own name, and as with all names in the catholic churhc, it is meant to honor a favorite saint or the like. Some families have favorite saints or patron saints, and this might also be related to the pope's nation of origin. So Benedict might have named himself after any of the following:

St. Benedict and Companions
St. Benedict Biscop
St. Benedict the Black
St. Benedict Crispus
St. Benedict Joseph Labré
St. Benedict of Nursia
St. Benedict of Aniane
St. Benedict of Cagliari
St. Benedict of Campania
St. Benedict of Macerac
St. Benedict of Sebaste
St. Benedict of Szkalka
St. Benedict Revelli
St. Benedict the Moor

YEEKS! I didn't expect there to be so many benedicts..I got that list from:
http://www.catholic.org/saints/

I'm not even posting all the Alexander's!!

The site also describes the saints and what they did to become a saint. Some with just a sentence, the most popular once with quite a bit.

As for the answers to #2 and #3...I'm really not sure. For #2 I imagine it depends upon what you mean by assistant. All kinds of people work in the vatican (not just cardinals), and the hierarchy is not as clear cut as you make it out to be. I gave the priest, bishop, arch bishop...list to someone else and that's usually as much as people understand, but it's not the real truth. There are hundreds of ORDERS of priest, and that plays in to all of this somehow too.

If I had to make a suggestions...I'd say get up the nerve to go talk to three priests and ask them these questions. This isn't the sort of thing you'll find on the web, or if it's there, you have to have a lot better idea of what you're looking for. Go talk to three priests and ask them the questions and then take the majority opinion. (They really don't all know all the answers....I've heard plenty of discenting opinions and some are flat wrong.) But they are typically nice, plenty willing to talk as long as you're respectful, and they are highly educated.

Here's one suggestions, though. If you actually want to get it right, don't use ANY current fiction works as a reference. Oh, I'm sure a few got it right, but most make assumptions or use ignorant stereotypees. On the other hand, if you went ahead and wrote it without doing any actual research you would be in good company....I've had to overlook some ignorance in otherwise really good books myself and I managed to enjoy them. My husband says he's only ran across one xception to that (being able to overlook the mistakes and stereotypes) and I haven't read it but the Left Behind series apparently crossed the line in book 2. (If it managed to cross the line HE set...whew....I garuntee I'll never read it. )

Well worth seeking out, for anyone who hasn't heard it.

Christine you were an incredible help! thanks!