“Upon this rock” I will build my church.
Call the rock Peter (I do), call the rock Peter’s confession of faith (I do), call the rock Jesus (I do). . .that’s the beauty of Catholicism, we realize that the Bible’s words are so rich, deep and nuanced that they can (and do) mean more than just 'one thing".
The important thing is that Jesus Himself insisted and is recorded in Scripture as saying that He will 'build His Church." So He mpst certainly did do so. The Catholic Church can trace itself right back to the apostles. There was no ‘other’ church that was around but got either ‘squashed’, or ‘went into hiding’. The Catholics (and the Orthodox, who were ‘part’ of the ‘entire’ Catholic Church equally until 1054, so must be considered at least until then as "one holy catholic and apostolic church) are the ‘church’ Jesus established. No ifs, ands, or buts.
It always makes me ‘wonder’ that people ‘ignore’ the Orthodox when they vehemently deny ‘the papist Romans’ as being the Church. You would think that while they scream, “No papal supremacy” they would remember, “oops, why there is that ‘eastern’ rite of the Church over in Constantinople, apostolic succession, etc. Oh, and in 1054 they refused the pope too. Sign me up!”. . .
But. . .they don’t. If they deny the Pope, and the ‘abuses’ of celibate clergy. . . why on EARTH don’t they flock to the Orthodox?
So it isn’t ‘just’ the Pope, and the clergy. It is ‘man-made’ doctrine and anti-Catholicism (Roman) that fuels the sad division of Protestantism. . .otherwise they would be Orthodox Christians.
