Jesus gave all mankind doctrines directly from Heaven, which taught man the Divine law! This law, however, was and is in need of interpretation. The Bible is one source of this Divine Revelation, and tradition is another source. The Church has always used both in her teachings on morality, but many Protestants have presented another view, one which states that only the Bible has infallible teaching authority. This claim is unsubstantiated by scripture, history, and reason, and can be easily proven false. A living authority is needed in the Church to interpret and explain the scriptures.
The great majority of Protestants follow the doctrine of sola scriptura, “the Bible alone,” and take the view that only the Bible has authority in matters of faith and morals, and the faithful are to take their knowledge of Divine Revelation directly from the Bible. This claim goes against the Bible, for the Bible itself says that Sacred Tradition is to be followed alongside Sacred Scripture. (2Thess 2:15) Additionally, history shows that it was the Church, not the Bible, that decided what books should be in the Bible and should be considered inspired. Sola scriptura also goes again common sense. Any written document intended to have an important role in governing a people or a code of law must have a living, continuing authority to interpret it, because words can be easily interpreted in any number of ways by different people. This is illustrated by the fact that there are so many protestant denominations, all with tiny varying beliefs. This is the product of the idea that every man can be divinely inspired by God to interpret scripture: chaos. For all of these reasons, sola scriptura is not a doctrine that should be followed by Christians.
Jesus directly instituted a living authority in Peter, the first Pope. In Matt 16:18, He said, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” Jesus then gave him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. This is a very clear message; Jesus established Peter’s teaching authority at that moment. It is clear that Jesus gave this authority to the office of Pope, not just to Peter, because He knew that Peter would not live till the end of time to lead His Church, but rather, Jesus intended that this office be passed down till the end of time.
This teaching office is infallible, for Jesus said, “I am with you always, even unto the consummation of the world,” in Matt. 28:20. By this He meant that Peter and his successors would never err when teaching in matters of faith and morals. Protestants quote Gal. 2:11-14 as a proof that infallibility is false, in which Paul rebuked Peter for weakness in his office. This red herring argument is not legitimate. Peter’s mistake was one in his personal life, and no man is without sin. His failure in personal virtue does not affect the fact that Christ vested him with authority to declare dogma on matters of faith and morals.
Furthermore, Peter shows his authority many times in Scripture. In the gospels and the book of Acts, Peter was clearly portrayed as the leader of the apostles. In Acts 15:7-12, there was a dispute concerning a doctrinal matter. When the council was in the heat of argument, Peter rose and declared his opinion on the matter, and all present fell silent, accepting his authority. When Paul converted and sought counsel to begin his ministry, he went to Peter in Jerusalem, not another of the apostles. (Gal 1:18-19) All this makes it clear that Peter’s position as a leader of the apostles was undisputed.
Early Church fathers, too, recognized the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. St. Irenaeus wrote that, “Christians must be united to the Church of Rome in order to maintain the Apostolic tradition.” He stressed the importance of obedience to the Pope and spoke of it as if it was common knowledge in the Church. The Roman persecutors, as well, knew full well who the leader of the Church was, for they killed every pope but one in the first 200 years of the Church!
Peter, the first pope, had possession of absolute authority over the Church, and had the office of proclaiming doctrine on matters of faith and morals. Christ Himself promised that He would guide the pope to guide the Church until the end of time, (Matt 28:20) thus this office was passed down by St. Peter all the way down to the present day. This infallibility is what enables the Church to be a bastion of truth in the world, for she never errs in doctrine. God, by this Divine help, protects the Church to this day from doctrinal error, and leads the faithful down the narrow path to Heaven.
All I can say is this: I HEAR YOU, been there, done that. Keep your eyes on Jesus, read the Catechism as suggested (NOT easy reading btw), and remember where all this doubt and confusion comes from: the Liar. Stay close to the Sacraments and trust Him. You’ll be amazed by what happens.
