Apologeticae sive Theologiae Fundamentalis, Tomus II (Pars Altera): Demonstratio Catholica

In three classic passages of the Gospels Christ proclaims the infallibility of Peter and his successors, namely Mt 16, 18-19, Lc 22, 31-32 and Io 21, 15-17.

1. Mt 16, 18-19: Christ promised primatial infallibility in these words uttered in the region of Caesarea Philippi: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you bind upon earth will be bound in heaven: and whatever you loose upon earth will be loosed in heaven."

We have already shown at length that in this passage a primatial rule over the whole Church is promised to Peter and his successors.¹ But no one who considers the context fails to see that the same passage likewise concerns the primatial magisterium of faith. Christ had sought faith: "He was questioning his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is? ... But you, whom do you say that I am?" Peter had solemnly professed faith in Christ: "You are Christ, the Son of the living God." Christ had praised the faith of Peter and for that faith had pronounced him blessed: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jona, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father, who is in heaven." Finally, in rewarding this faith, Christ said: "And I say to you, that you are Peter, etc." Therefore the whole discourse of the context is principally concerned with faith, and consequently the primacy promised to Peter and his successors on that occasion must be understood as a primacy not only of rule but also of magisterium. Moreover, Christ illustrates the infallible magisterium of the primacy by the twofold metaphor of the foundation of the Church and of the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

a) The metaphor of the foundation of the Church: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." By this metaphor Peter is set as the rocky foundation of the whole Church, and indeed so firm and immovable that the Church can be shaken by no hostile force, not even by the utmost power of the demons. But Peter could neither himself be a firm foundation nor, much less, confer invincible firmness upon the Church, if he were fallible in teaching the faith. For if he erred in teaching the faith, both the Petrine foundation itself and the Church built upon the Petrine foundation would fall. But according to the very words of Christ they cannot fall. Therefore Peter and his successors are infallible in teaching the faith.

From this it is also clear that the infallibility of the pope and of papal definitions does not depend on the consent of the Church. For just as a house does not give firmness to the foundation, but the foundation to the house, so the Church does not give infallibility to the pope, but the pope to the Church.

b) The metaphor of the keys of the kingdom of heaven with the added power of binding and loosing: "And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you bind upon earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose upon earth will be loosed in heaven."

The keys of the kingdom of heaven signify the supreme and absolute spiritual power granted to Peter in the Church. And indeed not only the power of rule (the key of jurisdiction), but also the power of magisterium (the key of knowledge) is to be understood, since the power of "binding and loosing", i. e. of proposing the Christian religion, is expressly granted to Peter.² Therefore the primate, in the place of Christ and with no consent of the Church intervening, is able to propose the faith in such a way that his very proposal enjoys divine sanction of itself: "Whatever you bind upon earth will be bound in heaven ..."

But God cannot permit that by his absolute authority an error be proposed to the faithful as definitively to be believed. Therefore the primate is infallible in teaching the faith.

2. Lc 22, 31-32: Christ obtained primatial infallibility by prayer, according to the words addressed to Peter immediately before the passion: "Simon, Simon, behold Satan has asked for you, that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, once converted, confirm your brothers."

It is clear that by these words Christ obtained for Peter by prayer the indefectibility, that is, the infallibility, of faith. It is asked, however: a) whether he obtained infallibility for Peter only as a private person, or also as a public, that is, primatial, person; b) whether he obtained infallibility for Peter only for the time of the passion, or perpetually. We answer:

a) Christ obtained infallibility for Peter as primate. This is clear from each member of the cited text. "Simon, Simon, behold Satan has asked for you, that he might sift you like wheat." Satan demanded that by a violent assault he might disturb the souls of the disciples and by this disturbance take faith away from them. Christ manifests this danger of all the disciples to Peter with singular weight and thereby intimates that it is Peter's role, as primate of the apostolic college and of the Church, to protect the brothers. But that he might be equal to this primatial office of guarding the faith of others, Peter himself is strengthened in faith by the prayer of the Lord: "But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail." All are in danger of losing faith; for one Peter alone Christ prays that his faith may not fail. For since this one is the prince and primate whom all others are bound to follow and to hear, in the infallibility of the one the faith of all is saved. Indeed, Peter — failing, to be sure, in confessing faith at the time of the denial, but never in teaching faith — is commanded to confirm the others in faith: "And you, once converted³ confirm⁴ your brothers." By the teaching of Peter the brothers will be rendered firm and stable in faith. Therefore by the force of Christ's prayer Peter as primate is infallible. And indeed:

b) Christ obtained for Peter infallibility that would endure perpetually. The adversaries contend that Christ asked only that Peter should not lose faith at the time of the passion and should strengthen the others in faith. Against this, however, it must be said that by Christ's prayer Peter was rendered infallible for as long as he would live, whether himself or in his successors. This is established from the nature of the matter, from the end of Christ's prayer, and from tradition. From the nature of the matter. For, as has been said, Christ obtained infallibility for Peter as primate of the Church. But primatial prerogatives last only as long as the primacy itself, i. e. until the end of the world. Therefore infallibility without limit of time belongs to the prince of the apostles himself and to his successors on the Roman see. And indeed the end of Christ's prayer requires this altogether. Christ obtained infallibility of faith for Peter in order to provide for the "brothers". But not only the brothers of the apostolic college and times, but the brothers of all times suffer the temptation of the devil attempting to overthrow the faith of the Church. Therefore as long as the Church exists, so long must there also be an infallible primate, whose office it is to guard the faith of the Church and to confirm the Church in faith. Otherwise Christ would have provided for the Church at that time when it was not yet formally instituted, but would have neglected it once instituted and supremely in need of the help of an infallible primate. That would surely be absurd. Hence also the unanimous Tradition interprets the text Lc 22, 31-32 of the perennial infallibility of the primate of the Church.⁵ Comprehending this Tradition, the Vatican council says that "all the venerable Fathers and the holy orthodox Doctors have most fully known that this holy see of Peter always remains untouched by every error, according to the divine promise of the Lord our Savior made to the prince of his disciples: 'I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, once converted, confirm your brothers'."⁶

Note also that by this text the Gallicans who prate that the definitions of the Roman pontiff are irreformable not of themselves but only by the consent of the Church are invincibly confounded. For the Lord did not obtain indefectibility of faith by prayer for all the apostles, so that they might confirm Peter; but he obtained indefectibility of faith for Peter, so that he himself might confirm the other apostles and the whole Church.

3. Io 21, 15-17: Christ conferred primatial infallibility in the conversation entered into with Peter after the resurrection: "When therefore they had dined, Jesus says to Simon Peter: Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He says to him: Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He says to him: Feed my lambs (βόσκε τὰ ἀρνία μου). He says to him again: Simon, son of John, do you love me? He says to him: Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He says to him: Feed my lambs (ποίμαινε τὰ πρόβατά μου). He says to him a third time: Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved, because he said to him a third time: Do you love me? and he said to him: Lord, you know all things: you know that I love you. He says to him: Feed my sheep (βόσκε τὰ πρόβατά μου)."

By these words Christ conferred infallibility upon Peter and his successors both tacitly and expressly.

a) He conferred primatial infallibility tacitly by conferring the primacy of jurisdiction, that is, the supreme pastorship over the whole flock of the faithful. And indeed in Io 21, 15-17 Peter and his successors are constituted supreme pastors of the Church, so that the whole flock of Christ is bound to obey them⁷ whether they propose precepts of life or precepts of faith. But if the supreme pastors erred in proposing precepts of faith, it would not be lawful to obey them. Therefore Peter and his successors, while they propose the faith to the whole Church, cannot err, but are infallible.

b) Christ expressly conferred this primatial infallibility by the metaphorical words with which he describes the office of the supreme pastor. While the Latin Vulgate, unequal to rendering the primitive text, uses the verb "pasce" three times, in the Greek Gospel are read: βόσκε, ποίμαινε, βόσκε. By the word ποιμαίνειν = to rule, to lead, to go before the flock, the primate is generally charged not to allow the flock to go astray, not to expose it to the wolf, and finally, a fortiori, not to seduce it himself. But by teaching false faith the supreme pastor would allow the flock of the faithful to go astray, would expose it to the wolf, indeed would himself seduce it. Therefore the very word ποίμαινε already intimates primatial infallibility. Yet the word βόσκε is more telling. Βόσκειν = to provide fodder, to nourish the flock, to feed it in the strict sense, signifies especially the office of teaching the rational flock of the faithful, since the first and essential fodder of the faithful flock is faith. But the primate of the Church would not be fit for this office if he were fallible in teaching. For the primate, if he administered error to the flock of Christ, would administer not fodder but poison. Therefore as often as the supreme pontiff feeds the whole Church by word, that is, as often as he proposes a doctrine to be professed by the whole flock of Christ, so often he is infallible.

Finally, by this text too the Gallicans are evidently refuted. For Peter, respectively his successor, is set in Io 21, 15-17 as pastor, and indeed as an infallible pastor, without depending on the flock, i. e. on the bishops and the faithful or on the whole Church. While, on the contrary, the Gallicans, by saying that pontifical decrees become irreformable only by the consent of the Church, in reality declare the pastor subject to the sheep. According to the Gallicans, the pastor would not lead and feed the sheep, but the sheep would lead and feed the pastor! And by this absurdity they deny not only pontifical infallibility, but the very primacy of the Roman pontiff.

Thus Sacred Scripture undoubtedly testifies, from the mouth of Christ himself, to the infallibility of Peter and his successors. Jesus Christ, when at the end of his preaching in Galilee he first spoke of the primacy, together with the primacy also promised pontifical infallibility. Then, with his passion imminent, he affirmed that he had obtained infallibility by prayer for the future prince of the Church. Finally, after the resurrection, effectively conferring the primacy, he also conferred primatial infallibility. To this biblical argument is joined the historical argument, equally clear.