On the Divine Institution of The Papacy

To Leo X, Supreme Pontiff, on the divine institution of the pontificate over the whole Church in the person of the Apostle Peter: a little book by Thomas de Vio Cajetan, Cardinal of San Sisto.

Most blessed Father: a doctrine that is illustrious to the wise is required to be brought forth into common light as well — by those who, failing to distinguish the things that are manifest in themselves from those that become known through other things, are (as the saying goes) still "looking for a knot in a bulrush," and, blinking in the noonday light, raise objections. For so great is the license to becloud the clarity of the Gospel among those who are perhaps not content with what is their own, that they throw the face of the Church (serene though it is) into confusion with the wrappings of novelties — men whose very pursuit it is to turn what is certain and clear into a matter of dispute, and otherwise to render obscure what is plain. For this reason it is our intention to defend, to strip of its shadows, and to bring into the open the primacy of Peter and of his successors the Roman Pontiffs — a primacy held in tranquil possession through so many ages, times, and cities, shining by right with the Gospel as its sun, yet assailed by enwrapping argumentations [that trouble] those exercised but little in the sacred letters — so that this truth may shine forth to all, and by its own splendors reach the innermost recesses of every creature. Let the Catholic Church, then, entrusted to you, most kind Father, receive this little nighttime labor, intended for the more unlearned, lest they be overwhelmed by obscurities.

The primacy of the Roman Pontiff over all the churches of Christ, although it has been assailed by many disputes, nevertheless presents itself, for our purpose, as something to be settled by a single investigation. For the question here is not whether the Roman Pontiff is in fact the head of the Church; nor whether he holds his power from God — in the manner in which, according to the Apostle (Romans 13), there is no power except from God, and the things that are from God are ordained; and just as royal power in the Old Testament was from God, according to that passage (1 Samuel 8), hear their voice, and appoint a king over them. For many of our adversaries affirm all such things. Rather, the question turns on whether the primacy of the Roman Pontiff over all churches was instituted by Christ in blessed Peter — that is, whether Christ established Peter, together with his successors, as his Vicar for governing all the churches of Christ. Consequently, those passages drawn from arguments and authorities affirming that Peter, or the Roman Pontiff, was or is the head of all the churches are, for the present, set aside from our intention; and only those are to be brought forward from which it is established that the Lord Christ conferred a primacy of this kind on Peter alone.

But since the whole truth of this question depends on the sacred Scriptures, and there are two principal texts — namely Matthew 16 and the last chapter of John — that speak expressly of this mystery, therefore the investigation must proceed according to both texts. First, whether the words of Christ were spoken to Peter alone. Second, whether through these words the pontificate of the whole Church was committed by Christ to Peter alone. Third, whether this pontificate of the whole Church, committed to Peter by Christ, was given by the same Lord to Peter's successor. Fourth, whether this pontificate was given by Christ to the Roman Pontiff as Peter's successor.

Now, so that the resolution of the first point may be clear, the text of Matthew must first be examined. To begin with, we should treat the opinion of those who say that Christ's words were spoken not to Peter, but to a qualified person;¹ then of those who say they were spoken not to Peter, but to the Church; next of those who say they were spoken to Peter and the apostles together; and finally of those who deny that they were spoken to Peter alone, on the grounds that they were spoken to the Church. For in manifold ways men have tried to obscure the Lord's promise reported in Matthew 16: to you I will give the keys, etc. For some have so restricted these words as to exclude even the person of Peter from them, understanding them as directed solely to the divine gift in Peter. Others, likewise restricting the words and excluding Peter's person, direct Christ's words to the Church alone, signified in Peter. Many, however, taking them more broadly, understand them as said to all the apostles. But there are also some who, while admitting that these words were spoken to Peter alone, nonetheless deny that a singular primacy was conferred on Peter — on the grounds that a similar power is read elsewhere to have been conferred by Christ on the other apostles, for instance Matthew 18: whatever you bind upon earth, and elsewhere. Finally, some hesitate as to how it can be verified that the keys were given to Peter alone, while we nonetheless affirm that all the keys were given to the Church as well. Therefore these five points are to be treated one by one, in the order in which they have been enumerated, everywhere setting out first the reasons for doubting, so that the opposing truths may shine forth more clearly when set beside them.