Upon This Rock

In my spare time I wander about the Christian and Catholic forums on the internet. The following is an exchange which I hope will provide useful information for those seeking the truth about the Catholic Faith. The exchange is with a non-Catholic Christian.



From the Questioner:

The word pope does not appear in the Holy Bible.

Actually, a form of it does...Pope=Papa=Father

However, this is not important...the important thing is it wouldn't matter if it did or didn't appear in the Bible in any form because that excludes Sacred Tradition from faith. The word "Holy Bible" doesn’t appear in the Holy Bible...except on the cover and on the table of contents--hmm--where did the table of contents come from?

From the Questioner:

The Roman Catholic Church did not exist when Jesus told Peter he was the Rock
upon which he built His Church.

You seem insistent on using "Roman Catholic Church" as if to differentiate between two Churches...there only the Catholic Church, that is, the Rites/Churches in communion with the Bishop of Rome--the Successor of St. Peter. Furthermore, Peter did become the first leader of the Catholic Church when Christ gave him the keys to Heaven, the power to bind and loose, then later on breathed on them to receive the Holy Spirit, and commanded Peter to feed His flock and tend His sheep. The traditional "birthday of the Church" is Pentecost. Though I usually don't usually like to link tracts ad nauseam, it appears you have some major misconception about the origins of the Catholic Faith unfortunately I can't write as much as I'd like so if you would like some personal reading for edification...

Peter's Papacy
Peter, The Rock
Authority of the Pope, Part 1
Authority of the Pope, Part 2


From the Questioner:

There is no proof but do we really need any? We know that Peter was the first
leader of the Christian/Catholic Church. Why do we concern ourselves in proving
or disproving that Peter was the first pope or that the Roman Catholic Church
is the only correct church.

1. There is proof--it is found through the Sacred Tradition of the Church and the clear succession and lineage of the Successors of St. Peter...
List of Popes

From CNN:

But the 264th occupant of the throne of St. Peter was no more silenced by their
misgivings than by the assassin's bullet he survived in 1981 or the progressive
ailments, including Parkinson's disease, that he withstood for at least a
decade.

It's amazing when even CNN acknowledges a truth of the Church

2. Yes we do need it--we know Christ's (one universal Church) will not be overcome by the powers of Hell and that Church has both the teaching authority of Christ and the power to bind and loose.
3. Why do we concern ourselves with "proving Peter was the first Pope?" well because it is A.) Easy and B.) An essential part of the Catholic faith.
4. We also seek to defend the objective truth of Catholicism because we know that the fullness of Truth can be found in the Catholic Church and it is our duty, rather, our command to take that message to all nations.


From Questioner:

We should celebrate our faith together instead of bickering over differences
that cannot be proven or disproven.

We should celebrate our similarities...and I look forward to the day that we can all celebrate our Faith (singular). Bickering is not Christian, but apathy about the Truth isn't either. As a Catholic I am called to charitably called to share my faith with others. I try to walk a fine line between not being rude, but also being completely honest and open.

From the Questioner:

Our entire Christianity and salvation is based upon our faith.

That's not what the Catholic Church says...ergo it goes back to the point that every challenge of Catholicism is, at it's heart, a challenge of the Church's authority...making it essential to share the Truth of Catholicism.

Grace, What Does it Do?
Is Salvation Assured?
Necessity of Baptism
By What Authority?

From the Questioner:

We cannot prove our faith, the existence of God of the fact that Jesus was the
Son of God who died and was resurrected for the New Covenant.

The Catholic Faith can be adequately explained using reason but to believe it takes motivation from the Holy Spirit and your cooperation. As far as proving Jesus existed, died, and was resurrected--we have to rely on the same things we rely on to prove other historical events happened...written and unwritten history--but as Christians we hold that those are both sacred and inspired/protected.

Reccomended Reading:

Upon This Rock