Is the official Roman Catholic Church in Rome?

Answer 1

Yes, it is! I hope this comes to no surprise since that's why it is called 'Roman'. :-) Here's a fuller answer. Christ commissioned his apostles after his resurrection to go out among the gentiles and create his Church through conversion. There were twelve apostles at the time, you can read their story in the New Testament book, "Acts of the Apostles" One of the apostles, Peter, was given a special commission. You see, Christ knew there had to be a central authority figure who had to resolve any conflicts. He bestowed that right upon Peter in Matthew, chapter 16:17-19: Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Peter took these words literally and when he and the other Apostles parted ways, he went to Rome which at the time was the center of all commerce and thus the ideal place to found Christ's church. This is what makes Rome central and "official" - it is God's choice of moral authority in this world. In fact, if you go to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome you will see that last verse written in 7-foot! gold letters around the top of the dome. Another point is that this same Church still exists today. Through 2000 years of guidance under the Holy Spirit, the office of Peter has always been occupied. Many would claim that there have been some very bad popes and thus the office was broken. Do not listen to them. Instead, remember this: Even Peter, the first pope, whom Christ favored greatly betrayed Christ three times before Christ's death! No other pope really could have committed such a direct and serious sin as that. Peter was forgiven through Mary's intercession, but his commission was never taken away. Thus, the office of the pope and the person actually in it are two separate things. Popes are just like you and me, they too sin and sometimes even seriously but their divine office is never tainted by it. Christ's Church is indeed in Rome!