THE INFALLIBIElCHURCH

Truth or Trickery

?

A

Contents

We Didn’t Say That!

The Kingdom of Heaven

Is At Hand!

Princes In The Kingdom

Of God

Princes— Then and Now

Viceroy In The Kingdom

Of God



Spec

C«f£f!N\

Why the Knights of Columbus

Advertise Catholic Faith

The reason is simple. We Catho-

lics want our non-Catholic friends

and neighbors to know us as we

really are and not as we are some

times mistakenly represented.

We are confident that when

our religious Faith is better un-

derstood by those who do not

share it, mutual understanding

will promote the good-will which

is so necessary in a predominant-

ly Christian country whose gov-

ernment is designed to serve all

the people—no matter how much

their religious convictions may

differ.

American Catholics are con-

vinced that as the teachings of

Christ widely and firmly take

hold of the hearts and conduct

of our people, we shall remain

free in the sense that Christ

promised (John VIII, 31-38),

and in the manner planned by

the Founding Fathers of this

republic.

Despite the plainly stated will

of the Good Shepherd that there

be "one fold and one shepherd,”

the differences in the understand-

ing of Christ’s teaching are

plainly evident. It has rightfully

been called "the scandal of a

divided Christianity.”

If there is anything which will

gather together the scattered

flock of Christ, it is the nation-

wide understanding of the

Savior, what He did and how He

intended mankind to benefit by

the Redemption.

To this end, we wish our

fellow-Americans to become ac-

quainted with the teachings of

Christ as the Catholic Church

has faithfully presented them,

since the day the apostles in-

vaded the nations of the world

in willing and courageous obedi-

ence to Christ’s command: "Go,

therefore, and make disciples of

all nations . . .” (Matt. XXVIII,

19).

SUPREME COUNCIL

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
Religious Information Bureau

4422 LINDELL BLVD. ST. LOUIS 8, MO.

© Knights of Columbus 1959



WE DIDN’T SAY THAT!

On every side the Catholic

is confronted with the ques-

tions: "Why do you say that

the Catholic Church is the

only true Church?” or 'Why

do you claim that a man who

was born and reared an

Italian peasant is infallible,

and cannot make a mistake

in teaching as head of the

Church?”

And to this, we have to answer:

"We didn’t say that. God did.” May-

be this sounds like a quarrel over

words. But actually, it is not. God

is not running for office. Hence

it doesn’t make the slightest differ-

ence how many people vote for Him

as head of the Church. And it doesn’t

make any difference how many

people claim a man cannot make

a mistake. As a man with purely

human powers, he most certainly

can make a mistake. The only one

who can guarantee that He will keep
a man from making certain mistakes

is God Himself. If He could not do
that much, He most surely would
not be God as we know Him.

The question, then — the vital
question — is whether God did say
these things. It is the contention of

the Catholic Church that He did.
If He did, surely this is a fact that

concerns the life of every

human being who has the

chance to consider it. If He
did, it is a fact that no

human being could safely

ignore. And it is the conten-

tion of the Catholic Church

that the Son of God did say

that He was founding one

only Church of which He is

the head, and through it He
says that He will continue to teach,

rule, and grant holiness to mankind.

It is the contention of the Catholic

Church that the Son of God gave a

guarantee that this. Church would

never waver from the truths of sal-

vation. It is the contention of the

Catholic Church that the Son of God

provided for a visible head of that

Church; this mere man would be

guided by the Holy Spirit so as to

continue to proclaim to the world

the doctrines of Christ Himself. Re-

gardless of what is the conclusion of

a sincere inquiry, these claims are

so tremendous that they deserve

serious thought and study.

There must be a basis for such

claims as these before a reasonable

man could be asked to accept them.

And there is. It is the most widely

known book in the world, the Holy

Bible, and in particular the four

•Gospels. Aside from the fact that

1



they are the inspired word of God,

the four Gospels are reliable his-

torical documents. They report ac-

curately the things that were done

and said in the life of Jesus of Naz-

areth. They were written by men

who had first-hand knowledge of

the things of which they wrote.

These men wrote honestly, report-

ing not only the wonders of the

life of Jesus of Nazareth and His

sayings, but also their own failings

and their lack of understanding at

times of what He said. They were

written in a time when men, hostile

men, were able to challenge the truth

of their accounts — a thing which
they never did.

From these accounts, we know that

Jesus of Nazareth laid claim to hav-

ing been sent by God to teach men

the way to eternal life. He went

even further and laid claim to being

Himself the equal of the Father,

and therefore truly God. He Himself

admitted that it was reasonable for

men to ask proof of these claims

(see John 15:22-25). He gave proof
of them in His miracles, works that

can be performed by the power of

God alone; these miracles He per-
formed to seal with the truth of

God the truths which He taught
about Himself. He spoke prophe-
cies of the future from knowledge

that could come from God alone

and these also He spoke to seal the
truths which He taught men. He
rose again from the dead in an act

without parallel in all history. He
had called others back to life; but

He rose from the dead Himself. And

once again, it was to seal the truth

of His teaching with the authority

of divine truth.

We are then on very solid ground
in asking all men to open the pages

of the Gospel and to pursue the

teaching of Jesus of Nazareth about

the future of the work which He
came on earth to accomplish. Let

every man investigate the claim of

the Catholics: ”We didn’t say it.
God did.”

Since it would take too long to set out here the successions of all the

churches, ye shall turn to that great, ancient, and universally known

church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious

apostles P^ter and Paul, and we shall show that the tradition it has

received of the apostles and the faith that it preaches to men has come

down to our time through the regular succession of its bishops . . .

For it is with this Roman Church by reason of the pre-eminent

authority of its foundation that every other church, that is to say all

the faithful everywhere, ought to agree, inasmuch as in this church

the apostolic tradition has been preserved continuously.

St. Ireneus of Lyons, 2nd century.

2



THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

IS AT HAND!

Like the roll of thunder, the

voice of John the Baptist

was heard throughout an-

cient Palestine: "Repent, for

the Kingdom of heaven is

at hand!” And the crowds

flocked to see and hear him.

The voice of prophecy, silent

for centuries, was now heard

again. The message was the

message of hope of people

of the Old Testament — the King-
dom of God, long awaited, was now

at last to come among them. This

Kingdom of God (or Kingdom of

Heaven—an expression meaning the

same thing) is the reign of God

among men; it is the actual rule of

God over men that would be brought

about through the Messias, long

awaited and expected by the Jews.

The mission of John was that of

herald of the King, announcing the

coming of the King and calling all to

prepare to receive Him. But John’s

mission was soon completed with

his imprisonment by Herod. Then

it was that the King, Jesus of Naz-

areth, began His public preaching

on the same theme as John’s: "Re-

pent, for the Kingdom of Heaven

is at hand! ’’(Matthew 3:17). It was

the Kingdom of God, the reign of

God among men, that formed the

core of His teaching through-

out His whole life. There are

different points from which

the Reign of God is viewed

in the preaching of Jesus.

But always it is the Reign of

God, the actual ruling power

of God over man, His crea-

ture, destined to enjoy the

vision of God for all eternity.

And these are the points

from which Jesus views the Reign

of God over men.

The Kingdom In Heaven

The final phase of the Kingdom

of God will come at the end of the

world when Jesus will return in

glory. "Then the king will say to

those on his right hand, 'Come,

blessed of my Father, take posses-

sion of the kingdom prepared for

you from the foundation of the

world’” (Matthew 25:34). "And

night shall be no more, and they

shall have no need of light of lamp,

or light of sun, for the Lord God

will shed light upon them; and they

shall reign forever and ever”

(Apocalypse or Revelation 22:5).

The Kingdom On Earth

The final Kingdom of God in

which He will reign forever over the

3



blessed in Heaven is the final stage

of the Kingdom. But it is reached

through gradual establishment of

the Kingdom of God on earth. Jesus

announced at the beginning of His

public life, "The Kingdom of God

is at hand.” The Pharisees asked Him
in the course of His preaching:

"When is the Kingdom of God

coming?” He answered that the

Kingdom of God would not come

with all the external splendor and

triumph that they expected. In fact,

He told them, "the Kingdom of

God is within you,” that is, in their

very midst, certainly not meaning

in the hearts of these men who

were doing their best to turn men

from the way of God (Luke 17:20-

21). Turning then to His disciples,

He reminded them that He would

go away, and that they would have

much to suffer before He returned

to usher in the final stage of the

Kingdom of God.

What Kind of a Kingdom?

The people of the time of our

Lord—yes, even some of the dis-

ciples before the coming of the

Holy Spirit—expected that the

Kingdom of God would be estab-

lished by force and with the total

destruction of the enemies of God

on earth. Patiently, our Lord set

about to correct the excess in the

idea of a material Kingdom of God

on earth. Certainly, in all that He
did, Jesus had as His objective to

bring about the Kingdom or the

Reign of God in the hearts of men.

It was His purpose to establish the

Kingdom of God in the spiritual

rebirth of mankind, but, as we

shall see, with certain very definite

external and social means. One has

only to open the Gospels at random

to find Jesus directing men toward

the practice of justice, charity,

obedience to the will of God, and

so on. Read, for instance, Matthew

6:31-33:

"Therefore, do not be anxious,

saying, 'What shall we eat?’ or

'What shall we drink?’ or, 'What

are we to put on?’ (for after all

these things the Gentiles seek); for

your Father knows that you need

all these things. But seek first the

kingdom of God and His justice,

and all these things shall be given

you besides. Therefore, do not be

anxious for tomorrow; for tomor-

row will have anxieties of its own.

Sufficient for the day is its own

trouble.”

Again, in John 3:16: "For God

so loved the world that he gave His

only-begotten Son, that those who

believe in Him may not perish, but

may have life everlasting.”

The distorted ideas of the times

made Jesus stress over and over

again the internal and spiritual na-

ture of the Kingdom of God. But

we would fall into the contrary

error if we lost sight of His teach-

ing on the external and social

nature of this Kingdom; for it is

through this external and social

reign of God over men that the in-

ternal and spiritual will be brought

about.

Teaching of Parables

The parables were homely little

stories, drawn from the common

experience of the people of Jesus’

day, and spoken to convey spiritual

truths gradually and gently to those

4



who were of good will.

Thus, in the Parable of the

Weeds and the Wheat (Matthew

13:24-30, 36-43), Jesus explains

that the good and the evil will

exist in the Kingdom of God in

this world until the time of the

Last Judgment, when "the Son of

Man will send forth His angels,

and they will gather out of his

kingdom all scandals, and those

who work iniquity, and cast them

into the furnace of fire . . . Then

will the just shine forth like the

sun in the kingdom of their

Father.”

In the Parable of Net (Matthew

13:47-50) He repeats that the good

and the bad will be in the King-

dom of Heaven until the Last Judg-
ment, just as a net contains good

and bad fish that have to be sep-

arated when the catch is landed.

Again, read the Parable of the

Vine-dressers in Matthew 21:33-44.

Here Jesus tells us that the vine-

yard represents the Kingdom of
God. It has been put under the

guidance of men who have proven

themselves unworthy of the trust

they have received; therefore, it

will be taken from them and given

to others. "And when the chief

priests and Pharisees had heard His

parables, they knew that He was
speaking of them” (Matthew 21:

45).

What Follows From This?

There will be, then, in the King-

dom of God men who are good —

men over whom God reigns in-
ternally through His grace and their

use of that grace; and there will be

men who are evil — men over whom

God does not reign internally, for

they have rejected Him and they

will be rejected by Him. But they

are in the Kingdom of God, like

the fish enclosed in the net and

separated from other fish not en-

closed in the net. There is, then, a

Kingdom of God which is distinct

from the internal and spiritual reign

of God over the hearts of men. It

is the external Kingdom in which

God reigns externally over men,

even though they are evil men. The

external Kingdom has for its pur-

pose to produce the internal reign

of God in men; but it i$ a distinct

idea or point of view in examining

the Kingdom of God as founded

by Christ.

The Parable of the Vine-dressers

is even more expressive. In the Old

Testament, the term "vineyard” was

a common figure for the Israelite

nation (see Isaias 5:1-7). As a na-

tion, it was a distinct body of men,

separate from all other nations. It

was banded together into a nation

under authorities set up by God.

The purpose of this was that, by

their common effort, the Israelites

would show forth to the other na-

tions of the earth the holiness of

God; that they also in their national

life would offer due worship to

God and attain holiness themselves

(see Exodus 19:6). This is what we

call a society: a permanent union of

many men working together for a

common end under the direction

of authorities.

The Parable of the Vine-dressers,

then, does not indicate that the ex-

ternal Kingdom of God is to be

abolished. On the contrary, it is to

be continued as a group of men

5



working together for the common

end of the glory of God and their

own salvation, but under different

authorities.

The people at the time of Jesus

had many mistaken notions about

the Kingdom of the Messias. They

thought He would restore the King-

dom of Israel as a universal king-

dom like David’s. They thought His

reign would be entirely glorious,

and left little room, if any, for the

idea of a Suffering Messias. They

thought He would come only once,

establishing His reign once and for

alL These and other mistaken no-

tions our Lord corrected chiefly

through the parables. He did not

need to lay stress on the external

nature of the Kingdom; the trouble

was that the expectations of the

people laid too much stress on the

external Kingdom. But if it were

not to be external, but merely in-

ternal and spiritual, then that was

a basic mistake that would have had

to be corrected with emphasis. But

Jesus did not deny the external

phase of the Kingdom of God.

Rather, while stressing constantly

that the end of all was the reign

of God in the souls of men, He
pointed out to all the people that

there would be an external phase

until the end of time. The purpose

of it, obviously, will be to produce

the internal reign of justice and

holiness in the hearts of men, and

thus to prepare them to enter the

final and perfect phase of the eter-

nal reign of God over mankind in

the blessedness of heaven.

The Kingdom of God, then, is the

reign or rule of God over men. It is

religious, not political; it is opposed

to the reign of sin, not to the reign

of Caesar. It has its final phase in

heaven, but its initial phase on

earth. It is internal in the hearts of

men on earth, but likewise on earth

it is external in the society which

Jesus calls "my Church.” Always, it

is religious.

This is not the whole teaching

of Jesus on the nature of the King-

dom of God. It was to be completed

in His intimate instructions to His

chosen disciples. In these, He clear-

ly described who were to be the

new vine-dressers of the vineyard

of the Lord. He told them what

their authority was to be. And He

instructed them on the manner in

which they personally were to con-

duct themselves in the use of this

authority which is His by right.

But in all this, He was simply fill-

ing in the sketch of the nature of

the Kingdom of God which He

had been preaching to the people

throughout His public life.

"Christianity is more than a doctrine. It is Christ Himself, living in

those whom He has united to Himself in one Mystical Body. It is the

mystery by which the incarnation of the Word of God continues and

extends itself throughout the history of the world, reaching into the

souls and lives of all men, until the final completion of God’s plan.

Christianity is the re-establishment of all things in Christ.”

Thomas Merton, The Living Bread

6



PRINCES IN THE KINGDOM

OF GOD

It was a momentous step

that Jesus took toward the

beginning of His public life.

He had been going through

Galilee preaching "The

Kingdom of God is at
hand.” He had gathered fol-

lowers, but had also caused

bitter opposition on the

part of the leaders of the

people. Now He was about
to set forth in the Sermon on the

Mount the moral plan and the gen-

eral spirit of the Kingdom of God.

But first He took care to choose

the core of men around whom He

would form this Kingdom. As be-

fore all the great steps in this work,

He first devoted Himself to intense

prayer to the Father.

"Now it came to pass in those

days, that he went out to the moun-

tain to pray, and continued all night

in prayer to God. And when day

broke, he summoned his disciples;

and from these, he chose twelve

(whom he also named apostles):

Simon, whom he named Peter, and
his brother Andrew . . ” (Luke 6:

12-16).

St. Mark describes the incident

in these words: "And going up a

mountain, he called to him men

of his own choosing, and they came

to him. And he appointed

twelve that they might be

with him and that he might

send them forth to preach.

To them he gave power to

cure sicknesses and to cast

out devils. There were

Simon, to whom he gave

the name Peter; and James,

the son of Zebedee...”

(Mark 3:13-19).

This group of the Twelve stands

out throughout the life of Jesus as

a group set apart to be the co-

workers of the Son of God in the

founding of the Kingdom. Their

very title of "apostles” indicates

"men sent forth” as legates of the

Son of God for the work of preach-

ing the Kingdom as Jesus was do-

ing and of confirming their words

with signs, as He also was doing.

St. Matthew names them also, and

gives a long instruction that Christ

spoke on the manner of conducting

themselves in the discharge of their

high office (see Matthew 10). In

St. John, too, they are clearly singled

out in the words of Christ: "Have

I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet

one of you is a devil ! Now he was
speaking of Judas Iscariot, the son

of Simon; for he it was, though one

of the Twelve, who was to betray

7



him” (John 6:71-72).

Our Lord then set the Twelve off

from the rest of His followers as

a special group. At times, they are

referred to under the name, "dis-

ciples,” like the other followers of

Christ. But a careful reading of the

Scripture will show us when this

name, "disciples,” applies only to

the Twelve. Not only were they

constant and devoted pupils of the

Master in all His public preaching;

they received separate and pro-

longed instructions by themselves

on the Kingdom which Jesus was

to found. These are found especial-

ly in the last year of the public life

of Jesus. By that time, the people

as a whole had refused to receive

Him as their spiritual Messias. He
then turned His principal attention

to the formation of the Apostles.

Training of the Twelve

He spoke to them of His divine

mission and of His coming passion

and death (Matthew 16:12-23). He

allowed three of them to see Him

in the glory that was His by right

as Son of God (Matthew 17:1-8).

He gave them a long instruction on

their manner of acting as leaders in

His Kingdom (Matthew 18:1-35

and Mark 9:32-41). They alone

were with Him at the Last Supper

and in the Garden before His ar-

rest. To them as a group He mani-

fested Himself several times after

the Resurrection.

The instruction in Matthew 18:

1-35 and Mark 9:32-41 is a most

important step in the formation of

the Apostolic group as the core of

the Kingdom of God on earth. In

it there are two themes that are

found again and again when Our

Lord speaks to the Twelve. On the

one hand, there is the clear state-

ment of their power in the King-

dom. On the other hand, there is

the detailed description of the way

in which they must conduct them-

selves in the use of their power.

They are to learn the spirit of the

Master when He washed their feet

at the Last Supper (John 13:13-14).

"The Little Ones”

In the instruction to the Twelve

in Matthew 18, then, our Lord first

points out the need of humility in

the Kingdom of God, in place of a

spirit of ambition (Matthew 18:1-

5). He continues with instructions

on the care of the "little ones”—the

faithful followers of Christ—so as

not to allow even one of them to

perish (Matthew 18:6-14). But fin-

ally He shows what must be done

with someone who is an occasion

of scandal and spiritual harm to his

fellows: first, private correction;

then, public correction; then, de-

nunciation to the Church (to the

people of Christ’s time, the Church

was a religious society founded by

God under the external direction of

His delegates — the same idea as

the external phase of the Kingdom

of God); finally, in the case of per-

sistent refusal to amend, there is to

be excommunication — that is, the
cutting off of the individual from

all privileges and association in this

religious body.

As the basis of the drastic ac-

tion of excommunication from the

Kingdom of God, there has to be

power that comes from God. And

this is what Jesus promises to the

8



Twelve at this time: "Amen I say

to you, whatever you bind on earth

shall be bound also in heaven; and

whatever you loose upon earth shall

be loosed also in heaven (Matthew

18:18).

It is not hard to understand what

Jesus means in this statement. He
is speaking not of the spirit in

which the Apostles should exercise

their authority in the Kingdom of

God; He has spoken of that in the
earlier part of the instruction. Rath-

er, He is speaking of the authority

or power itself.

Notice that He is speaking to
the group of Apostles as a whole;

He addresses them as "you” in the
plural, not "thou” in the singular.

Hence the power that is given is

given to the group as a whole.

Binding and Loosing

The power that He promises is
that of "binding” and "loosing.” This

means to impose an obligation or

to remove that obligation (compare

Matthew 23:4). We have the same
expression when we say that a per-

son is "bound in conscience.” This

means that he has the obligation in

conscience toward something.

Further, the power promised is

not limited. It includes whatever

the Apostles bind or loose. This, of

course, is in relation to the King-

dom of God and the salvation of

souls. It surely does not give the

Apostles power to make traffic

laws.

And finally, it is a power that
is God’s own power. For, whatever

they bind on earth is bound in

heaven. It therefore affects the con-

science of man, his guilt or inno-

cence in the sight of God, both in

this world and in the next. God

here guarantees that the Apostolic

body cannot, when acting as the

authorities in the Kingdom of God

and when imposing or removing

obligations in that Kingdom — we
repeat, it cannot misdirect souls. If

it could, we would have the ridicu-

lous situation in which God could

bind a man to something evil or

release him from the duty of living

in virtue.

Investiture of Princes

The promise of Apostolic power

in the Kingdom was made only a

few months before the death of

Christ for the salvation of mankind.

It was through this saving death of

Christ that the perfect Kingdom,

succeeding the imperfect Kingdom

of the Old Testament, was brought

into being.

Thus, after Jesus’ Resurrection,

He manifested Himself to the

eleven disciples in Galilee — for
Judas, the twelfth, had gone to his

own place. "And Jesus drew near

and spoke to them saying, 'All pow-

er in heaven and on earth has been

given to me. Go, therefore, and

make disciples of all nations, bap-

tizing them in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the

Holy Spirit, teaching them to ob-

serve all that I have commanded

you; and behold, I am with you all

days, even to the consummation of

the world’” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Saint Mark gives us these words

of Christ to the Apostles: "Go into

the whole world and preach the

gospel to every creature. He who

believes and is baptized shall be

9



saved, but he who does not believe

shall be condemned” (Mark
16:15-16).

Power in External Kingdom

Jesus had always possessed all

power in heaven and on earth. It

was His by right of creation — for
He brought all things into being. It

was His by right of preservation

— for He keeps creation in exis-
tence. "All things have been created

through and unto him, and he is

before all creatures, and in him all

things hold together” (Colossians 1:

16-17). But now there is a new

title by which Jesus as God-man

possesses all power; it is the title

of Redemption, by which He has

bought the human race back from

its bondage to sin. It is in view

of this title that Jesus gives to the

Eleven their commission to carry

to all nations and every creature

the fruits of His Redemption of

man upon the cross. It is in view

of the salvation of men that power

is given to the Apostles over all

men of all times, even to the

consummation of the world. It is

the power of teaching and ruling

men, and of producing their in-

ternal holiness through the external

authority given to the Church. And

this activity of the Church can

never fail of producing its results.

For to them, the teachers and rulers

in the Kingdom of God, Jesus

promises: "Behold, I am with you

all days, even to the consummation

of the world.” With His constant

presence, the work can never dis-

appear; it can never go astray.

The power to teach the doctrine

of Christ with complete authority

cannot be mistaken in the words of

Christ: "Make disciples of all na-

tions,” and "preach the gospel to

every creature.” No one may know-
ingly exempt himself from submit-

ting of this power, for these Apos-

tles teach with the authority of

Christ Himself. When teaching
thus with His authority, the body

of Apostles and their successors are

infallible. This, let us point out,

does not mean sinlessness. This is

not the end of this commission of

Christ. Its end and purpose is to

bring to all men of all times the

truths which Christ has taught for

the salvation of mankind. These are

things that must be believed—things

pertaining to faith— and things
that must be done— things pertain-
ing to morals. For, in this activity,

Christ promises His constant pres-

ence with them even to the end of

time. Thus, the teaching of the

Church is guaranteed to be free

from error in those things which

pertain to the Kingdom of God on

earth. If the Church were to fall

into error on matters pertaining to

man’s salvation and holiness, the

error would have to be attributed

to Jesus, the Son of God. And that

is evidently impossible.

The power to rule with author-

ity, to command in the name of

Christ, is likewise clearly stated.

This is the power of binding and

loosing, which our Lord promised

to the Apostolic group beforehand.

They are to "teach them to observe

all that I have commanded you.”

The command is the command of

Christ; but it reaches man through

the direction of the leaders of His

Church- The Apostles have the ob-

10



ligation to direct men to fulfill the

commandments of Christ; men,

therefore, must have the duty to

obey these directions. To give some

men the duty to direct others, and

then to turn and tell the others they

do not need to obey would be a

self-contradiction.

Perpetual Power

Some will grant that what we

have said is true, but true only of

the Eleven to whom this commis-

sion was given. It was a power,

they say, that was never to be

passed on to others. To the Eleven

it was given; with them, it would

die. The Kingdom of God, as Christ

founded it, was to last, at best, only

some seventy years until the death

of the last Apostle.

This by no means squares with

the clear words of Christ. He had

shown in His lifetime that He was

not only God’s legate, but truly God

Himself. Thus He knew with the

knowledge of God the future events

of the world. He knew that these

Eleven would not live to the end

of the world. He knew equally well

that they could not possibly bring

to "all nations” and "every creature”

the doctrine of salvation through

the merits of Christ. But this is the

command that He gave them: "Go

into the whole world and preach

the gospel to every creature”; "Go,

therefore, and make disciples of all

nations

”

(Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:

19). Further, He told them that He

would be with them "all days even

to the consummation of the world.”

This could mean only that it was

His intention that these powers be

passed on to other men as their

successors, down to the end of time.

Any other conclusion is impos-

sible; any other conclusion runs up

against the fact that the Apostles

did share their power of teaching

and ruling in their own lifetime.

The Kingdom of God

On Earth

We have seen the teaching of
Christ to the multitudes in which

He pointed out that the Reign of

God on earth would be internal and

spiritual in the hearts of men. But

we have also seen that He clearly

taught that there would be an ex-

ternal Reign of God, and that it

would be for the purpose of bring-

ing about true holiness among all

men. It was to be a society, that is,

the permanent union of many men

working together for the glory of

God and their own salvation, under

the direction of authorities. The

selection of the Apostles, the prom-

ise to them that they would receive

the power of binding and loosing

all things, the command to bring

the truths and the means of salva-

tion to all men even to the end of

time—these things make the inten-

tion of Christ very definite and un-

mistakable. The power and author-

ity in the Kingdom is His, always

His. He and He alone is King. But

He wills to confer upon mere man

a tremendous dignity — and that is
to share with Him that power and

authority, while at the same time

constantly reminding him that it

must be exercised with the spirit of

sacrifice, humility, and the love of

God that was the characteristic of

Jesus’ own exercise of His power

over men.

11



PHIUCES - THEN and UOW

From the public preaching

of Christ anc| from His in-

structions to the Twelve,

we turn to the other books

of the New Testament to
see if they reflect the kind

of Kingdom of God which

the Gospels describe. The

Book of Acts is a little his-

tory of the establishment of

the Kingdom of God in the

years following the Ascension of our

Lord into heaven. The Epistles are

letters written by the Apostles. They

are not written as the basic instruc-

tion of some individual church, but

usually as the solution to some prob-

lems that have arisen from the oral

teaching of the Apostle. The basic

instruction in the faith was given

by the Apostles in person and by

word of mouth. "Therefore we too

give thanks to God without ceasing,”

says St. Paul, "because when you

heard and received from us the word

of God, you welcomed it not as the

word of men, but, as it truly is, the

word of God who works in you who

have believed” (1 Thessalonians

2:13). And again, "you have learned

from us how you ought to walk to

please God...For you know what pre-

cepts I have given to you by the Lord

Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2). "The

rest I shall set in order when

I come” (1 Corinthians 11:

34). This is in no sense to

argue against the sacred

character of these books in-

spired by the Holy Spirit.

But we would play false to

the Holy Spirit were we to

expect to find in them a

detailed argument on all the

basic elements of Christi-

anity.

Yet, though these books did not

set out to argue in favor of the

Church as we have seen it in the

Gospels, they do give us valuable

information on the working Church.

A remarkable example of the ex-

ternal Reign of God through His

authorities is found in the conver-

sion of St. Paul by our Lord Him-

self. "He heard a voice saying to

him, 'Saul, Saul, why dost thou

persecute me?’ And he said, 'Who

art thou, Lord?’ And he said, 'I am

Jesus, whom thou art persecuting.

Arise and go into the city, and it

will be told thee what thou must

do’” (Acts 9:4-6). Even Paul, the

Apostle, converted by Jesus Him-

self, was required to submit to the

external Reign of God.

Again, the centurion Cornelius

was a man who by his prayers

12



and good deeds brought an angel

from heaven to him — but only to
tell him to send for the Apostle

Peter. Through a man, he would

learn the will of God and would

be thus admitted into the Kingdom

of God (Acts 10:1-33).

Princes Ruling In

The Kingdom

There is no doubt about the

position of the Apostles in refer-

ence to the faithful who were

brought into the Church through

their preaching.

To the centurion Cornelius,
Peter explained: "But God raised
him (Jesus) on the third day and

caused him to be plainly seen, not

by all the people, but by witnesses

designated beforehand by God,

that is, by us, who ate and drank

with him after he had risen from

the dead. And he charged us to

preach to the people and to testify

that he it is who has been ap-

pointed by God to be judge of

the living and the dead” (Acts 10:

40-42). We cannot say that Christ
could not have made Himself

manifest to all the people; He

most certainly could have, had He

chosen to do so. But He had estab-

lished authorities in the Kingdom

of God; it would be only through

them that the people would be

taught the facts that are the basic

foundation of the faith.

The whole life of the Kingdom

was centered around the Apostles.

"And they continued steadfastly in

the teaching of the apostles and in

the communion of the breaking of

the bread and in prayers. And fear

came upon every soul; many won-

ders also and signs were done by

means of the apostles in Jerusalem,

and great fear came upon all” (Acts

2:42-43).

They were the unquestioned

rulers of the Church in spiritual

and also in temporal matters. "And

with great power the apostles gave

testimony to the resurrection of

Jesus Christ our Lord; and great

grace was in them all . . . For

those who owned land and houses

would sell them and bring the

price of what they sold and lay it

at the feet of the apostles, and

distribution was made to each, ac-

cording as any one had need” (Acts

4:33-35).

A Continuing Power?

Jesus had spoken about the fu-

ture of the Kingdom in terms that

demand that the power of teach-

ing, ruling, and bringing men to

holiness would continue to the

end of time. There was no doubt

in the minds of the Apostles about

the intentions of our Lord. As they

went about founding churches in

the cities of the Roman Empire,

they set up men as true authorities

in these churches. These men

would exercise true divine author-

ity, not only in the absence of the

Apostles but after their death. The

prophets of old could not share

their divine mission with others;

the Apostles could and did. This

is, in itself, indication of the in-

tention of Jesus. No one can share

a power from God, unless God

13



Himself wishes that to be done.

Speaking to the presbyters

(priests) of the church of Ephesus,

Paul indicates that they have a

real ruling power over the flock,

the Kingdom of God. He further

indicates that this power will con-

tinue after him. "Take heed to

yourselves and to the whole flock

in which the Holy Spirit has placed

you as bishops, to rule the Church

of God, which he has purchased

with his own blood. I know that

after my departure fierce wolves

will get in among you, and will

not spare the flock. And from

among your own selves men will

rise speaking perverse things, to

draw the disciples after them” (Acts

20: 28-30).

To his faithful disciple, Timothy,

Paul wrote his last letter from his

prison cell in Rome where he was

awaiting execution. In it, he ap-

peals to the teaching power of the

Church. "The things thou hast

heard from me through many wit-

nesses, commend to trustworthy

men who shall be competent in

turn to teach others” (2 Timothy

2:2). In this one statement, there

is already a threefold succession:

Paul to Timothy to Timothy’s suc-

cessors as teachers in the Church.

To Titus in Crete, Paul wrote:

"For this reason I left thee in Crete,

that thou shouldst set right any-

thing that is defective and shouldst

appoint presbyters in every city . .

.

A bishop must be blameless . . .
holding fast the faithful word

which is in accordance with the

teaching, that he may be able to

exhort in sound doctrine and to

confute opponents” (Titus 1:5-9).

Peter also had set up authorities

in the churches of Pontus, Galatia,

Cappadocia, Asia, and Bythinia.

He wrote to remind them that they

share in the Apostolic power, and as

such will be held accountable to

God for the way they use it. "Now

I exhort the presbyters among

you — I, your fellow-presbyter and
witness to the sufferings of Christ,

the partaker also of the glory that

is to be revealed in time to come

— tend the flock of God which
is among you, governing not by

constraint but willingly . . . And

when the Prince of shepherds ap-

pears, you will receive the unfading

crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:1-4).

The power of Christ, the Prince

and Chief of sheperds, must then

continue in the rulers of the

Church until the return of Christ

in glory. "Behold, I am with you

all days, even unto the consum-

mation of the world!”

Then And Now
This is not all there is to say

about the Church as Christ founded

it. For instance, we have not spoken

of the place of Peter; but this sim-

ply because of the fact that we

cannot speak of everything at once.

But this much we have seen:

Christ proposed to found an ex-

ternal Kingdom of God—that is

men permanently united and work-

ing together for the common end

of their own salvation and holiness

under the direction of authorities.

We have identified at least the
Apostolic authority of teaching,

ruling, and producing the holiness

of Christ in men; we have seen

that Christ intended it to continue

14



through all the ages, and that the

Apostles took steps to see to that.

The most casual look at the Cath-

olic Church will show the existence

of this Apostolic authority of teach-

ing and ruling men, and of produc-

ing in men the holiness of Christ.

The Catholic Church back through

the ages has been thus constituted.

One of the most common objec-

tions to the identity of the Cath-

olic Church with the Kingdom of

God as founded by Christ is the

change in externals, such as the

solemnity of worship and ritual,

the magnificence of churches and

vestments, and so on. To begin

with, these have nothing to do with

the question of Apostolic authority.

And secondly, they are based on

the presumption that in Apostolic

times, all was shabby and without

adornment, and that this is the only

thing which Jesus approved of.

Yet He and His disciples frequent-

ed the Temple in Jerusalem, and

took part in the public worship

there. Few Catholic churches could

rival in magnificence the splendor

of the Temple of Jerusalem. Most

Catholic ceremonies are simple as

compared to the elaborate worship

of the Temple of Jerusalem. But

our Lord had not a word of dis-

approval of the splendor of Jewish

worship offered to His Father. On
the contrary, He protected its sa-
credness in driving out the buyers

and sellers, for "he said to them, 'It

is written, My house shall be called
a house of prayer.’

”

The Power of Bishops

In speaking of the power of

bishops in the Catholic Church,

there is need to distinguish be-

tween their power in their own ter-

ritories (called "dioceses”), and their

power as united in a body under

their leader, the Pope.

In his own diocese, each bishop

has the complete power of ruling

his diocese both in spiritual and

temporal affairs independently of

his subjects, whether priests or lay-

men. He has power to make laws,

to pass judgment on those who

have broken the laws of God and

the Church, and to impose penal-

ties, when this is required. His

power is, of course, subject to the

power of the Pope, for reasons

which will be explained. But he is

truly the successor to the power of

the Apostles. When he commands,
makes laws, or judges, he does so

with power given him by God.

Hence to obey him is to obey God.

It is true that he is not infallible,

and thus he can make a mistake in

his government and teaching. If

his laws or commands are manifest-

ly contrary to God’s will, no sub-

ject is obliged to obey them. For

in these cases, he has clearly not

acted according to the Apostolic

office and grace which is his.

The General Council

The most solemn exercise of the

office of teaching and ruling among

the bishops is the General (or Ecu-

menical) Council. A General Coun-
cil is the assembly of the bishops

of the whole Church under their

leader, the Pope, for the purpose

of determining matters pertaining

to faith and morals, and to settle

questions of discipline. For such a

Council, it is not necessary that

15



every bishop in the world be pres-

ent. It is required only that there

be a number that is truly repre-

sentative of the whole Church.

When such a Council judges and
teaches on matters pertaining to

faith and morals in union with the

Pope, the whole Council enjoys

that privilege of infallibility which

our Lord promised to the Apostles

when He said: 'Whatever you bind
on earth, shall be bound also in

heaven; and whatever you loose on

earth shall be loosed also in heaven”

(Matthew 18:18).

New Doctrines?
A matter that needs some ex-

planation is the defining of dogmas

which must be believed by every

Catholic. The idea of some is that

these are "novelties and new doc-

trines” that have no place in the

teaching of Christ. It is said that

they are not the teaching of Christ.

The Church has the commission

from Christ to preserve without

blemish the revelation given to it

either by Christ Himself or through

the Holy Spirit in Apostolic times.

The Church has the duty not sim-

ply of preserving this where no

one can get at it; the Church must

spread this doctrine, it must defend

it, it must explain it in accordance

with the growing needs of man-

kind. But, above all, it must not

add to it. The Church is Christ’s

Church; in it, He continues as the
teacher of mankind. When the
Church makes an infallible defini-

tion of dogma, it solemnly pro-

nounces that this particular point

is and has always been in the body

of truths which came from God.

This does not mean that each

and every one of these truths must

be found in the Scriptures in so

many words. To take some simple

examples, it is nowhere stated in

the Scriptures that our Lord ever

had a meal before the one in the

house of Peter in Capharnaum.

Must we conclude that this is the
first time He ever ate? It is no-
where stated that He had a nose
or eyebrows or eyelids. But is it

not necessary that a perfect man

have these things ? And thus, many

of the definitions of the Church

concern matters that are neces-

sarily implicit in Scripture, without

being put into so many words.

The Catholic Church has the

deepest reverence for the Sacred

Scriptures. They are the most sacred

possession of the Church, aside

only from Christ Himself present

in the Holy Eucharist. But we can-

not mistake that the work of Christ

on earth was to found the Reign of

God on earth in the Kingdom of

God, His Church. It was to this

Church that He entrusted the body
of truths that men must accept.

And these truths have been pre-

served in the life of the Church-

in its prayers, in its practices, in

the things it avoids as contrary to

the teachings of Christ, and in the

things it requires as absolutely

necessary. This is what is known as

Divine Tradition. And this too is

the object of the solemn definition

of the Church, to whom Christ has

committed the preservation, the ex-

planation, and the defense of the

truths of salvation. In Christ’s ex-

ternal Kingdom of God on earth,

this not a difficult thing to under-

stand.

16



VICEROY IN THE KINGDOM

OF GOD

As the aged Apostle John

looked back on his life with

the Master, he could not

forget those first days when

he and a few others had

begun to follow Christ.

There was a rather mys-

terious incident that took

place, an incident that found

its explanation only in the

years to follow. Andrew, one

of the first of the disciples, had

brought his brother, Simon, to

Jesus. "But Jesus, looking upon

him, said, 'Thou art Simon, the son

of John; thou shalt be called Cephas

(which interpreted is Peter)’ ” (John

1:42).

"Cephas” is an Aramaic word

meaning rock in its natural position,

bed-rock. To John and the other

Apostles, the equivalent of this in

Greek was the word "petros” or

"Peter.” In later years, Simon is

sometimes called by the Aramaic

form of his name, Cephas, some-

times by the Greek form, Peter.

The more exact Greek word would

have been the word, "petra,” a fem-

inine noun. But it would have been

strange to call Simon by a female

name. There is no doubt about the

meaning of Cephas, nor any doubt

that the Apostles used the Greek

word "petros” as its transla-

tion and equivalent.

Among people of ancient

times in the Near East, the

name of a thing or person

was of great importance. It

was to be the expression of

the character or nature of

that thing or person. Thus,

the name of God does not

simply mean the word "God.”

It means the character of God as He

has revealed Himself to us. Hence,

in Israelite history, God sometimes

changed the names of men to whom

He entrusted great tasks or duties.

This was to indicate the internal

change that He had worked in

them to fit them for those duties.

The name of Abram was changed

by God to that of "Abraham”

(Genesis 17:5). The name of Jacob

was changed by God to "Israel”

(Genesis 32:28).

In New Testament times, the

name of John was given to the

Baptist by an angel, to express the

character and function of the Bap-

tist; so, too, the name of Jesus was

revealed by the angel Gabriel, as

expressing His character and func-

tion in the work of Redemption

(Luke 1:13 and 31). Now we hear

our Lord tell Simon at their first

17



meeting that his name will be

changed to Cephas, meaning rock.

He says no more at this time. But

one who knows the meaning of

"name” to the Israelites must ask

himself: what is this change to be

worked in Simon which is expressed

by the term "rock”?

What’s In A Name?

Four times in the New Testa-
ment the list 6f the Twelve is given:

Matthew 10:2, Mark 3:16, Luke

6:14, Acts 1:13. The order of the

names differs in each list, with one

exception: the name of Simon Peter

is at the head of every list. In all

three lists in the Gospels, it is noted

that Simon’s name was changed to

Peter; no mention is made that our

Lord changed the name of any of

the others.

Throughout the Gospels, Simon

Cephas is the foremost of the Apos-

tles, the spokesman for them ail.

There might be many reasons as-

singed for this. But the more strik-

ing fact is that Jesus continually

singles out Simon Cephas rather

than the beloved diciple, John. Jesus

lived at the house of Peter in Cap-

harnaum (Luke 4:38). He taught the

people from the boat of Simon Peter,

rather than from those of others who

were there (Luke 5:3). To Simon

Peter He granted the power to walk

on the storm-tossed waters of the Sea

of Galilee (Matthew 14:28-32). He

worked a miracle to pay the Temple

tax for Himself and Simon Cephas

(Matthew 17:23-26). He offered a

special prayer for Peter that his faith

would not fail in spite of the most

violent attacks of Satan (Luke 22:

31-32). After His Resurrection, He

appeared to Simon Peter before He
did to the group of Apostles (Luke

24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5). To

Simon Cephas He foretold the death
that awaited him (John 21:18).

We ask again, what does all this
mean? Or is it meaningless chance?

Jesus is the Son of God. He is su-

premely wise. He did nothing use-
lessly or foolishly, nor was He the

object of whim and caprice. We
draw no particular conclusion from

all this. But we do seek a satisfac-

tory reason for His manner of act-

ing in relation to Simon Cephas.

The Answer To A Puzzle

The summer before His Passion,

Jesus Himself gave the answer that

puts meaning into the facts about

Simon Peter that call for some ex-

planation. The time had come for

the Apostles to make profession of

faith in His Person and mission.

"He said to them, ’But who do you

say that I am?’ Simon Peter an-

swered: 'Thou art the Christ, the

Son of the living God.’” To this

magnificent statement of Simon

Cephas, Christ replies in kind by

describing in turn the person and

mission of Peter. "Blessed art thou,

Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood

has not revealed this to thee, but

my Father who is in heaven. And I

say to thee, thou art Peter, and upon

this rock I will build my Church,

and the gates of hell shall not pre-

vail against it. And I will give thee

the keys of the Kingdom of Heav-

en; and whatever thou shalt bind

on earth shall be bound in heaven,

and whatever thou shalt loose on

earth shall be loosed in heaven”

(Matthew 16:15-19).

18



A Scene of Fury
and Struggle

This description of the Church

of Christ, His Kingdom on earth,

seems on the surface to be peaceful

and serene. Actually, it is a scene

of furious turmoil and struggle that

will go on between the reign of

evil and the Reign of God on earth

until the end of time. All the power

of the reign of evil ("the gates of

hell”) will be mustered and will

fling itself against the Church of

Christ like a mighty torrent in flood

flinging itself against a house to

throw it down and destroy it. Never

will the struggle cease until the end

of time, for never can there be

peace between the reign of the evil

one and the Reign of God. But of

the outcome, there is no doubt; the

power of evil can never overthrow

the Church of God on earth. For

Christ is acting like the wise man

"building a house, who dug deep

and laid a foundation upon rock.

And when a flood came, the stream

broke against that house and could

not shake it, because it was found-

ed on rock” (Luke 6:48).

On What Rock?

This is the response of Jesus

for the profession of faith in the

Person and mission of Jesus. This

is the change of Simon’s name to

Cephas, meaning "rock,” long ago

predicted by Jesus Himself (John

1:42). This is the explanation of

why the word "rock” (Cephas) ex-

presses the change worked by God

in Simon—for, we repeat, the

change of a name by God is indica-

tive of a change in the character

or mission of a person. There is no

need, no, there is no place for dis-

puting the Greek distinction be-

tween petrel and petros. Cephas,

in the Aramaic language, means

bed-rock. Cephas was the name

promised to Simon by Jesus. Petros

or Peter is the New Testament
equivalent of that Aramaic word.

What Christ, then, says to Simon

in describing his mission is: "Thou

art Cephas, and on this Cephas I will

build my Church, and the gates of

hell will not prevail against it.”

In the last four hundred years,

every other conceivable explanation

of the rock on which Christ built

His Church has been explored. But

always, something is lacking: these

explanations fail to explain why

Jesus changed the name of Simon;

they fail to explain where is the

blessing pronounced upon Simon,

and usually succeed in making this

so-called blessing sound like ridi-

cule or mockery; they fail to justify

any other meaning to the expres-

sion, "this rock,” without having

recourse to gestures that contradict

the text—such as Jesus pointing to

Himself when He says it—or to

meanings that do not exist in New
Testament language—such as "the

rock” meaning the faith of Peter.

Why A Rock?
In His preaching to the people,

in His special instructions to the

Apostles, Jesus pointed out clearly

that He would establish on earth

an external Kingdom of God, a

permanent union of men, working

together for the end of the glory

of God and their own internal holi-

ness and salvation under the direc-

19



tion of authorities. Without author-

ity a society ceases to exist. There

is anarchy. Men work for their own

selfish ends. There is no common

end, no common good.

Authority gives stability and

firmness to a society. Only through

authority are men bound together

into a society; only through au-

thority can they attain their com-

mon end. Authority in a society is

like the bed-rock on which a house

is built: "and when a flood came,

the stream broke against that house

and could not shake it, because it

was founded on rock.”

Because founded on Cephas, the

rock, the Church of Christ will

withstand the raging torrents of the

power of hell, the gates of hell;

never will it crumble. To Simon

Peter, therefore, is promised that

which gives firmness and stability

to a society—authority, the power

of ruling with the authority of

God. There will be, then, in the

Kingdom of God a supreme ruling

power which will be the source of

its successful resistance to the con-

stant attack of the kingdom of evil.

"Rock” and "Corner Stone”

But what of the statement in 1

Peter 2:6-7, which refers to Jesus

as "a chief corner stone” and says

further that "a stone which the

builders rejected, the same has be-

come the head of the corner.” Paul,

likewise in Ephesians 2:20 refers

to "Christ Jesus himself as the chief

corner stone.”

Both these references call to

mind the parable of the vine-dress-

ers in Matthew 21:33 ff. The figure

in the parable is in turn taken from

Psalm 117 (118), and is based on

the figure of men selecting stones

for the construction of a building.

Actually, the stone that mere men

reject as unfit for the building is

the one which, in God’s intention,

is the very corner stone of the

building, the stone which by its

nature and place gives strength and

cohesion to the building. This cer-

tainly is the position of Christ in

the Church.

The figure of the "rock” and of

the "stone” are simply two differ-

ent figures. The Apostles are show-

ing the nature of the Church to the

early converts. They use the figure

of the living Temple of God (1

Corinthians 3:16-17). Jesus is speak-

ing of the function of Simon Peter

in the Church which He is build-

ing, His Kingdom, for which He

places the bed-rock.

To try to combine these two fig-

ures into one would be like trying

to combine the "word-picture” of

Christ as the Lamb of God (John

1:36) with that of Christ as the

Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14). To

mix up pictures in this way is to

defeat the purpose of Scripture.

Steward of The Lord

The keys of a household are the

symbol of authority over that house-

hold. They may be held by the

master and owner of the household;

or entrusted by him to one who

holds his place in his absence. The

power of the keys is the power in

a household to admit or to exclude

others. It is the power to dispense

to the other members of the house-

hold the goods of the master.

In the visible Kingdom of Heaven

here on earth, Jesus has entrusted

20



the power of the keys to Simon Peter.

He does not cease to be King in His

Kingdom. But in His absence, He

entrusts the administration of the

household to Simon Peter: "To thee

I will give the keys of the Kingdom

of Heaven.” He will thus have all

power in the Kingdom, subject al-

ways to Him who is the Master. All

other members of the Kingdom are

thus subject to the Steward of the

Lord.

Our Lord leaves no room for

misunderstanding. In His blessing

of Simon Cephas, He adds still a

third figure to emphasize the com-

pleteness of the authority of Peter

in the Kingdom, and to show how

God will guide him in the exercise

of this authority.

Binding and Loosing

God cannot say that what is wrong

is right, or that what is right is

wrong. We have seen that the power
of binding and loosing is the power

of imposing obligations or of remov-

ing obligations. To Simon Cephas is

given individually the power to im-

pose or remove all obligations in the

Kingdom. And in his exercise of that

power, he will be guided by God

in such way that God will bind in

heaven what he binds on earth;

God will loose in heaven what he

looses on earth.

This magnificent blessing of

Simon Peter is in no way lessened

by Jesus’ later statement to the

whole body of Apostles: "Amen I

say to you, whatever you bind on

earth shall be bound also in heaven;

and whatever you loose on earth

shall be loosed also in heaven”

(Matthew 18:18). This, we have

seen, is a promise to the body of

the Apostles as a group, not to

each individual one of the group.

It does not contradict the promise

of supreme power to Simon Peter.

It leaves him still, by the action of

God Himself, as the head of the

Apostolic body. It leaves to him the

power to do personally all that the

body could do as a body.

What Happens

After Simon Cephas?

Our Lord knew very well that

Peter would not live as long as the

struggle between the Reign of God

and the reign of evil would last.

This is obvious. But He had made

Simon Cephas the rock of stabil-

ity of His Kingdom. What would

happen when Simon dies? Would

the Kingdom as Christ founded it

change? Or would it yield in defeat

to the "gates of hell”? Rather, is

not this the obvious intention of

the Master: so long as the Church

on earth would exist, it would find

its stability in the office of supreme

leader which was first entrusted to

Peter?

Christ Has No Successor
Simon Cephas does not replace

Christ as the head of the Church.

Peter will have his successors as the

visible delegate or viceroy of Christ

in the Kingdom. Christ has no suc-

cessor in anyone. He speaks of the

Church as MY Church. All power in
the Kingdom is His own by right.

What power is exercised is deter-

mined by Him alone. It is His power,

entrusted to man for a time till He

will come again in power with His

angels to establish the perfect and

final Kingdom.

21



SHEPHERD OF THE FLOCK

OF CHRIST

In the months that followed

upon these promises of

Jesus to Simon Peter and

the Apostolic body occurred

the tragic events which

were the climax of the life

of Jesus on earth—His be-

trayal, His Passion, His ter-

rible death upon the Cross.

These came as no surprise

to Jesus; it was for this that

He had come into the world. He

knew beforehand what would hap-

pen, and He foretold it to His

Apostles with ever increasing clar-

ity (Luke 9:42; 9:44-45; 18-31-33).

And when He promised Simon

Peter and the Apostles their place

in the Kingdom of God on earth,

He knew what would be their con-

duct at the time of these events.

There was no need for Him to

change His first plans. On the very

night of His betrayal, when all were

most firmly with Him in their own

minds, He told them:

"You will all be scandalized this

night; for it is written: 'I will smite

the shepherd, and the sheep will be

scattered’” (Mark 14:27).

"Behold the hour is coming, and

has already come for you to be

scattered, each one to his own house,

and to leave me alone. But I am not

alone, because the Father is

with me” (John 16:32).

To Simon Peter, Jesus

foretold the terrible trial that

all would experience. But He

also provided that they would

come through it without

final harm:

"Simon, Simon,” Jesus

said, "behold, Satan has de-

sired to have you, that he

may sift you (that is, the Twelve) as

wheat. But I have prayed for thee

(that is, for Simon in particular) that

thy faith may not fail; and do thou,

when once thou hast turned again,

strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:

31-32).

Simon was that night to deny

that he knew this Jesus. And yet

it is the prayer of Christ, the Son of

God, that his faith will never fail,

but will be the source of strength

of all in the Apostolic group.

After the Resurrection Jesus

spoke again to Simon Peter, giving

him commission to undertake the

office which had been promised to

him months before. The scene is

the Sea of Galilee. The outstand-

ing figure of the whole scene is

Simon Peter. But it is the words of

Christ to Simon that interest us, in

view of the background that has

22



been laid for them in the Gospels.

"Feed My Lambs”
"Jesus said to Simon Peter,

'Simon, son of John, dost thou love

me more than these do?’ He said

to him, 'Yes, Lord, thou knowest

that I love thee.’ He said to him,

'Feed my lambs.’
”

A second time Jesus questioned
Peter, and then a third; after the

second question, He repeated, "Feed

my lambs,” and after the third,

"Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17).

The figure of the shepherd in

the Old Testament indicates God’s

rule over His people (Isaias 40:

10-11). It likewise indicates the rule

of the Old Testament king over the

people of God; the king in the Israel-

ite nation, rules with God’s power

as the shepherd over his flock

(Psalm 77 (78): 70-72).

Our Lord takes this figure into

His own preaching in the Gospels.

In John 10:1-18, He describes His

position as the Good Shepherd who

rules over His flock, His followers.

As their shepherd, He calls them

and they obey; He directs them, and

they follow His direction.

Jesus is soon to leave the flock

here on earth, and return to His

Father in heaven. The flock will

need some visible shepherd to whom

they can look for guidance. Thus,

to Simon is given the office of chief

shepherd of the flock on earth. It

is a power that comes from Christ.

Hence it is the power to teach and

to rule the followers of Christ, His

flock, in such a way as to bring

about their internal holiness and

eternal salvation. To Peter alone

this is spoken. It is three times re-

peated. It is spoken in the presence

of seven other Apostles, who are

excluded from this special commis-

sion. It is true that to them was given

the commission to teach, to rule, and

to sanctify. To no one of them, save

Peter, was the whole flock entrusted.

The Shepherd and

His Flock

The basic teaching of the Church

was by word of mouth, through

those whom Christ had sent to teach

—either the Apostles or those who

were given a share in their power.

The Scriptures were never written

to take the place of this living

teaching power. By this, we do not

make light of the sacred character

of these books. We respect their
sacred nature by reading and using

them according to the purpose for

which they were written.

The book of Acts, we repeat, is

a little history of the great and im-

portant steps in the establishment

of the Kingdom of God on earth.

It is not a book of basic instruction.

But it does accurately depict the

results of the basic instruction of

the faithful. The dominant figure

in chapters 13 to the end, with the

exception of chapter 15, is Paul. It

relates how the Church spread from

one to another of the great areas of

the ancient world. In chapters 1 to 12

and in chapter 15, the history con-

cerns the great steps in the de-

termination of the policy of the

Church. The dominant figure in this

section is Peter.No single important
policy is attributed to any other

Apostle. Every one is attributed to

him, except the beginning of the

order of Deacons (Acts 6), and this

23



is attributed to the whole body of

the Apostles, of which Peter is head.

It is Simon Peter who organizes

the selection of a successor to Judas,

and lays down the conditions for

this selection (Acts 1). In the first

public defense of Christianity, it is

Peter who speaks with authority

for the Twelve (Acts 2). Peter cures

the lame beggar, preaches in the

Temple, and defends the faith in

Jesus as Messias before the San-

hedrin (Acts 3, 4). Peter pro-

nounces sentence on Ananias and

Sapphira for their sin of tempting

God (Acts 5). The very shadow of

Peter falling on the sick cures them

(Acts 5:15). "Peter and the apos-

tles” defend the faith a second time

before the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:21

ff). Peter pronounces sentence on

Simon the Magician (Acts 8). Peter

visits all the newly founded churches

(Acts 9). Peter receives from God

a revelation to admit the Gentiles

into the Church without submission

to the Jewish law (Acts 10). Peter is

miraculously delivered from prison

by an angel (Acts 12).

The Council of Jerusalem

Peter’s place in the Council of

Jerusalem ‘is most important to

note. The policy of admitting the

Gentiles had found its justification

in the action of Peter (Acts 10).

Yet some looked upon this as

an exception, not to be repeated.

But when Peter arose and laid down

the rule that this was not an excep-

tion, but the rule to be followed al-

ways, "the whole meeting quieted

down and listened while Barnabas

and Paul told of the great signs and

wonders that God had done among

the Gentiles through them” (Acts

15:7-12). James in his speech mere-

ly offers suggestions to make this

decision acceptable to the converts

from Judaism (Acts 15:13-21).

Vicar of Christ on Earth

To Simon Peter, then is given su-

preme and absolute authority over

a clearly defined group of men (the

Church, the Kingdom of God, the

sheep of Christ). The purpose of

this authority is to bring about,

through God’s power, that internal

holiness which was the very reason

why Christ came on earth among us.

There are many today who echo

the words of some of the disciples:

"This is a hard saying. Who can
listen to it?” And they "turned back

and no longer went about with him”

(John 6:61-67). To them, it seems

an intolerable slavery of the spirit

to be subject in religious matters to

a mere man, like themselves. If this

were subjection to a mere man, we

would heartily agree. But it is not

a slavery of the spirit to subject

oneself to God; it is the only free-

dom the spirit has. If God has

vested man with His authority,

then by learning from them, we

learn from Him; by obeying them,

we obey Him. Thus we can work

together toward the eternal goal of

salvation with all the confidence

of knowing the will of God. This

is not slavery—this is freedom, se-

curity, the peace of Christ!

24



The Powers of Peter Today

L

The conclusion that we must

draw from the description

of the office of Simon Peter

is that he and his successors

as Vicars of Christ are in-

fallible. Simon Peter was the

rock on which Christ built

His Church. His office was

to be the source of firmness

in this Church while the

powers of hell are constant-

ly beating against it to throw it

down. But hell will never prevail

over the power of God in the

Church as Christ has established it.

This must mean that Christ through

His divine power cannot allow the

supreme teacher in that Church to

teach what is false. If he did so,

the Church as Christ founded it

would have changed. It would have

failed to preserve His teaching for

all men. The power of hell would

have prevailed, and would have

caused the Church which Christ

built on the rock to crumble. These

are impossible suppositions, in view

of the divine nature of Jesus. He

must, then, preserve the supreme

teacher from error in leading the

flock, the flock which Jesus had

entrusted to Simon Peter and his

successors in His absence.

Furthermore, our Lord in His

prayer for Simon Peter

(Luke 22:31-32) prayed that

he would be the source of

firmness in faith for his

brethren. This is the prayer

of the Son of God for some-

thing that affects the very

basis of the Kingdom of God

on earth. Such a prayer can-

not be unanswered.

The Pope, as the Bishop

of Rome, is the direct successor of

Simon Peter, the first bishop of

Rome. Thus he succeeds to the office

which Peter held — that of visible
head of the Church, the represen-

tative of Christ to whom the
Church belongs by right. Thus also,

he enjoys the privilege that was

granted Simon Peter as visible head

of the Church— the privilege of
infallibility as supreme teacher in

the Church.

Infallibility, then, has nothing to

do with the personal conduct of

the Pope; it does not mean that he

cannot sin. It has to do with his

office as teacher — but not teacher
of anything and everything. Christ

gave to His Church the command

to "make disciples of all nations

baptizing them in the name of

the Father and of the Son and of

the Holy Spirit, teaching them to

25



observe all that I have commanded

you” (Matthew 28:19-20). It is the

duty of the Church to preserve all

this teaching of Christ, to spread it,

to explain it, to defend it against

all attacks. The office of Pope as

supreme teacher concerns this body

of doctrine. It does not concern the

secrets of the atomic bomb, the size

of the population of China, or the

state of the weather tomorrow. But

when he teaches as supreme pastor

regarding the truths of revelation,

he cannot err — not because of any
natural talent of his, but because

Christ through the Holy Spirit will

keep him from error. The Vatican

Council of the Catholic Church de-

fines and describes this privilege

in these words: "When he (the

Pope) speaks ex cathedra, that is,

when, in fulfilling his office as

supreme shepherd and teacher of

all Christians, by virtue of his

supreme Apostolic authority, he

defines a doctrine concerning faith

or morals to be held by the whole

Church, he enjoys that same infalli-

bility with which our Divine Re-

deemer willed His Church to be

endowed in defining doctrine per-

taining to faith and morals.”

In breaking down this statement

into its elements, we see the manner

in which the Pope exercises his in-

fallible teaching power.

The person: the Pope when he

speaks as 'supreme shepherd and

teacher of all Christians.

The matter: doctrines pertaining

to faith and morals.

The expression: a final statement

which demands absolute consent

and submission on the part of all

the Church, because of the mani-

fest intention of the Pope to bind

the whole Church to accept the

truth defined as of faith.

Under these circumstances, then,

the Pope personally exercises that

privilege which Christ gave to the

Church — to teach, define, and de-
fend His doctrine in such a way

that there can be no error. As ex-

plained before in regard to the

General Councils, these are not

"novelties and new doctrines.”

Neither the Pope, nor the General

Council can add to the body of

doctrine which Christ entrusted to

His Church either by His own

action or through the revelations of

the Holy Spirit. The definitions of

the Pope make clear for all to see

what has been in this revelation

from the beginning. As explained

in regard to the General Council,

many of these things are to be found

in the Sacred Scriptures — not al-
ways in so many words, but in such

a way that they are truly contained

in the statements of the Scriptures.

Others are to be found in the Divine

Tradition. Christ instituted an ex-

ternal Kingdom of God in which,

through other men, He would con-

tinue to teach, rule, and sanctify

men to the end of time. It is to this

Church then, that He entrusted the

truths that are to be believed and the

commandments that are to be

obeyed in order to attain eternal

salvation. These truths, as preserved

in the life of the Church—in its

prayers, in its practices, in the things

it avoids as contrary to divine truth

and in those that it requires as nec-

essary-make up what is known as

Divine Tradition.

Since the Church has the right

26



and duty to defend and to explain

this teaching of the Master, it can

—either through the infallible teach-

ing of the General Councils or of

the Pope — pronounce on those
truths that are necessary to defend

and to explain the divine revelation

given to it.

As is quite evident from this, the

Pope does not usually make solemn

definitions even on matters per-

taining to faith and morals. The in-

fallible statement is a most solemn

statement, and thus rather rarely

made, when there is need to pro-

claim or defend divine truths in

such a way no one can be mistaken

about the teaching of Christ through

His Church.

The Pope Without

Infallibility

As the supreme teacher of the

Church, the Pope makes many other

pronouncements in various ways

for the direction of the Church. In

these statements or teachings, the

Pope acts with the authority of

Christ and under the guidance of

the Holy Spirit promised by Christ

to His Church. These statements are

usually applications of the divinely

revealed truths of the faith to cur-

rent difficulties and problems. Their

purpose is not merely to prevent the

faithful from falling into heresy by

the denial of divinely revealed truth;

they are designed to guide the faith-

ful to a more perfect knowledge

of divine truth and the more com-

plete practice of this truth in all

aspects of current life. Thus through

these teachings the love of Christ

grows more and more in the hearts

of the faithful and the union of

the faithful in Christ is made more

and more perfect. Needless to say,

the faithful are not free to disregard

these teachings coming from the

supreme teacher in the Church for

the purpose of their advance in

truth and holiness.

The Supreme Shepherd

To recall in brief what we have

explained in the preceding two

chapters, our Lord gave to Simon

Cephas supreme ruling power in

the external Kingdom of God which

He founded. He was to be the rock

which would give stability to the

Church — the rock which is the
symbol of authority, on which every

society is based. To him in a special

way were given the keys of the

Kingdom — symbols of power over
the household of Christ in His visi-

ble absence. To him, in a special

manner, was given the power of

binding and loosing all things. He

in a most special way was made the

shepherd of the flock of Christ, with

authority to lead them to their eter-

nal goal in heaven.

As successor to Simon Peter, the

Pope also has supreme power in the

Church — not just in teaching what
pertains to faith and morals, but in

ruling and guiding all to the prac-

tice of these truths. His power,

then, extends to all parts of the

world. It includes all bishops, the

clergy, and the faithful individually.

Men of all classes and races, of the
highest as well as the simplest of

talents and education accept these

facts for one reason only: not

because physical fear or force is

brought against them, not because

27



they are a source of wealth and

power, but for the simple reason

that Christ has so commanded, and

they listen to His voice: "He who

hears you, hears me; and he who

rejects you, rejects me; and he who

rejects me, rejects him who sent me”

(Luke 10:16).

Truth or Trickery?

There are many who have been

taught and who sincerely believe

that Christ did not intend to found

one single Church. They believe

that He started something like a

"Christian” movement in which

everyone would move in his own

way. Thus they believe that the

Catholic Church is the most tre-

mendous hoax ever worked against

mankind — a deception that has
tricked billions of people over many

centuries of time. And yet, the facts

of history as described in the New

Testament show that Christ founded

a single Church, a Church of which

He is both founder and head, a

Church governed in His absence by

a representative called the Vicar of

Christ and by a distinct body of men

who share in this teaching and gov-

erning power. There is only one

Church in the world that meets

those requirements — the Catholic
Church. No one dare ignore this
claim. It is too great to be dismissed

without consideration.

There are many, also, who sin-

cerely believe that the leaders of

the Catholic Church— especially the

Pope — have stolen the place of the
Son of God as head of the Church.

They believe that it is the diabolic

(this is the only word that fits) work

of the Catholic Church to put

the worship of something merely

human in the place of the worship

of God.

But the teachings of the Catholic

Church are a matter of public record

through the centuries down to the

present day. These teachings pro-

pose and defend the divinity of

Jesus Christ, the Trinity of Persons

in one God as the center of worship

and the ideal of perfection. They

bind the members of the Catholic

Church to a necessary minimum of

the practice of virtue, and they lead

these members to the practice of

the heroic virtue that is found in

the lives of the Saints. These teach-

ings explain the union of men in

Christ and the work of the Holy

Spirit who produces in the souls of

men that image of Christ.

There are, of course, the lives of

bad Catholics; they are bad, not be-

cause they are Catholics, but in spite

of it. These lives are to many a

stumbling block to accepting the

Catholic Church as the one true

Church of Christ. But men were

warned from the beginning that

this would be so; we have spoken

before of the Parable of the Weeds

(Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43) and

of the Parable of the Net (Matthew

13:47-50).

If the claims of the Catholic

Church are beyond the expectations

of human beings, the Catholic can

only answer: "We didn’t say that.

God did.”

28



KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS - RELIGIOUS INFORMATION BUREAU
4422 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis 8, Missouri

List of pamphlets available at the above address. One title may be requested at a time free

of charge. Several titles, complete sets, and quantities of individual pamphlets may be ordered

at 7c for each pamphlet, plus postage.

1. You Hear Strange Things About

Catholics — statues, tolerance . .

.

2. Why Catholics Keep Running to
Church — Marks of the Church

3. The Bible is a Catholic Book

4. Why Millions Call Him "Holy
Father”—Facts about the Pope

5. Christ’s Seven Sacraments

6. The Holy Sacrifice — the Catholic
Mass

7. Why the Catholic Church says "Inves-
tigate”'— Masons, Inquisition, Nuns

8. Speaking of Tolerance — Controver-
sial periods in history

9. These Men They Call "Knights”

10. Why Catholics Believe As They Do
— Existence of God, Immortality

11. A Short Story of the Popes

12. Let’s Stick to Moses — Ten Com-
mandments explained

13. But Can It Be Found in the Bible?—

Bible not sole rule of faith

14. What Happens After Death? — Pur-
gatory, Resurrection, etc.

15. Yes ... I Condemned the Catholic

Church — Drinking and Gambling,
Annulments, Mixed Marriages

16. What Do You Mean "Only One True
Church”?

17. But How Can Educated People Be
Catholics? — Reliability of the Gos-
pel’s account of Christ.

18. No . . . Belief in God is not Enough!
Meaning of religion

19- The Real Secret of Successful Mar-

riage

20. The Way to Everlasting Life . . . The
Catholic Church — God’s plan of re-
demption

21. Is the Catholic Church a Menace to

Democracy?

22. But Do You Really Understand the
Bible? — Rules for understanding

23. A Letter to Our Non-Catholic Neigh-
bors — Aspects of Catholic faith

24. Yes, the Mother of God Will Help
You!

25. What Makes a Woman Choose Such
a Life? — Life of a Catholic Nun

26. I’ll Tell You Why I Am a Catholic
27. Why So Many Decide to Become

Catholics — Convert stories

28. Let Us Judge Catholics by the Bible
— Prayer to Saints, unmarried priests

29- But Would Christ Call You a Chris-
tian? — Application of Beatitudes to
daily life

30. But Do You Understand What God
Has Told Us? — Apostles’ Creed

31. Should Children Learn About God
in School?

32. The Bible Is Not Our Sole Guide

33. This Was the Faith of Our Fathers

34. These Are Our Seven Deadly Enemies
— Seven capital sins explained

35. Let’s Test Catholic Loyalty — A Good
Catholic is a good citizen

36. Remember the Sabbath . . . Keep It

Holy — The "Sabbath Question”

37. I Am a Catholic Priest
38. But Why the Candles, Holy Water

and Beads? — Sacramentals

39. The Reformation. Was It Reform or
Revolt?

40. Why I Had to Embrace the Catholic
Faith — Convert stories

41. Yes, Miracles Happened at Fatima

42. Does the Bible Contradict Itself? —

Peter the Rock, Faith and/or Works

43. I Was Warned About the Catholic
Church! — Religious Liberty

44. Why a Woman Needs the Catholic
Faith

!

45. The Early Years of the Catholic

Church — First three centuries
46. Yes ... A Priest Can Forgive Your

Sins — Sacrament of Penance

47. But Why Don’t You Pray to the
Saints? — Communion of Saints

48. God’s Story of Creation — Genesis
49- Is the Catholic Church Out of Place

Here? — Catholicism and Loyalty
50. This Is the Catholic Church — Creed,

Sacraments, Mass, Commandments

51. Revelation ... A Divine Message of
Hope — Revelations or Apocalypse

52. Does It Pay to be a Catholic? — How
to be a Catholic

53. Think About Death and Start to Live

— Catholic attitude toward death
54. What Do You Find Wrong With

the Catholic Church? — Loss of faith,
how to return to the Church



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,
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