Roman Catholic Claim
Early Christian writings tell us that Peter’s
successors, the bishops of Rome (who from
the earliest times have been called by the
affectionate title of "pope," which
means "papa"), continued to exercise
Peter’s ministry in the Church.
The pope is the successor to Peter as bishop
of Rome. The world’s other bishops are
successors to the apostles in general.
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Christian Response
John 21 certainly
has Jesus three times instructing Peter to “feed
My sheep” (vv. 15-17). This is not denied. That
Peter was to be a shepherd of the sheep, we do not
deny. What is denied is that the verses cited by Rome
can logically imply that Peter was the chief shepherd
of the Church, assigned the role of chief decision
maker, imbued with an infallibility to protect the
Church from error, and further that his successors
are so imbued. We may assume, fairly, that if Peter
were so endowed as Rome describes, that he would know
of his own primacy and that he would have infallible
successors. Would he not, under that scenario, commend
his sheep to his successors. But he did not. His own
writings indicate that he knew nothing of what Rome
affirms on this matter.
If Peter believed
that he was imbued with infallibility as would all
of his successors, he would have instructed his sheep
to look to his successor after he died, for the successors
would protect the sheep from the wolves. But notice
Peter leaves no hint of this. Instead, knowing he
must soon die, Peter directs the attention of the
sheep to the written Word:
“Wherefore
I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance
of these things, though ye know them, and be established
in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long
as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting
you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must
put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus
Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavour
that ye may be able after my decease to have these
things always in remembrance.” 2 Peter 1:12-15,
KJV.
“This second
epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both
which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken
before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment
of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:”
(2 Peter 3:1,2, KJV)
It is noteworthy
that in Peter’s mind, the inoculation against
falling prey to deceivers is to turn to the written
Word, not to turn to the infallible successors to
the Chair of St. Peter.
But what is more,
when Jesus spoke to the churches, as He did in Revelation
1-3, He did not do so through Peter's successor. At
the time Revelation was written, we may safely assume
that Peter had at this point been martyred. Surely
the angel of the Lord would have been sent to Peter’s
successor, would he not have been? But instead the
angel of the Lord was sent to John, who then instructed
the churches. Who was on St. Peter’s Chair,
and why was he not included in the communication to
the churches?
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