Hi Andy,

Thanks for the question.

The papacy was instituted by Jesus Himself before He ascended into Heaven in 33 A.D. Historically, we have oral and written tradition (Matthew 16:13-20; 1 Timothy 3:15) to back this up.

The word Pope comes from the word Papa or Father. He is call the Pope or Father because his role is to be the Father of the Christian Faith and for all Christians worldwide. He is the icon of unity for anyone looking for the fullness of the Christian Faith that can only be found in the Catholic Church. It was Our Lord's intent to have the papacy be a divine office with a human person safeguarding or protecting what He taught on issues of faith and morals.

This office would also be one that would last until His Second Coming. The successor to the
Holy Father would be assisted, not only safeguarding and protecting what Our Lord wished all Christians to believe, but his office would be an office Our Lord Jesus would use to speak through future St. Peters and therefore future Popes on issues of faith and morals — issues that St. Peter would never have known about. Some examples are:

• In Vitro fertilization
• embryonic and adult stem cell research
• cloning
• areas of genetics
• the web, internet, and the vast number of issues related to this new medium
• etc.

The Pope does not claim to receive any new revelation. His job is to protect and safeguard what Our Blessed Lord Jesus left for all Christians to believe. He may receive private revelation, (no one knows) but this would only assist him in protecting what Our Lord wishes all men to believe and would never be binding on the faith of any Catholic.

The mission of the Church is identical to that of Christ, our Lord. The Catechism states in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 849-852:

What the Catechism has just said, answers your remaining questions:

What is the mission of the Church? ... to baptize everyone?

<Yes!>

To give them the opportunity to receive the sacraments?

<Yes!>

I don't understand what is the mission of the Church? ... to bring everyone to Christ?

<Yes!>

No Catholic should ever force anyone to do anything against their will. Our job as Catholic evangelists is to provide the fullness of the Gospel. Those who listen to us have to choose to accept it. (1 Peter 3:15-16)

If you wish to go deeper, consider buying a cheap copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to learn everything we believe as Catholics.

Hope this answers most of your questions.

Mike

Andy,

Thanks for your questions. I'd like to expound on what Mike has already said.

Let's start with the role of the Apostles after the death of Christ. Each of them had his own Bishopric (ministry). In fact, we see that in the book of Acts. Peter discerned that Judas, who had fallen away, needed a successor to fill his Bishopric.

Each of the Apostles went on to lead local churches. For example:

• James became the Bishop of Jerusalem.
• John became the Bishop of Ephesus.
• Peter went on to be the first Bishop of Antioch and later the Bishop of Rome.

With the death of each Apostle, his successor took on the same ministry as the Apostle he replaced. Therefore, the successor of Peter, continued his ministry as both the Bishop of Rome and the chief Apostle.

Christ gave Peter special authority. We see this in Matthew chapter 16. In this text, we see that the Keys of the Kingdom are given to Peter. Jesus chooses His words very carefully. He quotes or paraphrases from Isaiah 22. In that text, we see the keys of authority being taken away from one person, Shebna, and given to another, Eliakim. We then go on to read in Isaiah 22 that this authority will be transmitted to Elaikim's sons, his successors.

In Matthew, Jesus is taking away the authority from the Pharisees, Sadducees, Priests and Scribes, and giving it to the Church. In particular, Jesus gives the Keys to Peter. The Apostles would have understood the entire context from Isaiah, hence they would have understood that Peter's successor would continue hold the same authority given to Peter.

Therefore, since Linus succeeded Peter, the Apostle John submitted to Linus as if he were submitting to Peter.

The Pope, does often speak prophetically as do many other Christians but it is never new Revelation. The Church believes that Public Revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle, John. That doesn't mean that God won't continue to give private revelation but that any message will never contradict or add to what has already been said.

That said, while Public Revelation has ceased, illumination continues. In other words, our understanding of what has been revealed can grow. Indeed, the Church continues to apply Revelation to the times. We see this as science and medicine progress. With the development of new technologies and medical advances, the Church interprets revelation, and pronounces moral teachings.

For instance, 2,000 years ago, no one ever dreamed of In Vitro fertilization. Today with the advent of this process, the Church relies on revelation to condemn the procedure because it in effect creates a bunch of human beings in a petri dish and then chooses one to be placed in the womb. The rest of embryos are frozen, discarded, and used for medical experiments.

When the Church speaks definitively on these issues, She is fulfilling Her prophetic role. In these teachings, the Church is infallible. The Holy Spirit protects the Church from teaching error in the areas of faith and morals. The Pope, as the successor Peter, is likewise protected from teaching error in these same areas. That doesn't mean the Pope cannot sin, nor does it mean that everything that comes out of his mouth is infallible, but when he speaks definitively, as the Pastor of the Universal Church, in areas of faith in morals, he is protected from teaching error.

The mission of the Church, is indeed, to do all the things you have mentioned:

To baptize everyone and bring the sacraments to them.

In doing so, we are bringing Christ to everyone.

The Church is called to fulfill the Great Commission. To proclaim the Gospel, the Good News, and to boldly proclaim the Kingdom of God and the salvation which comes through faith and all that faith entails, in Jesus Christ.

I hope this helps,

John DiMascio