How does the pope get authority?

[Erik Mesoy]

No it does not. here is the actuall passage that youare referring to.
Matthew 16:18,19 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

The passage say that he will build his church upon a rock. Peter doesnot mean rock, but pebble or little stone, not really something to build upon. Also, I have to ask this question then, where are the keys to the kingdom of heaven then?

I'm not Catholic, so there's little point in arguing with me. Argue with the sources I post.

Pavedømmet er innstiftet av Jesus Kristus selv. Vi finner det i Bibelen - i Matteusevangeliet. Her finner vi beskrivelsen av hvordan apostelen Peter bekjenner sin tro på hvem Kristus er. Peter sier til Jesus: "Du er Messias - den levende Guds sønn". Etter Peters bekjennelse sier Jesus til ham: "Og det sier jeg deg: Du er Peter (Peter betyr klippe); og på denne klippe vil jeg bygge min kirke, og dødsrikets porter skal ikke få makt over den. Jeg vil gi deg himmelrikets nøkler; det du binder på jorden, skal være bundet i himmelen, og det du løser på jorden, skal være løst i himmelen."

Close to literal translation:

The Papacy is [founded/initiated/ordered] by Jesus Christ himself. We see it in the Bible - in the Gospel of Matthew. Here we find the description of how the apostle Peter [confesses/recites a creed of] his faith in who Christ is. Peter says to Jesus: "You are Messiah - the living God's son." After Peter's [confession/creed] Jesus says to him: "And I say to you: You are Peter (Peter means cliff); and on this cliff will I build my church, and the gates of [Sheol/realm of the dead] will not come into power over it. I will give you heaven's keys; what you bind on earth, will be bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven.

(emphasis mine)

Peter does seem to mean a larger rock than a pebble, unless you believe that the Lutheran Protestants of Norway were slipping Catholic propaganda into their bible. (I checked this in a Norwegian bible.) And that's doubtful to say the least.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

If Jesus said that Peter was the rock, or cliff, or pebble, or more witches, upon which he would build his church, that doesn't necessarily mean that the current pope is the sucessor of Peter. A link would have to be shown more reliable than just declaring that Peter was a pope.

 

[El_Machinae]

It's assumed that Peter named a successor, and had a Mandate to do so.

I wonder when it changed from a pope choosing a successor, to the council choosing the successor?

 

[Bozo Erectus]

It's assumed that Peter named a successor, and had a Mandate to do so.

Once again, but this time with feeling:

The 'Donation of Constantine'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donation_of_Constantine

 

[Masquerouge]

Isn't that whole quote about Peter being the foundation of the Church meaningful because in Latin at least (and maybe Greek) the words for Peter and stone are the same, or at least very closely related? And thus there is a bit more to it than the by-the-word meaning?

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Once again, but this time with feeling:

The 'Donation of Constantine'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donation_of_Constantine

Once More With Feeling!

The OP specified church authority, not secular authority. While I'm sure you're right, it's not really relevant.

@Masquerouge: Bother the Latin. You can look at the quote I posted which explicitly says "Peter means cliff/rock", or look at the NT texts which use Petro/Petra/Peter/Somegreekwordlikethat, but I don't think Latin enters into it anywhere.
Related word: Petrify - turn to stone.

 

[Masquerouge]

Once More With Feeling!

The OP specified church authority, not secular authority. While I'm sure you're right, it's not really relevant.

@Masquerouge: Bother the Latin. You can look at the quote I posted which explicitly says "Peter means cliff/rock", or look at the NT texts which use Petro/Petra/Peter/Somegreekwordlikethat, but I don't think Latin enters into it anywhere.
Related word: Petrify - turn to stone.

Well the Vulgate was the first official Catholic Bible and it was in Latin, and it says:
"et ego dico tibi quia tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam"

Petrus, petram... I don't think this is a coincidence. Since they had to translate the original (if there ever was one) saying in Latin, they could choose a variety of words.

Well anyway my point is to say that this verse, to me, is a justification of the Pope's authority.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Once More With Feeling!

Name: Once More with Feeling
Set & Rarity: Unglued rare

Yep, 'unglued rare', thats me alright

The OP specified church authority, not secular authority. While I'm sure you're right, it's not really relevant.

I dunno. Without it, I doubt the Bishop of Rome would ever have become established as 'The Pope', as we know it today.

 

[Cuivienen]

It's assumed that Peter named a successor, and had a Mandate to do so.

I wonder when it changed from a pope choosing a successor, to the council choosing the successor?

Actually, a "council" probably did choose Peter's successor. St. Linus became head of the Catholic Church in Rome (and Rome only at the time) after Peter's death, and probably because the members of the church (which was quite small at the time) voted on it, the Catholic Church having been a very democratic people's institution in its earliest years.

 

[Sir Bugsy]

Let's think about power for a moment. How is it given or taken? It has always been my thought that you give someone power. With a government leader, the people either collectively give them power (republic or democracy), or is taken from them by force (dictatorship). In a smaller organization, power (however limited) is usually given to the leader by the members. Think about your local PTA, church council, rotary club. In business it is awarded by the business owners whether they are stockholders or private owners. In the case of the Roman Catholic Church, the billion or so members give the pope his power.

If someone decides to leave the church, they are no longer under his power. For example, I have left the RC Church and am now a Lutheran. The pope can do whatever he wants, but he has no effect on me. I simply do not give him power over my life. However, with my siblings, if the pope says crawl to Rome on your knees or I'll ex-communicate you, they'll make it to the East Coast at least trying. Now if the pope had a Swiss Guard standing over me with one of those nasty pikes, he would grab power from me by force. In allowing him to take that power I would giving it to him, it just would be coerced. If I said no then I would fight to regain power over my life and perhaps die trying.

Just some things to think about.