Popes Aren't Perfect

Feb. 22: Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle

A lot of non-Catholics object to the idea of a pope. There have been some truly awful popes, which shouldn’t surprise anyone, but bad popes don’t disprove the papacy founded by Christ Himself. Or as Hilaire Belloc says, they may even be evidence in its favor—

I suspect underlying a lot of the skepticism of Church hierarchy stems from a modern idolatry of democracy. While it might be the most efficient way of governing when a society has shared values, there’s nothing inherently virtuous in a popularity contest. Two wolves and a sheep can vote on what’s for dinner.

Most strange are the Protestants—who do believe in a single, unelected ruler reigns over all the universe—that feel like they should hire and fire individual pastors by popular demand. Sheep don’t vote for their shepherd.

No pope is perfect, but under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can still trust that the Church will continue to be a blessing to us all.

Reading 1

1 Pt 5:1-4

Beloved: I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Here is Peter, in his role as the chief shepherd, guiding and advising the individual shepherd who watch over the local flocks. Priests and religious are meant to be servants to the people, not employees, and certainly not royalty. The Church should be a hierarchy of service.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 23:1-3a, 4, 5, 6

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The clergy are shepherds on Earth, and the pope is chief among them. But Jesus is the shepherd to us all. Priests baptize, bishops confirm, popes confer blessings, but all of them do it through the power of Jesus.

Verse Before the Gospel

Mt 16:18

You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church;
the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

Some claim the text actually says, “you are petros (which they translate as “small rock or stone”) and upon this petra (which they translate as “massive boulder”) I will build my Church.” On this reading, Peter is the “small rock” and Jesus is the “massive boulder.” That’s actually a quirk of Greek, which turns out to be irrelevant, since Matthew was written in Aramaic.

When this was translated to Greek, using petra for “rock,” caused a problem—petra is a feminine noun, so it would have been improper to use it as a man’s name. So instead, they used the masculine petros for Peter’s new name.

In English, rocks don’t have a gender, so the second translation for us modern readers accidentally brings the meaning closer to the original.

Gospel

Mt 16:13-19

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Pope Francis says Jesus asked “a clear and direct question, in the face of which it is not possible to flee or remain neutral, or to send the answer or delegate it to someone else.”

Peter meets the challenge, and answers unambiguously. Jesus is the Christ, and in case anyone is unsure what that means, he adds Son of the living God. It’s about as perfect an answer as one could hope for, and Jesus builds His Church on Peter because of it.

But that doesn’t mean Pope Peter was perfect. It’s not long after this that he’ll publicly deny Jesus three times.

Peter later repented, Jesus forgave him, and the Church has endured for thousands of years after. Worse popes have come and gone, but the Church is still here, and so are we.