2. The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, "is
the perpetual and visible source and foundation of
the unity both of the bishops and of the whole
company of the faithful. For the Roman Pontiff, by
reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor
of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal
power over the whole Church, a power which he can
always exercise unhindered." CCC 882
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3. Overview
1. There is One True Church
2. St. Peter was appointed head of that Church by
Christ Himself
3. He, and the Apostles can transfer that authority
through Apostolic Succession
4. The Papacy retains Peter‘s authority today
5. The Pope and the Church is infallible when
teaching on matters of faith or morals
6. We must obey the Church
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5. "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe
in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as
thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee.‖ John 17:20-21
• Jn 10:16 One fold, one Shepherd
• Eph 4:3-6 One Lord, One Faith, One baptism
• Rom 16:17 Avoid those who create dissensions
• 1 Cor 1:10 I urge you that there be no divisions among you
• Phil 2:2 Be of same mind, united in heart, thinking one thing
• Rom 15:5 God grant you to think in harmony with one another
• Jn 17:17-23 Pray that they are one, brought to perfection
• 1 Cor 12:13 One spirit baptized into one body
• Rom 12:5 We are One body in Christ
• Eph 4:4 One Body, One Spirit, called to One Hope
• Col 3:15 Called into One Body.
• 1 Cor 12:20 Many parts to the one body, all important.
• Col 1:18 Christ is head of the Church
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6. ―God is one and Christ is one, and
one is His Church, and the faith is
one, and His people welded together
by the glue of concord into a solid
unity of body. Unity cannot be rent
asunder, not can the one body of the
Church through the division of its
structure, be divided into separate
pieces?"
(St. Cyprian: The Unity of the Catholic Church 23;
[A.D. 251]).
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7. St. Peter was appointed head of the
Church by Christ Himself
8. Simon Peter
He said to them, "But who do you say that I
am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God."
And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you,
Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but my Father who is in
heaven.
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock
I will build my church, and the powers of death
shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall
be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Matt 16:15-19
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9. Types
A Type is a real person, place, thing, or event in
the Old Testament that foreshadows something
greater in the New Testament.
• Adam, King David, Melchezidek Christ
• Eve Mary
• Hezekiah Christ
• Descendant of King David (1 Chron 28:5, 29:23. 2
Kings 11:12)
• Cleans the temple (2 Chronicles 29: 1,5,15,16.)
• Restores the Jews to faithfulness in following the Lord (
2 Chronicles 30: 6-13, 26-27.)
• Prays for the sinful Israelites and God accepts that in
reparation for their sins and spares them ( 2 Chronicles
30: 18-20.)
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10. The Keys
"Thus says the Lord, the GOD of hosts: Up, go to that
official, Shebna, master of the palace…
I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from
your station. On that day I will summon my servant
Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe,
and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your
authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
I will place the key of the House of David on his
shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when
he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg
in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family ..."
Isaiah 22:15,19-24
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11. The Rock
A name change signifies a change in status
• Abram Abraham (Gen.17:5)
• Jacob Israel (Gen. 32:28)
Simon Peter
• Peter means Rock
• Petra is Greek for Large Boulder
• Petros is Greek for Small Stones
• Cephas is Aramaic for Large Boulder
• ―On this rock I will
build my church.‖
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12. Peter in Scripture
Whenever the Apostles were named, Peter headed the list (Matt. 10:1-4, Mark 3:16-19, Luke
6:14-16, Acts 1:13)
Peter was the one who generally spoke for the apostles (Matt. 18:21, Mark 8:29, Luke 12:41,
John 6:68-69)
On Pentecost it was Peter who first preached to the crowds (Acts 2:14-40)
He worked the first healing in the Church age (Acts 3:6-7)
It is Peter‘s faith that will strengthen his brethren (Luke 22:32)
Peter is given Christ‘s flock to shepherd (John 21:17)
An angel was sent to announce the resurrection to Peter (Mark 16:7)
The risen Christ first appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34)
He headed the meeting that elected Matthias to replace Judas (Acts 1:13-26)
He received the first converts (Acts 2:41)
He inflicted the first punishment (Acts 5:1-11)
excommunicated the first heretic (Acts 8:18-23)
He led the first council in Jerusalem (Acts 15)
He announced the first dogmatic decision (Acts 15:7-11)
It was to Peter that the revelation came that Gentiles were to be baptized and
accepted as Christians (Acts 10:46-48).
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13. "The Lord says to Peter: ‗I say to you,‘ he says, ‗that you are Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my Church, … And to you I will give the keys of
the kingdom of heaven; and whatever things you bind on earth shall be
bound also in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, they shall be
loosed also in heaven‘ [Matt. 16:18–19])… On him [Peter] he builds the
Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep [John
21:17], and although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he
founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own
authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the
others were also what Peter was [i.e., apostles], but a primacy is given to
Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one
chair. So too, all [the apostles] are shepherds, and the flock is shown to
be one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does
not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the
faith? If he [should] desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was
built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?"
(Cyprian of Carthage- The Unity of the Catholic Church 4; 1st edition [A.D. 251]).
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14. "Be it known to you, my lord, that Simon [Peter],
who, for the sake of the true faith, and the most
sure foundation of his doctrine, was set apart to be
the foundation of the Church, and for this end was
by Jesus himself, with his truthful mouth, named
Peter"
(Letter of Clement to James 2 [A.D. 221]).
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15. St. Peter and the Apostles can transfer
authority through Apostolic Succession
16. ―This is why I left you in Crete, that you might
amend what was defective, and appoint elders in
every town as I directed you.‖ Titus 1:5
―To Timothy, my beloved child…‖ 2 Tim 1:2
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17. ―To suppress the fatherly type of
authority in the Church would not
only be to suppress in principle the
character of respect and reciprocal
affection in the relations between
the faithful and pastors; it would be
to destroy the only legitimate
foundation of their authority.
Spiritual fatherhood, is the only
legitimate foundation of priestly
and episcopal authority.‖
Cardinal Henry de Lubac
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18. Therefore, the Sacred Council teaches that bishops
by divine institution have succeeded to the place of
the apostles, as shepherds of the Church, and he
who hears them, hears Christ, and he who rejects
them, rejects Christ and Him who sent Christ.
Lumen Gentium 20
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20. ―Ignatius . . . to the church also which holds the presidency,
in the location of the country of the Romans, worthy of God,
worthy of honor, worthy of blessing, worthy of praise, worthy
of success, worthy of sanctification, and, because you hold
the presidency in love, named after Christ and named after
the Father‖
Ignatius of Antioch - Letter to the Romans 1:1 [A.D. 110]
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21. "The college or body of bishops has no authority
unless united with the Roman Pontiff, Peter's
successor, as its head." As such, this college has
"supreme and full authority over the universal
Church; but this power cannot be exercised without
the agreement of the Roman Pontiff.‖
CCC 883
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22. But the college or body of bishops has no authority unless it
is understood together with the Roman Pontiff, the successor
of Peter as its head. The pope's power of primacy over all,
both pastors and faithful, remains whole and intact. In virtue
of his office, that is as Vicar of Christ and pastor of the whole
Church, the Roman Pontiff has full, supreme and universal
power over the Church. And he is always free to exercise this
power. The order of bishops, which succeeds to the college
of apostles and gives this apostolic body continued existence,
is also the subject of supreme and full power over the
universal Church, provided we understand this body together
with its head the Roman Pontiff and never without this
head.(27*) This power can be exercised only with the
consent of the Roman Pontiff.
Lumen Gentium 22
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23. The Pope and Church are infallible when
teaching on matters of faith or morals
24. ―There are some things in them hard to understand, which
the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as
they do the other scriptures.‖
2 Pet 3:16
―If I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in
the household of God, which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and bulwark of the truth.‖
1 Tim 3:15
"He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects
me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
Luke 10:16
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25. Authority
―The Holy Father, ‗to whom after the Apostles, the Church owes its
growth – who have planted, watered, built, governed, and cherished it‘ –
the Holy Fathers we say, are of supreme authority whenever they all
interpret in one and the same manner and text of the Bible, as pertaining
to the doctrine of faith and morals; for their unanimity clearly evinces
that such interpretation has come down from the Apostles as a matter of
Catholic faith.‖
Providentissimus Deus, Pope Leo XIII
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26. ―The Church, the "pillar and bulwark of the truth,"[1
Tim 3:15] "has received this solemn command of
Christ from the apostles to announce the saving
truth. To the Church belongs the right always and
everywhere to announce moral principles, including
those pertaining to the social order, and to make
judgments on any human affairs to the extent that
they are required by the fundamental rights of the
human person or the salvation of souls.‖
CCC 2032
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27. The mission of the Magisterium is linked to the
definitive nature of the covenant established by God
with his people in Christ. It is this Magisterium's task
to preserve God's people from deviations and
defections and to guarantee them the objective
possibility of professing the true faith without error.
Thus, the pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed
at seeing to it that the People of God abides in the
truth that liberates. To fulfill this service, Christ
endowed the Church's shepherds with the charism
of infallibility in matters of faith and morals.
CCC 890
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28. "The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys
this infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme
pastor and teacher of all the faithful—who confirms his
brethren in the faith—he proclaims by a definitive act a
doctrine pertaining to faith or morals. . . . The infallibility
promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops
when, together with Peter's successor, they exercise the
supreme Magisterium," above all in an Ecumenical
Council.418 When the Church through its supreme
Magisterium proposes a doctrine "for belief as being divinely
revealed,"419 and as the teaching of Christ, the definitions
"must be adhered to with the obedience of faith."420 This
infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation
itself.
CCC 891
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29. Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the
apostles, teaching in communion with the successor of Peter,
and, in a particular way, to the bishop of Rome, pastor of the
whole Church, when, without arriving at an infallible
definition and without pronouncing in a "definitive manner,"
they propose in the exercise of the ordinary Magisterium a
teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in
matters of faith and morals. To this ordinary teaching the
faithful "are to adhere to it with religious assent"422 which,
though distinct from the assent of faith, is nonetheless an
extension of it.
CCC 892
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30. "The task of authoritatively interpreting the word of
God, whether written or handed on [Scripture or
Tradition], has been entrusted exclusively to the
living Magisterium of the Church, whose authority is
exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.―
Dei Verbum 10
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32. ―The laity should, as all Christians, promptly accept in
Christian obedience decisions of their spiritual shepherds,
since they are representatives of Christ as well as teachers
and rulers in the Church.‖ LG 37
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33. Pope John Paul the Great
pray for us
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