Hi Michael777,
Welcome to the CA Forums. I see you disagree with what the Catholic Church teaches regarding the Primacy of Peter. Being a devout Catholic and lover of scripture, I respectfully disagree with your conclusions. Perhaps I can assist in shedding light, but information only helps those who care to see the light.
You claim the following (if I’ve correctly excerpted that which was your response from the post above).
michael777:
Peter was indded teaching others that they couldnt eat with gentiles and was rebuked because he was wrong, and so in peters case what you wrote above certainly was the case.
I don’t claim to be an expert, and I don’t recall where this story is located in scripture or I’d look it up and quote it for you directly, but I recall the story differently.
Didn’t the story go that Peter, while teaching that followers of Christ could eat with Gentiles (unlike the Jew’s before them who were required to be segregated from the Gentiles), Peter himself was not living the example of what he was teaching.
While I know that someone above has already rebuked allowing the thread to confuse Primacy and Infallibility, I think that the two are closely enough related and this thread specific enough to allow a quick clarification of this point. Infallibility means that the Pope is protected by a special Charism which prevents him from teaching incorrectly in matters of Faith and Morals. It is not the same as his not sinning, or living contrary to even his own teachings. It merely prevents him from teaching falsely.
Christ even spoke of the Pharasee’s that we should do as they say, not as they do. Fortunately, we’ve been blessed for a period of time with good and Holy Pope’s who do their best to live the example they preach. Unfortunately, at around the time of the Protestant schism from the Church, the Pope and many in the hierarchy of the Church were not living the example of Christ’s life as they were meant to do. This did not negate their position of authority, or their teachings. What’s amazing though, is that over the course of 2000 years, the popes have never taught contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ, and only a very few (approximately 3) have lived lives significantly out of alignment with their role as “Servant of the Servants of God”.
This is the action, not of a human organization, but rather the Mystical Body of Christ, against which the gates of Hell have not prevailed, nor will they ever. The Pope does not make up doctrine or Dogma, rather he clarifies that which was Divinely revealed by Christ himself, and which has been a part of the repository of faith from that time forward. Scripture grew from the deposit of Faith retained in our traditions, for the church survived all those years listed in the Acts of the Apostles, without New Testatment Sacred Scripture. But the information was there, held carefully for all future generations in our Sacred Tradition.
When it came time to define that scripture or any other questions regarding that which Christ taught, such as the Trinity, the Pope or his legate attended the council and the council finding were sent to the Pope for final acknowledgement and authority. The Trinity, while not specifically stated in scripture, was true from before Christ taught it to his disciples.
I hope this helps in some small way.
Christ be with you,
CARose