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The Papacy is
Indestruct-
ible / Perpetual
Also See:
The Pope (Topic Page)
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"When
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples,
'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' They replied, 'Some say John
the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the
prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter
said in reply, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.' Jesus
said to him in reply, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh
and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I
say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will
give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven.'" (Mt. 16:13-19)
"The privileges of this [Roman] See are
perpetual: they were planted and rooted in by God Himself. They may be
beaten against, but not changed; they may be attacked, but not
destroyed." (Pope St. Nicholas I, 863 A.D.)
"Reckon
up the priests from the
days that Peter sat, and in their ancestral ranks note who succeeded
whom; for that is the rock over which the gates of hell shall never
prevail." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church, 4th century A.D.)
"Now you know well that the most deadly foes of
the Catholic religion have always waged a fierce war, but without
success, against this Chair; they are by no means ignorant of the fact
that religion itself can never totter and fall while this Chair [of
Peter] remains intact, the Chair which rests on the rock which the proud
gates of hell cannot overthrow and in which there is the whole and
perfect solidity of the Christian religion." (Pope Pius IX,
"Inter Multiplices", 1853 A.D.)
"We need fear little that the See of Peter may
ever fall because the impregnable foundation of his Church was laid by
Christ the Lord; however We must not cease to defend its authority.
Besides the divine Leader of pastors will demand of Us a severe
reckoning for the growth of weeds in the field of the Lord if they have
been sown by an enemy while We were asleep, and for the blood of the
sheep who have perished here through Our fault." (Pope Gregory XVI,
"Inter Praecipuas", 1844 A.D.)
"[M]en should realize that all attempts to
overthrow the 'House of God' are in vain. For this is the Church founded
on Peter, 'Rock,' not merely in name but in truth. Against this 'the
gates of hell will not prevail' 'for it is founded on a rock.' There has
never been an enemy of the Christian religion who was not simultaneously
at wicked war with the See of Peter, since while this See remained
strong the survival of the Christian religion was assured. As St.
Irenaeus proclaims openly to all, 'by the order and succession of the
Roman pontiffs the tradition from the Apostles in the Church and the
proclamation of the truth has come down to us. And this is the fullest
demonstration that it is the one and the same life-giving faith which
has been preserved in the Church until now since the time of the
Apostles and has been handed on in truth.'" (Pope Pius VII, "Diu
Satis", 1800 A.D.)
"The holy Church built upon a rock, that is
Christ, and upon Peter or Cephas, the son of John who first was called
Simon, because by the gates of Hell, that is, by the disputations of
heretics which lead the vain to destruction, it would never be overcome;
thus Truth itself promises, through whom are true, whatsoever things are
true: 'The gates of hell will not prevail against it' [Matt. 16:18]. The
same Son declares that He obtained the effect of this promise from the
Father by prayers, by saying to Peter: 'Simon, behold Satan etc.' [Luke
23:31]. Therefore, will there be anyone so foolish as to dare to regard
His prayer as in anyway vain whose being willing is being able? By the
See of the chief of the Apostles, namely by the Roman Church, through
the same Peter, as well as through his successors, have not the comments
of all the heretics been disapproved, rejected, and overcome, and the
hearts of the brethren in the faith of Peter which so far neither has
failed, nor up to the end will fail, been strengthened?" (Pope St.
Leo IX, 1053 A.D.)
"Eternal
thanks, then, to our Emmanuel for that he has not left us orphans;
but before returning to heaven, vouchsafed to provide us with a
Father and a Shepherd, even to the end of time! On the evening
before his passion, keeping up his love for us even to the end, he
left us his sacred Body and Blood for our good. Alter his glorious
Resurrection, and a few hours before ascending to the right hand
of the Father, he called his apostles around him, and constituted
his Church (his Fold), and said to Peter: Feed my Lambs, Feed my
Sheep (Jn. 21:15,17). Thus, dear Jesus! Didst though secure
perpetuity to thy Church; though gavest her Unity, for that alone
could preserve her and defend her from both external and internal
enemies. Glory be to thee, O Divine Architect! For that thou didst
build the House of they Church on the Rock which was never to be
shaken, that is, on Peter! Winds and storms and waves have beat
upon that House; but it hath stood, for it was built on a
Rock." (Gueranger) "To satisfy this pastoral duty, our predecessors
always gave tireless attention that the saving doctrine of Christ be
spread among all the peoples of the earth, and with equal care they
watched that, wherever it was received, it was preserved sound and pure.
Therefore, the bishops of the whole world, now individually, now
gathered in Synods, following a long custom of the churches and the
formula of the ancient rule, referred to this Holy See those dangers
particularly which emerged in the affairs of faith, that there
especially the damages to faith might be repaired where faith cannot
experience a failure. The Roman Pontiffs, moreover, according as the
condition of the times and affairs advised, sometimes by calling
ecumenical Councils or by examining the opinion of the Church spread
throughout the world; sometimes by particular synods, sometimes by
employing other helps which divine Providence supplied, have defined
that those matters must be held which with God's help they have
recognized as in agreement with Sacred Scripture and apostolic
tradition. For, the Holy Spirit was not promised to the successors of
Peter that by His revelation they might disclose new doctrine, but that
by His help they might guard sacredly the revelation transmitted through
the apostles and the deposit of faith, and might faithfully set it
forth. Indeed, all the venerable fathers have embraced their apostolic
doctrine, and the holy orthodox Doctors have venerated and followed it,
knowing full well that the See of St. Peter always remains unimpaired by
any error, according to the divine promise of our Lord the Savior made
to the chief of His disciples: 'I have prayed for thee, that thy faith
fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren' [Luke
22:32]. So, this gift of truth and a never failing faith was divinely
conferred upon Peter and his successors in this chair, that they might
administer their high duty for the salvation of all; that the entire
flock of Christ, turned away by them from the poisonous food of error,
might be nourished on the sustenance of heavenly doctrine, that with the
occasion of schism removed the whole Church might be saved as one, and
relying on her foundation might stay firm against the gates of
hell." (Vatican Council I, 1870 A.D.) Also
See: The
Church Rests on St. Peter | History
| Infallibility
| Necessity
of a Teaching Authority | Papal
Primacy / Supremacy | Praise
of the Papacy | Preservation
of Truth / Unity | The
Visible Church | Vatican
Facts | Pope
/ Papacy (Topical Scripture) | The
Unshakable Church (Reflections)
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