Authority Christ entrusts to Peter

Capernaum, June 19, 2019
(Homily given at the House of Peter in Capernaum)
​
In Capernaum by the Sea Galilee we have a Church built over the House of Peter. The readings for Mass at the Church of St. Peter are those acknowledging the Primacy of Peter from St. Matthew 16:13-18. The statue of St. Peter outside the Church in the direction of the Sea of Galilee reveals the symbol of the keys given to him by Jesus Christ, locking and unlocking Earth and Heaven.
​
In St. Matthew’s Gospel Jesus Christ clearly expresses the government that He intended for the Church: entrusted to one person, with authority, in this case Peter, what we call the office of the Papacy. Exercise of authority is central to Church government if we are to preserve unity in the Church. It was providential that both Peter and Paul ended their lives in Rome because the capital of the Empire had a highly efficient form of government ensuring unity in the empire, with a network of roads and ports facilitating communication.
​
One of the hallmarks of Catholicism willed by Jesus Himself is a Church and ensured by the Holy Spirit is unity in teachings both in dogma and morals. That is why one person received the keys to the Church: St. Peter and not all the Apostles, otherwise, Jesus could have done this. The context of this passage in Matthew, solid rock, so Simon is called Peter, in an area where solid rocks are found, not sand or desert, the area of Caesarea Philipi as we are told in verse 13 – we have solid rocks. And so Simon becomes Kepa or Kephas in Greek, Petrus in Latin from where we get “Peter.”

---

It is unity makes the Church credible – what we believe shapes how we live. Confusion in western societies today reflects both a lack of authority and not knowing what to believe as true or good. If someone does not believe Catholic teaching because they claim Catholic teaching is non-Biblical, we know that Catholic teachings have their source in the Scriptures, although the Scriptures are not explicit. In other words, Catholic teaching does not contradict the Scriptures. There are fundamental doctrines which we uphold as Christians that are not explicit in the Scriptures:

• Holy Trinity; - Original Sin; - Consubstantial relation between Father and Son.

These are examples of teachings upheld because of papal authority in the midst of theological controversies and disputes in the early Church. The theological controversies emerging in the Eastern Churches turned to Rome to settle these disputes. Leo the Great stamped out heresy at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 where the humanity of the Son of God was denied The words echoed: “Peter has spoken through the mouth of Leo.” This is also true for moral teachings. While one Christian community after another seems to be capitulating to modern errors of morality promoting and parading their sins -- an abomination before God -- like slapping God across the face -- the Catholic Church draws from Scriptures, Tradition, and Natural Law, and the Church has battled to maintain moral truths in the midst of relentless opposition

This battle on the part of the Church has led to finding ways of discrediting the Catholicsim, finding its weaknesses, telescoping the sin of its members, so, people would no longer listen to what the Church teaches. You cannot change Truth. Truth is what it is. Truth has its source in God, not popular opinion or the consensus of the people. And the result of a lack of authoritative leadership: each person who reads the Bible decides on  their own meaning and interpretation, creating new communities, with their own doctrines and morality. It’s endless. The Holy Spirit is not the source of confusion, error and relativism.

If you have questions and you are uncertain about the answers given to you by the priest, or what theologians are saying, go to the Catechism of the Catholic Church which is the authoritative teaching of the Church. Which means: you do your homework. As Catholics we should abhor errors. Errors offend God. Christ gave us the Church, and St. Peter as its authority, papal primacy, so that we could walk in the light and truth that Jesus Christ taught us, and not in the darkness of endless subjective opinions.
​
St. Matthew clearly states the authority given to St. Peter by Jesus – to loose and bind. The Sacrament of Confession is associated with the Keys because the keys lock and unlock heaven. Christ is the one who unlocked heaven for us but He has given these keys to St. Peter in a way that is authoritative and binding. What we believe will shape how we live: the Truth of the Gospel which leads to conversion. If there is no conversion, you have not understood the teachings of Jesus.We do not change the laws or the teachings that come from God. We cannot defend the evil or wickedness that has infiltrated modern ideologies. The attempting to justify the murder of defenseless babies -- how morally sick can a society get? The responsibility of Roman Catholics is to adhere to the Truth. This is why Jesus entrusted His Church to St. Peter.
Let us give thanks to the Office of the Papacy established by Jesus Himself, and for these 2000 years of Church government. Let us pray for the Holy Father, Pope Francis, his fidelity to the mission of Truth, that the Pope will take as his model the Blessed Virgin Mary, who put complete trust in Jesus, the God who saves.