Catholic Pope vs pontiff

Catholic Pope and pontiff both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
Catholic Pope	Yes	No	No	No
pontiff	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, Catholic Pope and pontiff are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of Catholic Pope include Bishop of Rome, Holy Father, pope, Roman Catholic Pope, Vicar of Christ.

Catholic Pope (noun)	pontiff (noun)
the head of the Roman Catholic Church	the head of the Roman Catholic Church