Humans, especially Americans, have an issue with authority. By nature, we like to make ourselves a sort of ultimate authority for need of comfort. We rise from this base condition to recognize authorities above ourselves; authorities such as the state and the law, authority such as moral law. However, one of the most dividing things between Catholics and non-Catholics is the issue of Papal authority. This election the issues of secular vs sacred have been completely ignored. The current trends of anti-religious discrimination have only increased within our culture. Hillary Clinton, in her emails revealed by WikiLeaks, called for a “Catholic spring within the church”; an event where the church would “align its views with the times”. These emails represent a horrifying lack of knowledge and misunderstanding of the Church so prevalent in our world today. Here is why Papal Authority is legitimate, necessary, and should be submitted to.
1. Legitimacy: The Pope is Apostolic: The first issue within Hillary’s emails (well of the ones concerning this at least) is the dismissal of the office of the Pope to simply be a “Medieval Dictatorship”. The Pope, however, has no basis for his authority rooted in the middle ages. The Pope ties his authority to a much older source. By the time William the Conqueror had defeated King Harold in the battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066, a date commonly held to be the end of the dark ages and the beginning of the middle ages, the office of the Pope had been around over 1000 years. To call the Pope a mere medieval dictator is a fallacy as the first Popes were as far removed by time to William the Conqueror as William is to us. The Pope, however, does trace his authority to the Apostles. The first Pope, Simon Peter, is given the charge to take care of Christ’s flock (John 21:17). Later, Peter is given in a special way the authority of Christ (Matthew 16:19). If you recognize that Jesus was a real person, and as the Son of God has legitimate authority, it is necessary to also recognize that Authority he gives to others is legitimate as well. Since Peter, there has been an unbroken succession of Supreme pontiffs. The first after Peter was Linus: the current Francis.
2. Necessity: The Pope as Prime Conciliator: The Church as an institution is Divine, however, the members of which it is comprised are human. We as humans have an impressive knack for disagreements. You only have to look at presidential races and political parties to see this is so. Yet these disagreements, as important as they might seem, are mere temporal issues (in some cases). It is in our nature to disagree all the more on graver issues. The gravest issues we face are those concerning our salvation. The Pope is obviously necessary to have the final say in the case of a disagreement. The Pope is a “Perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity of both the Bishops and the community of the faithful” (CCC 882); he unites the Church in a way that would be impossible without him, not as a “Dictator”, as Hillary Clinton says, but an example to the whole flock (CCC 893).
3. Submission to Authority: Issues of today: St. John XVIII said in his encyclical Pacem in Terris “Human society can be neither well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has some people invested with legitimate authority to preserve its institutions and to devote themselves as far as necessary to work and care for the good of all”. This holds equally as true for secular and sacrosanct matters. We see today an excess of issues claiming to be sola saecularum, but which are issues concerning the nature of a Well-ordered society. Issues like “Gay marriage” and police shootings. Issues such as refugees and intervention. These issues are not issues that only have to deal with the day-to-day running of the state; these are issues which concern the human person. In all the noise of political talk, it is all too easy to lose sight of the fact that human persons are being affected by these issues. It is too easy for politicians to say they are for “Tolerance and Inclusivity” for image’s sake, but they are silent on the destructive nature of homosexual “Marriage”. Politicians will speak either in favor of those who lose their lives at the hands of police or speak in support of the police, but are silent on the fact that both are human persons with innate dignity that must be put first. The political positioning goes on and on for so many issues that many people begin to forget that these issues concern an actual human person with an eternal soul. What many politicians ignore, even those who claim to be Catholic, is that the Pope has legitimate authority when it comes to sacred matters. What is sacred if not a person’s eternal soul? The issues that face our country today are not all new issues: many of these issues have been faced before by the Church, and Popes of all ages have made decisions, through legitimate authority, on these issues.
As Americans, we have a strong position in this world. Our individual survival is near guaranteed. Our nation is stable, our economy solvent. The great majority of us will never face starvation. We have a responsibility, therefore, to take care of our neighbor: to whom much is given, much is expected. We should not look to politicians to dictate who our neighbor is, to tell us what is wrong and what is right, but we should submit ourselves to the legitimate authority of the Pope.
