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Readings:• Isa 22:19-23• Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8• Rom 11:33-36• Mt 16:13-20“The doctrine of the primacy of Peter is just one more of the many errors that the Church of Rome has added to the Christian religion.”So wrote the Presbyterian theologian Loraine Boettner in his 1962 book, Roman Catholicism, a popular work of anti-Catholic polemics. Although the religious landscape has changed significantly since the early 1960s, there are still many non-Catholic Christians today who agree wholeheartedly with Boettner’s assertions. The Papacy is unbiblical! It has no basis in Scripture! Peter was never singled out as a leader of the apostles!...

From Called To Communion: Understanding the Church Today Editor's note: This is the second half of a chapter titled "The Primacy of Peter and Unity of the Church." The first half examines the status of Peter in the New Testament and the commission logion contained in Matthew 16:17-19. The principle of succession in general That the primacy of Peter is recognizable in all the major strands of the New Testament is incontestable. The real difficulty arises when we come to the second question: Can the idea of a Petrine succession be justified? Even more difficult is the third question that...