In
Catholic tradition, the foundation for the office of the pope is indeed
found primarily in Matthew 16:13-20. Here Jesus asked the question, "Who
do people say that the Son of Man is?" The apostles responded, "Some say
John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the
prophets." Our Lord then turned to them and point-blank asked them, "And
you, who do you say that I am?"
St. Peter, still officially known as Simon, replied, "You are the
Messiah, the Son of the living God." Our Lord recognized that this
answer was grace-motivated: "No mere man has revealed this to you, but
my heavenly Father."
Because of this response, our Lord said to St. Peter first, "You are
'Rock,' and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it." The name change itself from Simon to
Peter indicates the apostle being called to a special role of
leadership; recall how Abram's name was changed to Abraham, or Jacob's
to Israel, or Saul's to Paul when each of them was called to assume a
special role of leadership among God's people.
The word rock also has special significance. On one hand, to be
called "rock" was a Semitic expression designating the solid foundation
upon which a community would be built. For instance, Abraham was
considered "rock" because he was the father of the Jewish people (and we
too refer to him as our father in faith) and the one with whom the
covenant was first made.
On the other hand, no one except God was called specifically "rock," nor
was it ever used as a proper name except for God. For instance, in Psalm
62, we pray, "Only in God is my soul at rest; from Him comes my
salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation." To give the name "rock"
to St. Peter indicates that our Lord entrusted to the apostle a special
authority, an authority which shares in and represents His own.
Some anti-papal parties try to play linguistic games with the original
Greek gospel text where the masculine gender word petros, meaning
"a small, moveable rock," refers to St. Peter while the feminine gender
word petra, meaning "a massive, immoveable rock," refers to the
foundation of the Church. However, in the Aramaic language, which is
what Jesus spoke and which is believed to be the original language of
St. Matthew's gospel, the word Kepha meaning "rock," would be
used in both places without gender distinction or difference in meaning.
The gender problem arises when translating from Aramaic to Greek and
using the proper form to modify the masculine word Peter or
feminine word Church.
The Gates of Hell is also an interesting semitic expression. The
heaviest forces were positioned at the gates; so this expression
captures the great war-making power of a nation. Here this expression
refers to the powers opposed to what our Lord is establishing — the
Church. Jesus associated St. Peter and his office so closely with
Himself that he became a visible force for protecting the Church and
keeping back the power of Hell.
Second, Jesus says, "I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven." In the Old Testament, the "number two" person in the Kingdom
literally held the keys. In Isaiah 22:19-22 we find a reference to
Eliakim, the master of the palace of King Hezekiah (II Kings 18:17ff)
and keeper of the keys. As a sign of his position, the one who held the
keys represented the king, acted with his authority, and had to act in
accord with the king's mind.
Moreover, in the New Testament in the Book of Revelation, Jesus holds
the keys of Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: "The holy One, the true, who
wields David’s key, who opens and no one can close, who closes and no
one can open..." (Revelation 3:7) and "I am the First and the Last, and
the One who lives. Once I was dead but now I live, forever and ever. I
hold the keys of death and the nether world" (Revelation 1:17-18). St.
Peter shares in an authority that penetrates to the other world.
Finally, Jesus says, "Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound
in heaven; whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in
heaven." This is rabbinic terminology. A rabbi could bind, declaring an
act forbidden or excommunicating a person for serious sin; or, a rabbi
could loose declaring an act permissible or reconciling an
excommunicated sinner to the community. Here Christ entrusted a special
authority to St. Peter to preserve, interpret, and teach His truth.
Therefore, St. Peter and each of his successors
represent our Lord on this earth as His Vicar and lead the faithful
flock of the Church to the Kingdom of Heaven. This understanding of
Matthew 16 was unchallenged until the Protestant leaders wanted to
legitimize their rejection of papal authority and the office of the
Pope. Even the Orthodox Churches recognize the Pope as the successor of
St. Peter; however, they do not honor his binding jurisdiction over the
whole Church but only grant him a position of "first among equals."
St. Peter's role in the New Testament further substantiates the Catholic
belief concerning the papacy and what Jesus said in Matthew 16. St.
Peter held a preeminent position among the apostles. He is always listed
first (MT 10:1-4; MK 3:16-19; LK 6:14-16; Acts 1:13) and sometimes the
only one mentioned (LK 9:32). He speaks for the apostles (MT 18:21; MK
8:28; LK 12:41; JN 6:69). When our Lord selects a group of three for
some special event, such as the Transfiguration, St. Peter is in the
first position. Our Lord chose St. Peter's boat to teach. At Pentecost,
St. Peter preached to the crowds and told of the mission of the Church
(Acts 2:14-40). He performed the first miraculous healing (Acts 3:6-7).
St. Peter also received the revelation that Gentiles were to be baptized
(Acts 10:9-48) and sided with St. Paul against the need for circumcision
(Acts 15). At the end of his life, St. Peter was crucified, but in his
humility asked to be crucified upside down.
As Catholics, we believe that the authority given to St. Peter did not
end with his life, but was handed on to his successors. The earliest
writings attest to this belief. St. Irenaeus (d. 202) in his Adversus
haereses described how the Church at Rome was founded by St. Peter
and St. Paul and traced the of handing on of the office of St. Peter
through Linus, Cletus (also called Anacletus), and so on through twelve
successors to his own present day, Pope Eleutherius. Tertullian (d. 250)
in De praescriptione haereticorum asserted the same point, as did
Origen (d. 254) in his Commentaries on John, St. Cyprian of
Carthage (d. 258) in his The Unity of the Catholic Church, and
many others.
Granted, the expression of papal authority becomes magnified after the
legalization of Christianity, and especially after the Fall of the Roman
Empire and the ensuing political chaos. Nevertheless, our Church boasts
of an unbroken line of legitimate successors of St. Peter who stand in
the stead of Christ. We must always remember that one of the official
titles of the Pope, first taken by Pope Gregory I, the Great (d. 604),
is "Servant of the Servants of God." As we think of this answer, may we
be mindful of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, and pray for his
intentions.
If you enjoy reading Fr. Saunders' work, his new book entitled
Straight Answers (400 pages) is available at the Pauline Book and
Media Center of Arlington, Virginia (703/549-3806). This article
courtesy of the
Arlington Catholic Herald.
