Note once again: I do not mean to offend anyone, you don't even have to read this post! But if you do, I'd just like to remind you that these are my beliefs and I am trying to just explain and clarify things for people who do not fully understand the Catholic Faith. Also my site, my right.
In this post part 2 of my 'An Introduction to Catholicism' I am going to explore the Infallibility of the Pope.
Before we go any further here is a little summary of what we Catholics DO believe about the Pope.
“Catholics do not believe that the pope is perfect, or faultless, or sinless, or even necessarily good, holy, wise, or nice. There have certainly been popes who have made foolish mistakes, enacted ruinous policies, or been bona fide scoundrels. There is one thing, however, that no pope has ever done in all history, from Peter to the present day. No pope has ever taught heresy.” —David B. Currie
It's easy, very easy for not to understand the infallibility of the Pope. If you don't actually understand it than here is the perfect opportunity:
| Peter the first Pope. |
In this post part 2 of my 'An Introduction to Catholicism' I am going to explore the Infallibility of the Pope.
Before we go any further here is a little summary of what we Catholics DO believe about the Pope.
“Catholics do not believe that the pope is perfect, or faultless, or sinless, or even necessarily good, holy, wise, or nice. There have certainly been popes who have made foolish mistakes, enacted ruinous policies, or been bona fide scoundrels. There is one thing, however, that no pope has ever done in all history, from Peter to the present day. No pope has ever taught heresy.” —David B. Currie
It's easy, very easy for not to understand the infallibility of the Pope. If you don't actually understand it than here is the perfect opportunity:
Okay section one:
Why do we believe that the Pope is the head of the Church? It's outrageous, that's what it sounds like, but sometimes when Catholics say that the Pope is the head of the Church what they fail to mention is two little words. On Earth! We believe that the Pope is the head of the Church on Earth but we didn't say that that doesn't mean he is not subject to Jesus Christ. If anyone suggested this idea to a Catholic, that we think the Pope is not subject to Jesus Christ the King of the Church, then we would find that idea preposterous and maybe even a bit laughable. :)
The Pope is the Prime Minister of the Church on Earth. The term Pope was not used until later on but what we do know is that Peter was the Bishop of Rome and the Bishop of Rome is the Pope.
People claim that Peter the first Pope of the Church the first Prime Minister of the Church couldn't actually have this role as he denied Christ three times when he was asked 'Do you know this man?' and he refused each time he refused.
Catholics aren't sugar-coating this truth, we've got an explanation to this. And here it is, the Pope, any Pope is not perfect, he does sin, he does do wrong sometimes, but what he doesn't do is deny the truth in doctrine, he does not teach Heresy. :) No one ever said that our Popes, our Papas (for that is what Pope means) aren't weak men on their own, but with God's help they can overcome all things. That's the thing, Peter might have been a really weak man when death and torture were staring him in the face but we find after the Resurrection he is out and about, proclaiming the good news. The Holy Spirit had come upon them and they were filled with zeal. Also take notice to the fact that after Jesus rose from the dead he never denied Christ again and that was because he was sorry for what he had done and believed in Jesus and had holy zeal, he was happy to die for the faith, and finally in Rome, he did.
He did not have the same holy zeal until after the holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and all with them assembled in the Upper Room. Not to mention they were all very scared of the Jews. They were waiting for the Holy Spirit and after that they were no longer afraid, we learn that from all that they did in The Acts of the Apostles. So anyway the passage about forgiveness,
John 21:15-19
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,"Simon,son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, "Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, "Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time,“Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time,“Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.
And after saying this he said to him,“Follow me.” Christ was forgiving him! Just as it was three times that Peter denied Christ, it was also three times that Jesus asked Peter, 'Do you love me?' and Peter replied 'Yes,' every single time and every time he replied thus, Jesus said 'Feed me,Lambs,' 'Tend my Sheep' 'Feed my Sheep' . As we all know Jesus is the good Shepherd and Jesus was asking Peter to look after his sheep, namely, the Church. Jesus also said while asking 'do you love me' he also said 'do you love me more than these?
And seeing as he was not talking to any one else of the apostles we can gather that this was a special thing for Peter alone. Taken from A Philadelphia Catholic in King James Court: Discussion/Study Guide- Read John 18:15-27 and then John 21:4-19.
By a charcoal fire in the courtyard of the high priest, Peter denies that he is a follower of Christ three times just as Christ had prophesied. The risen Christ reconciles Himself to Peter on the shore of the sea of Tiberias.
There He had a charcoal fire where they cooked their breakfast. Christ tells Peter to bring some of the fish and Peter hauls the net ashore. This is a foreshadowing of the of the Church. Peter was to "bring in" the catch. Notice that it is a large catch but that the net did not break. After breakfast, Christ asks Peter if he loves Him three times. Peter affirms-three times-that he does love Christ. (This particular Scripture passage can be studied in much greater depth with the aid of a good commentary.) He, Peter, is charged with the task of tending and feeding Jesus' flock.
Matt-16-13-20
And Jesus came into the quarters of Cesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is? But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.
The thing is Jesus said that he was giving Peter the 'keys of the kingdom' and like I said that is like something a Prime Minister would receive and act in his boss's place while his boss was away. Also the thou, in Greek in verse 17 is singular. He also said to Peter that 'whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven'. Therefore he was giving Peter this precise and personal responsibility as he did not include ANY of the other disciples in this passage.
Taken from A Philadelphia Catholic in King James Court: Discussion/Study Guide(and yes, if you didn't work it out it has got to be one of my favourite theology books of all time and it is really enjoyable to read as well both books the story and the study guide- Christ spoke Aramaic with fellow Jews. The New Testament however was originally written in Greek. "Petros" (the Greek masculine word for "rock" ) means small stone and Petra (the feminine from) means large boulder. Christ says "Blessed are you Simon bar Jona! you shall be called Rock" (translations differ: some say, "you shall be called Peter").
The word in Aramaic for stone, large or small, is Kepha, but when this exchange was written in Greek there arose the Petra-Petros translation problem. It would have been silly to change Simon's name to Petra, a female name. The other point is that grammatically speaking, rock clearly refers to Peter himself, not to Peter's confession of Jesus being the Messiah.
The "rock" argument though is not as crucial in establishing Peter's primacy as Matthew 16:19, "I will give you (singular in Greek) the keys of the kingdom.
Catholic's believe that there is one true church that Jesus Christ founded, that the Holy Spirit guides the Church through the bishops, and that their teaching authority in union with the Pope is binding and in matters of doctrine, infallible.- from A Philadelphia Catholic in King James Court.
Infallibility means judging the truth in all matters of doctrine. It doesn't mean that the Pope never sins, there is actually an entirely different word for that. It does not mean that the Pope never says anything that is incorrect, or that he is an expert on scientific matters, People seem to have a problem with Peter leading the Church precisely because Peter is a sinner. But as we know, all of us are sinners, even the highest leaders of the Church.-A Philadelphia Catholic in King James Court: Discussion/Study Guide
Something I found on the internet which is very helpful:
Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.
Thou art Peter: As St. Peter, by divine revelation, here made a solemn profession of his faith of the divinity of Christ; so in recompense of this faith and profession, our Lord here declares to him the dignity to which he is pleased to raise him: viz., that he to whom he had already given the name of Peter, signifying a rock, St. John 1. 42, should be a rock indeed, of invincible strength, for the support of the building of the church; in which building he should be, next to Christ himself, the chief foundation stone, in quality of chief pastor, ruler, and governor; and should have accordingly all fullness of ecclesiastical power, signified by the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
Upon this rock: The words of Christ to Peter, spoken in the vulgar language of the Jews which our Lord made use of, were the same as if he had said in English, Thou art a Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church. So that, by the plain course of the words, Peter is here declared to be the rock, upon which the church was to be built: Christ himself being both the principal foundation and founder of the same. Where also note, that Christ, by building his house, that is, his church, upon a rock, has thereby secured it against all storms and floods, like the wise builder, St. Matt. 7. 24, 25.
The gates of hell: That is, the powers of darkness, and whatever Satan can do, either by himself, or his agents. For as the church is here likened to a house, or fortress, built on a rock; so the adverse powers are likened to a contrary house or fortress, the gates of which, that is, the whole strength, and all the efforts it can make, will never be able to prevail over the city or church of Christ. By this promise we are fully assured, that neither idolatry, heresy, nor any pernicious error whatsoever shall at any time prevail over the church of Christ.
Loose upon earth: The loosing the bands of temporal punishments due to sins, is called an indulgence; the power of which is here granted. From that time Jesus began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again. And Peter taking him began to rebuke him, saying: Lord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee. Who turning, said to Peter: Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou sayest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men. Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.
And Peter taking him: That is, taking him aside, out of a tender love, respect and zeal for his Lord and Master's honour, began to expostulate with him, as it were to rebuke him, saying, Lord, far be it from thee to suffer death; but the Lord said to Peter, ver. 23, Go behind me, Satan. These words may signify, Begone from me; but the holy Fathers expound them otherwise, that is, come after me, or follow me; and by these words the Lord would have Peter to follow him in his suffering, and not to oppose the divine will by contradiction; for the word satan means in Hebrew an adversary, or one that opposes.
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