E. The Pope, Vicar of Christ

The primacy of the Pope is a mystery in the economy of salvation. And to this mystery belong those internal statutes just previously spoken about. ‘In his chief ministry the Pope is obliged by the objective rules of faithfulness which derive from the revealed word of God, from the fundamental constitution of the Church and by Tradition.’ He has the necessary divine assistance to carry out his office. But this does not relieve him of a very grave responsibility before Christ whom God has appointed to judge everyone, alive or dead (Acts 10:42). It demands of the holder of the office of bishop of the Catholic Church humility, prudence and holiness and of the faithful continual prayer to God for the head of the Church on earth.

However, and this is important, on earth there is no external tribunal, neither in the Church nor in civil society to which one can appeal against his decisions. The Pope must look for advice, take the steps which prudence demands in the delicate function of governing the Church, listen to the opinion of his brother bishops, etc., but ‘the judgement of the apostolic See, whose authority is unsurpassed, is not subject to review by anyone, nor is anyone allowed to pass judgement on his decisions. Therefore, those who say that it is permitted to appeal to an ecumenical council from the decisions of the Roman Pontiff (as to an authority superior to the Roman Pontiff) are far from the straight path of truth.’

We reach here, perhaps, the nerve center of all teaching about the primacy. It is what most brings out the fact that we are faced with a ‘mystery of faith’ and not with ‘an organizational factor’ in the Church ascertainable by the natural light of human reason. But it also brings us to take our stance on what is the ultimate basis of the whole mystery, a basis which is centered on Christ himself. The basis of the primacy is, on the one hand, its historical institution be Christ, but on the other it is the actual presence today of Christ in the primatial acts of the Pope.

‘The relation of the primacy to Christ is not only historical-causal, but also actual-causal, for in the activity of the Pope Christ himself is audible and visible. Of the Pope it can truly be said: he acts in the person of Christ.’ With theological wisdom St. Catherine of Siena called the Pope the ‘gentle Christ on earth’ but at the same time, conscious of the moral responsibility of the Pope, she urged him to exercise with fortitude his ‘service of unity’ in the Church, that is to say, to be faithful to his most important mission.

From the time when St. Clement of Rome intervened in the affairs of the church of Corinth to re-establish peace in that troubled community down to our own days with its contemporary methods for governing the universal Church, the Roman Pontiffs have been the instruments willed by Christ for maintaining unity among the bishops and for keeping the multitude of the faithful, that is to say, the Church, in a unity of faith and communion. The ways of exercising the primacy have varied with time, but its substance does not change for it is immutable. Accordingly, the primacy cannot be watered down in the wake of ‘episcopalian’ or ‘democratic’ ideals.

‘When the Pope acts in virtue of his office, he represents at one and the same time the whole Church and the entire body of bishops. But one cannot deduce from this that he receives his power from the community of believers or from the bishops. On the contrary, he receives it from Christ.’ ‘The Pope,’ writes Cardinal Ratzinger, ‘is not just someone who speaks in the name of the bishops, a kind of mouthpiece they give themselves and which is there to do their bidding. The Pope is where he is, with a direct responsibility before God, to take the place of the Lord, and to ensure the unity of the word and work of Christ, in the same way as Christ gave Peter that same function within the community of the Twelve.’

To be continued