The Papacy and the Church
.... History has few subjects so interesting and so important as the long line of Roman Pontiffs. Catholics revere the popes as successors of St. Peter and Vicars of Christ ruling His Mystical Body, the Church. Historians, whatever their faith or lack of faith, regard the popes as highly significant factors in man's story. Thomas Babington Macaualay (1800-1859), the English statesman, historian, essayist, and poet wrote of the Papacy and the Church:
"There Is not, and there never was on this earth, a work of human policy so well deserving of examination as the Roman Catholic Church. The history of that Church joins together the two great ages of human civilization. No other institution is left standing which carries the mind back to the times when the smoke of sacrifice rose from the Pantheon, and when lions and tigers bounded in the Flavian amphitheater. The proudest royal houses are but of yesterday, when compared with the line of the Supreme Pontiffs. That line we trace back in an unbroken series from the Pope who crowned Napoleon in the nineteenth century to the Pope who crowned Pepin in the eighth; and far beyond the time of Pepin the august dynasty extends, till it is lost in the twilight of fable. The republic of Venice was modern when compared with the Papacy; and the republic of Venice is gone, and the Papacy remains. The Papacy remains, not in decay, not a mere antique, but full of life and useful vigor.
The Catholic Church is still sending forth to the farthest ends of the world missionaries as zealous as those who landed in Kent with Augustin, and still confronting hostile kings with the same spirit with which she confronted Attila. The number of her children is greater than in any former age. Her acquisitions in the New World have more than compensated for what she has lost in the old. Her spiritual ascendancy extends over the vast countries which lie between the plains of the Missouri and Cape Horn, countries which a century hence, may not improbably contain a population as large as that which now inhabits Europe. The members of her communion are certainly not fewer than a hundred and fifty millions; and it will be difficult to show that all other Christian sects united amount to a hundred and twenty millions. Nor do we see any sign which indicates that the term of her long dominion is approaching. She saw the commencement of all the governments that now exist in the world; and we feel no assurance that she is not destined to see the end of them all. She was great and respected before the Saxon had set foot on Britain, before the Frank had passed the Rhine, when Grecian eloquence still flourished in the temple of Mecca. And she may still exist in undiminished vigor when some traveler from New Zealand shall, in the midst of a vast solitude, take his stand on a broken arch of London Bridge to sketch the ruins of St. Pauls."
After reviewing the list of popes (264 in number) from St. Peter to John Paul II, one is left with the feeling of awe and the high level of character and sanctity displayed by this long line of bishops. It is true that there have been times when the papal court did not exactly give off the odor of sanctity. And in any factual church history those times will be quite frankly described. But the lurid and murky flame of a few popes' scandals fades before the strong sunlight of edification given to the world by pontiff after pontiff in the long progress of Popes Through the Ages.
To understand the Papacy and the role of the Pope, we start by looking back to the Old Testament and our salvation history.
All throughout salvation history, God has raised up leaders for His chosen people, i.e., Abraham, Moses, David. These leaders spoke on behalf of God with His full authority to speak. They taught and directed the chosen people in the practice of their beliefs, in determining right from wrong and in making moral decisions.
Peter also singled out in the scriptures as the first in authority among the apostles (Matt 10: 1-4, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:14-16, and Acts 1:13). Peter also speaks on behalf of the apostles in several instances (Matt 18:21, Mark 8:29, Luke 12:41 and John 6:69) Peter is also first to speak at Pentecost.
When Jesus first chose Peter, his name was Simon. He changed it to Peter which is no small statement by our Lord. For the Jews of that time, a change in name was very significant. Consider those who had their names changed by God the Father, i.e., Abram to Abraham. When Peter made his profession of faith in Matt 16:16, that Jesus was the Son of the living God, Jesus responded in a unique way. He declared to Peter that he was rock and on this rock He would build HIS church. That the gates of hell would not prevail against it. He would give Peter the keys of the kingdom and what he bound on earth would be bound in heaven and what he loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven.
This promise, that he would be the foundation, the source of strength and unity, in the new Christian community, was made factual on the occasion recounted in John 21:15-17 when Jesus revealing Himself for the third time after His resurrection, asked Peter three times to confirm his love and then he was instructed three times to feed His sheep. There can be no doubt about this responsibility or this authority since it was given directly by Christ to Peter.
Why would Christ give such responsibility and authority to a man who would follow him to the Father relatively soon? What is it that Peter could do in his short lifetime that Christ had not already accomplished? If we take Christ's promise to Peter seriously and if we trust in the Old Testament as a prefiguring of the events of the New Testament, it is not to hard to conclude that the authority given to Peter was indeed to be passed on to his successors in order to have an authoritative teacher as Christ's representative here on earth.
The statement made was: "I think that the Holy Spirit has been given to us to convince us of the truth of scripture, we don't need a Pope or councils to tell us that."
At the COUNCEL OF NICENE I (A.D.325, around the time the Bible was coming together), the great men of that council came up with a creed. In the creed, they defined what is called "The profession of Faith." They believed that the Catholic Church is the one true Church established by God through Christ because it alone has the marks of the true Church as being: "one, holy, catholic and apostolic." So, lets now focus in on each one of these marks:
1) One ... The Catholic Church is "one, because all its members, according to the will of Christ, profess the same faith, have the same sacrifice and sacraments and are united under one and the same visible head, the Pope.
2) Holy ... The Catholic Church is holy, because it was founded by Jesus Christ, who is all-holy, and because it teaches, according to the will of Christ, holy doctrines, and provides the means of leading a holy life, thereby giving holy members to every age.
3) Catholic ... The Church Is Catholic meaning, Universal, because, destined to last for all time it never fails to fulfill the divine commandment to teach all nations all the truths revealed by God.
4) Apostolic ... The Catholic Church is apostolic because it was founded by Christ on the apostles and, according to His divine will, has always been governed by their lawful successors, the bishops.
The chief qualities (or Attributes) of the Catholic Church are: "authority, infallibility and indefectibility. And as we did on the "marks," we focus in on these:
1)Authority ... By authority it is meant that the Pope and the bishops, as the lawful successors of the apostles, have the power from Christ Himself to teach, to sanctify, and to govern the faithful in spiritual matters.
Authority in this sense is the power to command others. All authority comes from God, and He gives it to the Church in spiritual matters. To refuse to obey the authority of the Church is to refuse to obey Christ. He Himself said to His disciples, "He who hears you, hears Me; and he who rejects you, rejects Me" (Luke 10, 16).
2) Infallibility ... The Church teaches infallibly when it defines, through the Pope alone, as the teacher of all Christians, or through the Pope and the bishops, a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the faithful.
3)lndefectibility ... By the indefectibility of the Catholic Church is meant that the Church, as Christ founded it, will last until the end of time.
Quoting from Vatican 11, The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (14):
"This holy Council first turns its attention to the Catholic faithful. Basing itself on scripture and tradition, it teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and baptism (Mk. 16:16; Jn 3:5), and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it, or remain in it."
Quoting from Vatican 11, The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (66): "Mary has by grace been exalted above all angels and men to a place second only to her Son, as the most holy mother of God who was involved in the mysteries of Christ: she is rightly honored by a special cult in the Church. From the earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honored under title Mother of God, whose protection the faithfull take refuge together in prayer in all their perils and needs. Accordingly, following the Council of Ephesus (432 A.D.), there was a remarkable growth in the cult of the People of God towards Mary, in veneration and love, in invocation and imitation, according to her own prophetic words: "all generations. shall call me blessed, because he that is mighty hath done great things to me" (Lk. 1:48). This cult, as it has always existed in the Church, for all its uniqueness, differs essentially from the cult of adoration which is offered equally to the Incarnate Word and to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and it is most favorable to it. The various forms of piety towards the Mother of God, which the Church has approved within the limits of sound and orthodox doctrine, according to the dispositions and understanding of the faithful, ensure that while the mother is honored, the Son through whom all things have their being and in whom it has pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell is rightly known, loved and glorified and his commandments are observed."
Pour porth, we beseech Thee, 0 Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His passion and cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
MATTHEW 28
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world Amen.
MATTHEW 16
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
MARK 16
16 He that beheveth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
LUKE 1
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
LUKE 10
16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
JOHN 3
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
JOHN 21
15 So when they had dined Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.