Why do Catholics believe that the pope is like Peter?

Answer 1

This assumption comes from Matthew's Gospel account:

MATTHEW (16:13-20)

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

This statement has caused more controversy in the Church than almost any other.

Roman Catholics will cite this one passage as 'proof' that the Roman Catholic Church is the 'true' Church as this is the Church which Christ himself built on Peter.

However, most Greek scholars realise that the nuances in the Greek make the actual meaning of the passage clear; Christ is equating the Rock - not with peter himself and all his successors, but with what Peter says and the way he says it. The Greek is quite clear that it is peter's insight into just who Jesus is, his loyalty and his absolute faith in Jesus as the Saviour that is the 'Rock' and that Jesus will build His Church on these attributes - attributes held by billions of Christians throughout history - of all denominations.

Answer 2

A:

In the early Middle Ages, popes referred to themselves as "the vicar of Peter" and some even seemed to think of themselves as one mystical person with Peter, although more commonly they saw themselves as his agent in the world. The title "vicar of Peter" was used prominently by Leo the Great and taken up over the next eight centuries. Today, popes prefer to refer to themselves as "vicar of Christ," as substitutes for Peter.

The association with Saint Peter arises from a Christian tradition that says Peter went to Rome and became the first bishop of Rome, appointing Linus as his successor, with subsequent bishops appointed continuously down to the present day. This continuous succession from an appointment made by Peter himself was important to the church of Rome in claiming primacy over all other Christian bishops. However, Francis A. Sullivan SJ (From Apostles to Bishops) says that there is a general agreement among scholars that the church of Rome was led by a council of presbyters until well into the second century, with no evidence of a ruling bishop. It is therefore no longer possible to say that the pope is literally the successor of Saint Peter, nor that he uniquely continues the work of Saint Peter, whether or not he actually visited Rome.

Answer 3

Jesus Christ appointed Peter as the first leader of his Church when He said:

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 upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. (Matthew Chapt. 16)

Peter is considered the first pope even though the term 'pope' did not come into common usage until much later. Whether Peter was in Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome or elsewhere, he is still considered the first pope. Later, as the Church grew and a hierarchy developed. the Church established its headquarters in Rome as Rome was considered the center of the world at the time. It had good roads reaching out to the vast empire as well as ships that plied the Mediterranean. Missionaries could reach anywhere in the known world from Rome. As the pope was the highest ranking Church authority in Rome, he was automatically consider the Bishop of Rome. From 1309 until 1377 popes reigned from Avignon in France. No matter, the pope was still the pope. Once the situation was resolved, the papacy returned to Rome and the pope again resumed his position as the Bishop of Rome along with his title of Pope.

Even today, should Pope Francis make the unlikely decision to move the Church headquarters to, say, Buenos Aires, Argentina, he would still be Pope and the assigned Bishop of Rome would simply be the Bishop of Rome. The Pope would be the Bishop of Buenos Aires as well as pope of the Universal Church. The Church has ample evidence that Peter did rule from Rome at some time. But even if he had never stepped foot in the city, he was still the Pope. Being Bishop of Rome is not a prerequisite for the papacy. By default, if the pope is headquartered in Rome, he is also the bishop of that diocese.