A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 18: The Pope, the Vicar of Christ

OLRL ^ | Fr. William J. Cogan

[NYer]

Lesson 18: The Pope, the Vicar of Christ

"Jesus saith to them:  But whom do you say that I am?  Simon Peter answered and said:  Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.  And Jesus answering, said to him:  Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona:  because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but My Father Who is in Heaven.  And I say to thee:  That thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.  And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven.  And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in Heaven:  and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in Heaven."  (Matthew 16:15-19)

1. What did Jesus do to make sure His Church would always be united?
      He put one man in complete charge of His Church.

   "If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand."    (Mark 3:24-25)

• Who has complete charge of the Church?
     The Pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the Vicar (agent) of Christ on earth.

• Who is the Pope?
     The Pope is the visible head of the whole Catholic Church.

  "And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them."    (Ezechiel 34:23)

• Who was the first Pope?
     St. Peter, who was made Pope by Jesus Christ Himself.

• When did Jesus promise to make Peter the Pope?
     Several months before He died.

  "Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build My Church."    (Matthew 16:18)

• When did Jesus actually make Peter the first Pope?
     Shortly before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus gave Peter complete authority over the whole Church.

  "Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Feed my lambs...feed my lambs...feed my sheep.'"    (John 21:15-17)

• Did Peter's authority die with him?
     No, it was handed down to a man named Linus, and after he died (78 A.D.), it was handed down to Cletus (d. 90 A.D.), and then to Clement (d. 100 A.D.), and after that to another, and so on, during the past nearly 2,000 years.

  "Where Peter is, there is the Church."    (St. Ambrose, in the 4^th Century)

• Do all Catholics have to obey the Pope?
     Yes, because he speaks with the authority of Christ.  Catholics, however, have to obey the Pope only in regard to matters of religion.

• Can the Pope make an error when teaching religion?
     No, not when he speaks as head of the whole Church.

  "Simon, Simon...I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not:  and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren."    (Luke 22:31-32)

GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH

   The Pope, also called our Holy Father and the Sovereign Pontiff, lives in Vatican City, which is in Rome, Italy.  St. Peter died in Rome, and ever since then, the Bishop of Rome has been the Pope.  When the Pope dies, the Cardinals elect his successor.  There have been 264 Popes so far.

   The world is divided up into territories called dioceses.   Each diocese is ruled over by a bishop.  A diocese is divided into parishes, which are ruled over by pastors.  A pastor may have one or several priests to assist him.

PRACTICAL POINTS

1. Papal infallibility means that the Pope, when speaking as head of the whole church on matters of faith or morals, cannot teach error.  Infallibility is not to be confused with impeccability, which means that one cannot commit sin.  The Pope is not impeccable; he can sin.

• One of the reasons why there are so many different kinds of Protestants (over 300 kinds) is that there is no Protestant church that has one man holding complete authority from God.  They are, "Like sheep that have no shepherd."   (Matt. 9:36).   We should pray for them.

  "Other sheep I have, that are not of this fold:  them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."    (John 10:16)

[NYer]

Lesson 18 of 43.

[NYer]

   The Pope is the visible head of the whole Catholic Church.

The One, Holy, Catholic & Apostolic Church

[Salvation]

Bump for Pope Benedict XVI!

[Salvation]

A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 1: Religion
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 2: The Bible and Tradition
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 3: God and the Holy Trinity
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 4: Prayer
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 5: Public Worship of God

A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 6: Angels and Devils
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 7: Human Beings and the Purpose of Life
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 8: Sanctifying Grace
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 9: Heaven
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 10: Mortal and Venial Sin

A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 11: Hell
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 12: Purgatory
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 13: Original Sin
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 14: Jesus Christ, Our Savior
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 15: Jesus Christ, True God and True Man

A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 16: The Catholic Church is the Only True Church
A Brieft Catechism for Adults - Lesson 17: Qualities of the Catholic Church
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 18: The Pope, the Vicar of Christ

[Blue Eyes]

Thank you for posting these every day. I haven’t commented on them yet, so I wanted you to know that they are providing invaluable teachings to me as I make my way toward the Church.

[Iscool]

Who is the Pope?
The Pope is the visible head of the whole Catholic Church.

"And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them." (Ezechiel 34:23)

You are so far out of context on this verse, it's pitiful...Do any Catholics actually read the bible to find out if they are being told the truth???

This verse and the entire chapter has nothing to do with a pope...

Eze 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

One of the reasons why there are so many different kinds of Protestants (over 300 kinds)

I don't believe it...Where's the list???

[P-Marlowe]

The Pope is the visible head of the whole Catholic Church.

Jesus Christ is the head my Church.

And he [Christ] is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18 KJV)

[Iscool]

Kinda makes me proud to be a heretic...

[NYer]

I don't believe it...Where's the list???

Over 9,000 Christian denominations are represented in the World Christian Database. The number of denominations is too great to list here, so the number of denominations which are represented in each country are listed below: LIST

And 9,000 is very conservative.

[NYer]

Thank you for posting these every day.

You're most welcome! Thank you for the comments and rest assured of my prayers for you as you make your journey home to the Catholic Church.

[NYer]

Jesus Christ is the head my Church.

He is also the head of the Catholic Church. From Him, we learn obedience, for it is our Lord who heeded His Father in choosing Peter.

---

Matthew
Chapter 16

13

⁸ When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi ⁹ he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

14

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, ¹⁰ others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

16

¹¹ Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

17

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood ¹² has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

18

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, ¹³ and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

19

I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. ¹⁴ Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."