Who is the pope?
Why is he the leader of Christ’s Church on earth, and from where does his authority derive?
Our current pope, Pope Benedict XVI, like every pope before him, is a direct successor of the first pope, Saint Peter, who was the first Bishop of Rome.
Saint Peter received his authority to lead the Church directly from Jesus.
Among his many interactions with Jesus, Peter is remembered for his exchange with Christ on the road to Caesarea Philippi, recorded in the Evangelij po Mateju (Odsek 16).
When Jesus asked the Disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”, Peter answered for them, replying, “You are the Christ, Sin živega Boga” (16:15-16). In turn, Jezus mu je rekel, “Blagor vam, Simon Bar-Jonah! Kajti meso in kri ti tega nista razkrila, ampak moj Oče, ki je v nebesih” (17).
The question of Jesus’ identity was definitively answered for His followers by Peter with divine assistance. Jesus went on to say,
“In povem ti, ti si Peter, in na tej skali bom zgradil svojo cerkev, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kindgom of heaven, in karkoli zavežeš na zemlji, bo zavezano v nebesih, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (18-19).
This passage provides the main Biblical proof for Peter’s primacy among the Apostles. Today’s Catholic bishops are the spiritual descendants of the Apostles. The Bishop of Rome (or the Pope) is the successor of Peter. He retains Peter’s primacy among the bishops.
The name “Peter” comes from the Aramaic word Ampak (oz Kefa), meaning “Rock.” Jesus chose to give the Apostle Simon this new name at Caesarea Philippi for symbolic reasons. The distinctive feature of the area is a large outcropping of rock, upon which at that time the ruins of a pagan temple stood. It was here that Jesus chose to proclaim His plans to build a new Church on Peter that would not succumb to the passage of time.
Seveda, this passage in no way undermines our belief in Christ as the true Foundation of the Church (glej Prvo pismo Korinčanom 3:11). Jesus did not mean to imply Peter would somehow replace Him as the Rock of the Church, but that he would merely represent Him as such. As Saint Francis de Sales put it,
Although [Peter] was a rock, yet he was not the rock; for Christ is truly the immovable rock, but Peter on account of the rock. Christ indeed gives his own prerogatives to others, yet he gives them not losing them himself, he holds them nonetheless. He is a rock, and he made a rock; what is his, he communicates to his servants (Controversies).
It is the same with Jesus’ promise to give Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Christ is the King of Heaven, and the keys belong to Him alone (Knjiga razodetja, 3:7).
In entrusting the keys to Peter, Jesus was referring back to the Davidic custom by which the king, upon leaving the city, would appoint his royal steward overseer of the kingdom in his absence, lending him the keys to its gates (glej Izaija 22:22). notri Matej 16:19, Christ the King appoints His steward, Peter, to oversee the Church, Njegovo kraljestvo na zemlji, v Njegovi odsotnosti.
The terms “bind” in “loose” in the passage above indicate that the authority given to Peter to declare certain things permissible or forbidden to the earthly faithful. Peter’s decisions on these matters, poleg tega, shall be confirmed in heaven. If God is going to confirm the decisions of Peter, a sinner, then obviously Peter must be given a special grace to prevent him from issuing commands contrary to the will of God. This preventive grace is infallibility.
The Church teaches that the Pope, as Peter’s successor, retains this infallibility.
This is not a claim that the Pope is without sin—infallibility has nothing to do with conduct, pravzaprav—rather it is the belief that when teaching definitively on a matter of faith and morals he will be guarded by the Holy Spirit against teaching error.
Infallibility does not mean everything the Pope says or writes is without error, but only those things said s prestola (latinsko, “from the chair”). Ex cathedra refers to the Chair of Peter, to je, to the seat of apostolic authority. The concept of a primary seat of authority comes from the Old Testament, v kateri je Mojzes sedel in sodil ljudstvu, settling their religious disputes (glej Book of Exodus 18:13).
Moses’ oblast, preveč, was handed down through a line of successors. The Seat of Moses remained active until the time of Christ, as the Jesus, sebe, rekel, “The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; zato vadite in upoštevajte vse, kar vam rečejo, ne pa kaj počnejo; saj pridigajo, but do not practice” (Matej 23:1-3). Peter and the Popes fulfill a similar role in the New Covenant, serving as Christ’s earthly representative through whom God speaks to the people to resolve religious disputes and maintain unity among the faithful.
This special role is seen in the Biblical account of Peter’s actions at the Council of Jerusalem, at which the Apostles are called to decide whether or not adherence to the Mosaic Law is required for salvation. It is Peter who ends the dispute, teaching the assembly on doctrine (glej Apostolska dela, 15:7). His successors have maintained this role in the Church throughout the ages.
Interestingly, those who have rejected the Pope’s role have suffered doctrinal confusion and ongoing (and accelerating) division, which is evidenced by the explosion of non-Catholic, Christian sects.
Early Christian Historical References to the Papacy:
Pope Saint Clement I, the fourth Bishop of Rome, Pismo Korinčanom, circa AD 96:
Accept our counsel and you will have nothing to regret. … If anyone disobey the things which have been said by Him (tj., Bog) preko nas (tj., rimska cerkev), let them know that they will involve themselves in transgression and in no small danger. … You will afford us joy and gladness if, being obedient to the things which we have written through the Holy Spirit, you will root out the wicked passion of jealousy, in accord with the plea for peace and concord which we have made in this letter (58, 59, 63).
Sveti Ignacij, the Bishop of Antioch, Pismo Rimljanom, c. A.D. 107:
Ignatius, also called Theophorus, to the Church that has found mercy in the greatness of the Most High Father and in Jesus Christ, His only Son; to the Church beloved and enlightened after the love of Jesus Christ, our God, by the will of Him that has willed everything which is; to the Church also which olds 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, in, because you hold the presidency in love, named after Christ and after the Father. … You have envied no one, but others you have taught. I desire only that what you have enjoined in your instructions may remain in force (Address, 3).
Saint Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons, Proti herezijam, c. A.D. 185:
But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the successions of all the Churches, bomo osramotili vse tiste, ki, na kakršen koli način, whether through self-satisfaction or vainglory, or through blindness and wicked opinion, assemble other than where it is proper, tako, da tukaj pokaže na nasledstvo škofov največje in najstarejše Cerkve, ki je vsem znana, ustanovila in organizirala v Rimu oba najslavnejša apostola, Petra in Pavla, tisto Cerkev, ki ima izročilo in vero, ki prihaja k nam, potem ko so jo apostoli oznanili ljudem. Kajti s to Cerkvijo, zaradi svojega vrhunskega izvora, vse Cerkve se morajo strinjati, to je, vsi verni na vsem svetu; in prav v njej so verniki povsod ohranili apostolsko izročilo. …
The blessed Apostles, ki je ustanovil in zgradil Cerkev, sta škofovsko službo predala Linu. Paul makes mention of this Linus in the Epistle to Timothy (4:21). Nasledil ga je Anaklet; in po njem, na tretjem mestu od apostolov, Klemen je bil izbran za škofa. Videl je blažene apostole in jih poznal. Lahko bi rekli, da je še vedno slišal odmeve oznanjevanja apostolov, in imel njihova izročila pred očmi. Pa ne samo on, kajti še veliko jih je ostalo, ki so jih poučevali apostoli.
In the time of Clement, med brati v Korintu je nastal nemajhen spor, Cerkev v Rimu je poslala zelo močno pismo Korinčanom, jih spodbuja k miru in jim obnavlja vero. … Temu Klementu, Evaristu je uspelo; in Aleksander je nasledil Evarista. Potem, šesti za apostoli, Imenovan je bil Sikst; po njem, Telesfor, ki je bil tudi slavno mučen. Nato Higin; po njem, Pija; in po njem, Anicet. Soter je nasledil Aniceta, in zdaj, na dvanajstem mestu za apostoli, žreb škofovstva je pripadel Elevterju. V tem vrstnem redu, in z naukom apostolov, izročenim v Cerkvi, oznanjevanje resnice je prišlo do nas. In the time of Clement, med brati v Korintu je nastal nemajhen spor, Cerkev v Rimu je poslala zelo močno pismo Korinčanom, jih spodbuja k miru in jim obnavlja vero. … Temu Klementu, Evaristu je uspelo; in Aleksander je nasledil Evarista. Potem, šesti za apostoli, Imenovan je bil Sikst; po njem, Telesfor, ki je bil tudi slavno mučen. Nato Higin; po njem, Pija; in po njem, Anicet. Soter je nasledil Aniceta, in zdaj, na dvanajstem mestu za apostoli, žreb škofovstva je pripadel Elevterju. V tem vrstnem redu, in z naukom apostolov, izročenim v Cerkvi, oznanjevanje resnice je prišlo do nas (3:3:2-3)