Patriarchs of Orthodox Churches and many Catholic Churches not under the pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church expressed concerns about the dropping of the title by the Roman Catholic Church of 'Patriarch of the West' to the point that the bishops of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople have expressed most concern over Pope Benedict XVI's decision to drop the title "Patriarch of the West" from his official titles. On June 8 statement, the chief secretary of the Orthodox bishops' synod said dropping "Patriarch of the West" while retaining the titles "Vicar of Jesus Christ" and "supreme pontiff of the universal church" is "perceived as implying a universal jurisdiction as the bishop of Rome over the entire church, which is something the Orthodox and many Catholic bishops have never and will never accept."

The word pope derives from Greek πάππας meaning "Father.

Vatican officials said in March 2007 that Pope Benedict dropped the title in the 2006 edition of the Annuario Pontificio because it was theologically imprecise and historically obsolete from their opinion.  From a Catholic point of view, being in communion with the bishop of Rome -- the pope -- is necessary for a full expression of being church. But while the pope exercises full jurisdiction over the entire Latin rite of the Catholic Church around the world, his governance over the Eastern Catholic churches is less direct. Dropping the title of Patriarch in reference to the pope does not minimize the importance of the patriarchal office, particularly in relation to the ancient Eastern churches, said Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, in a March statement.

However, members of the Orthodox and Old Catholic Churches synods disagree.

From their point of view, "the geographical limits of each ecclesiastical jurisdiction" have been a key part of the structure of the church from the earliest days of Christianity. The church as a whole is "a unity of full local churches" and not a monolith divided into local units simply for the sake of easier governance.  The Orthodox and other Catholic Churches synod's statement said that, with the international Catholic-Orthodox theological dialogue set to begin again in September with plans to deal with the "thorny problem of papal primacy”. It would have been better not to have dropped the title without consultation.  

A Vatican official familiar with the dialogue told the Catholic News Service June 13 that the Vatican did not believe dropping the title would have a negative impact on the dialogue or on moves to restore full communion between Catholics and Orthodox, the fact that the Bishop of Rome exercises his primacy differently over the Latin-rite church and with the Eastern Catholic churches -- as seen in the two separate codes of canon law -- "leaves open possibilities for the future of differing relationships, although communion with the Bishop of Rome remains essential," the official said.

In the 12th century, Roman Pontiffs claimed greater authority over diocesan bishops, new titles were introduced. Pope Innocent IV (1234-1254) claimed the title "Vicar of God"-- a term that is no longer used. The First Vatican Council definitively established the authority of the Pope, as the primacy conferred by Christ upon Peter and his successors. Vatican II confirmed the titles "Vicar of Christ" and "Successor of Peter." 

The term "Sovereign Pontiff" can be traced back to the close of the 5th century. The title, which has its origins in the title for the Roman emperors of an earlier era, was initially applied to all metropolitan archbishops. Again it was in the 11th century that the title came to be applied exclusively to the Bishop of Rome. The addition of the phrase "of the Universal Church" is a more recent alteration of this title.

However, it is just another way of the Roman Catholic Church seeking to mislead the Roman Catholic Faithful that the Roman Catholic Church is the only true Church for which is nonsense. All Bishops have been referred to in the past and still are referred to as Patriarchs with responsibility within their own patriarchates. They carry the authority granted upon them as long as they are in an unbroken APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION / LINE from a Bishop as a Bishop to lead and teach the faithful. In the early centuries of Christianity, this title was applied, especially in the east, to all bishops and other senior clergy, and later became reserved in the west to the Bishop of Rome, a reservation made official only in the 11th century. The earliest record of the use of this title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria, Pope Heraclas of Alexandria (232–248). The earliest recorded use of the title "pope" in English dates to the mid-10th century, when it was used in reference to Pope Vitalian .The title was from the early 3rd century a general term used to refer to all bishops.^[ From the 6th century the title began to be used particularly of the Bishop of Rome, and in the late 11th century Pope Gregory VII issued a declaration that has been widely interpreted as stating this by then established Western convention. By the same 6th century this was also the normal practice of the imperial chancery of Constantinople. Each Diocesan Bishop is autonomous in his own diocese even against the Patriarch of West.

Just ask your local Roman Catholic Diocesan Bishop. he will stumble to answer the question with great hesitation !