In an age of radical individualism and ideological rebellion against every form of authority, the Catholic tradition offers a necessary and urgent corrective. Rooted in Sacred Scripture, developed by the Fathers of the Church, refined by St. Thomas Aquinas, and clarified by the Magisterium, the Christian understanding of authority is neither authoritarian nor permissive. It is a structured reflection of divine love. Authority is granted to leaders by God, not for domination, but to promote the common good and guide souls to their supernatural end. And the pope, as the Vicar of Christ, serves as the father of the universal Church.
As we unite in prayer for a new pope, let us likewise ask God for a restoration of faith and divine order within the Church, which can only come about by a renewed understanding and charitable exercise of papal authority.
Rebellion and Disorder: Lessons from the Fall
The disobedience of Adam and Eve was the first rebellion against divine authority. Their fall—“you will be like God” (Gen 3:5)—was a rejection of God’s paternal governance. The Catechism teaches, “Man, tempted by the devil… let his trust in his Creator die in his heart” (CCC 397). Through autonomous rebellion, Adam and Eve did not become “more creative, free expressions of themselves” but instead lost their freedom and communion with God, becoming slaves of sin, concupiscence, and despair.
All subsequent rebellion, whether doctrinal, liturgical, or moral, is an echo of that first rupture, because authority is appointed by God to safeguard truth, love, and order. Just as fatherhood in the family is necessary to protect and guide, the papal office is necessary to preserve order, unity, and truth in the Church. Disorder in the Church often begins with disorder in either our understanding of authority (e.g., Martin Luther) or with misuse of authority by the one entrusted with it (e.g., Henry VIII). Note that it is important to frame this discussion within the context of the Protestant Revolt because the rejection of authority within (and outside) the Church can be traced back to that time.
Roots of Ecclesial Authority
The papacy is founded on the primacy of Peter among the Apostles. Christ’s words—”You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church… I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 16:18-19)—establish the foundational principle of ecclesial order. Authority in the Church is not invented by man, but instituted by Christ.
St. Paul confirms this ecclesial structure when he speaks of the Church built “on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Eph 2:20). The governance of the Church is not a human bureaucracy but a sacramental reality, divinely ordained.
The Church Fathers consistently acknowledged Peter’s unique role. St. Irenaeus, writing in the second century, emphasized the necessity of unity with the Roman Church because of its preeminent authority: “For it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with [Rome], on account of its preeminent authority” (Adversus Haereses, III.3.2). St. Cyprian taught that the See of Peter is the principle and foundation of unity. St. Augustine taught that Peter held a primacy among the apostles and that this primacy endures in his successors.
The Petrine office, then, was understood as a divine institution from the beginning, intended to safeguard unity and orthodoxy.
St. Thomas Aquinas, in turn, articulated the nature of just governance: “Law is a rule and measure of acts… ordered to the common good” (ST I-II, Q.90, a.1,2). Authority must serve truth and goodness. Even papal authority, though divinely instituted, is not arbitrary. It must be rational, just, and directed to the sanctification of souls. Aquinas insists that obedience to human authority is due only when it does not conflict with divine law (ST II-II, Q.104, a.5).
The pope, though possessing the fullness of ecclesial power, is bound by the revelation entrusted to the Apostles and preserved by Tradition.
Papal Authority in Collegial Context
St. Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621), a Doctor of the Church, defended the divine institution of the papal office, insisting that the pope, as successor of Peter, possesses primacy of jurisdiction over the whole Church. Yet he also made clear the limits of papal authority. Bellarmine taught that the pope cannot change divine revelation, overturn ecumenical councils, or command what is contrary to natural or divine law. “If the Pope were to command something contrary to natural or divine law, then it would be lawful to resist him.”
He emphasized that the pope is within the Church, not above it: “The Pope is not above the Church, but within the Church; he is the first among the bishops, but still a bishop” (Controversiae).
Bellarmine’s ecclesiology provided a foundation for Vatican I’s definition of papal infallibility and guards against both Gallicanism (which undermines papal authority) and ultramontanism (which over-expands papal authority). His thought ensures that true papal authority remains a service to unity and orthodoxy, not a license for tyranny or invention. Papal leadership among the college of bishops fosters ordered doctrinal development within the parameters of Tradition, at the same time safeguarding against doctrinal evolution in conformity to popular errors.
Is ecclesial authority flawless? No. Bishops have free will. It took centuries to overcome the Arian heresy, and there was a time when most bishops were Arians. Many modern heresies are “flourishing” in the Church, and it may take several hundred years to root them out again. Time will tell, but it cannot happen without the pope.
We can have bad popes and bishops that are not in conformity with Sacred Tradition, but we can’t restore Sacred Tradition to the Church without the authority of the pope as leader of the college.
The Union of Brest: A Greek Catholic Affirmation of Papal Authority
As a Greek Catholic clergyman, I would be remiss if I did not mention the Union of Brest.
The Union of Brest (1595–96) offers a historical model of ecclesial communion that preserves legitimate liturgical diversity while affirming the universal authority of the Roman Pontiff. The Greek Catholic bishops who acknowledged union with Rome explicitly accredited the pope as “the head of the Catholic Church, the successor of the Apostle Peter, to whom full authority has been given by Christ our God to tend His flock.” At the same time, they insisted on retaining their synodal governance, Eastern liturgical rites, and canonical traditions, thereby safeguarding the unique patrimony of the Christian East.
This arrangement did not dilute papal primacy but harmonized it with a collegial and subsidiarity-based vision of Church governance. The pope was recognized not as an autocrat but as a paternal source of unity whose authority supports—not supplants—the integrity of particular Churches. The bishops requested that their internal ecclesial life not be micromanaged by the Roman Curia, affirming that their clergy be chosen locally and simply confirmed by Rome.
In doing so, the Union of Brest demonstrates that the Petrine office, when properly exercised, strengthens rather than erodes diverse ecclesial traditions and patrimony. It affirms a Catholic vision of unity in truth, wherein communion with the successor of Peter is essential, yet not at odds with the fullness of Eastern Christian identity.
Vatican I and Vatican II
The First Vatican Council’s Pastor Aeternus (1870) solemnly defined the primacy and infallibility of the Roman Pontiff. This primacy is not delegated by bishops or councils but comes from Christ Himself.
It is important to note, however, that Pastor Aeternus defined the doctrine of papal infallibility under very specific conditions: when the pope speaks ex cathedra, intending to define a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the whole Church (ch. 4, §9). This charism of infallibility is negative in nature. It prevents error under very specific, rare circumstances, but does not guarantee perpetual inspiration, ecclesiastical prudence in every action or comment, or personal papal holiness.
Infallibility does not make the pope a source of new revelation, but a guardian of what has been divinely revealed once for all by Christ to the Apostles.
Of equal importance, Vatican I did not grant the pope absolute power. His authority is bound by Divine Revelation, Sacred Tradition, and the purpose of his office: to guard and transmit the faith of Christ through Apostolic continuity.
The Second Vatican Council deepened this understanding. In Lumen Gentium, the Church teaches that the pope is “the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity of both the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful” (LG §23). His office is paternal—unifying and sacrificial—not imperial.
Vatican II also emphasized the importance of episcopal collegiality. The bishops, united with the pope, form a single apostolic body. Lumen Gentium makes clear the pope’s authority is not isolated from the broader life of the Church but exists to preserve her unity in truth.
This unity extends from the teachings of Christ and the Apostles as recorded in Sacred Scripture and handed down through Sacred Tradition—from the Apostles to the Fathers of the Church (AD 100-1100) to the Theologians (AD 1100-1750)—thus maintained by the consistent teaching of the Magisterium since the beginning.
With this in mind, there is no such thing as “Pope Francis’ magisterium” or “Pope Benedict’s magisterium” if we understand that phrase to mean that the current reigning pope has his own personal “magisterium” which somehow supersedes or nullifies the continuous teaching authority of the Magisterium throughout the preceding ages.
Duties of the Roman Pontiff: To Teach, Govern, Sanctify, and Unify
The pope’s authority is inseparably bound to his duties. He is not a monarch in the secular sense but a servant of the servants of God (servus servorum Dei). If he neglects his duty, he is a bad, sinful man, like any other bad man who neglects his duties. Again, the Holy Spirit does not guarantee that every pope will be a saint. There are likely several popes and many bishops in hell. The Church has never shied away from that reality. Judas is in hell (Jn 17:12), and so are many others like him.
We shouldn’t let that bother us or lose our faith over it. Baptism in Christ does not ensure immediate perfection without error for the faithful and clergy alike. We are a Church of sinners, working out our salvation in fear and trembling (Phil 2:12), judged by God according to our merits in the performance of our duties.
The pope’s essential responsibilities include those of any bishop: to teach, govern, and sanctify, but in addition to these three, the pope also has the duty to maintain the unity of the faith as head of the college of bishops:
• Teaching with Clarity: The pope is the custodian of the deposit of faith (1 Tim 6:20), not its inventor. His office exists to “strengthen the brethren” (Lk 22:32) in faith, not to create new doctrines. As the Church’s supreme teacher, he must proclaim the Gospel in continuity with Sacred Tradition. His teaching authority is limited to guiding the faithful toward salvation in harmony with the consistent Magisterial teachings of the Church regarding faith and morals.
• Governing for the Good of the Church: The pope’s governance includes the power to legislate (canon law), to approve bishops, to define doctrine when needed, and to oversee the administration of the sacraments and discipline of the faithful. His governance includes legislative, judicial, and disciplinary power rooted in the mandate to preserve the deposit of faith and sanctify the Church through right worship. The pope governs not as a worldly ruler but as a spiritual father, healer, and guardian of the Church’s communion with Christ.
• Sanctifying the Church: Through his governance of liturgy, sacraments, and discipline, he is responsible for ensuring that the faithful have access to the Sacraments. He is also responsible for ensuring that the sacramental order is free from error and exercised with integrity in harmony with Sacred Tradition.
• Principle of Unity: Without communion with the Roman Pontiff, the visible structure of the Church fragments into competing claims of authority, doctrine, and sacramental validity. The Fathers of the Church, such as St. Irenaeus and St. Cyprian, consistently affirmed that unity with the See of Rome was essential for remaining within the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The pope binds the bishops together in apostolic communion. Without the papal office, ecclesial unity is left to mere consensus, which is always vulnerable to division. Thus, the pope is not an optional feature of Church governance but an essential sign and servant of Catholic unity.
A Path Forward: Rediscovering the Papal Office
In our time of moral confusion, clerical scandal, and ecclesial fragmentation, a renewed understanding of papal authority is urgently needed. This is not a call for authoritarianism or papal maximalism, but for fidelity to the Church’s teaching on the office and limits of the pope’s duties and responsibilities.
The pope is the father of the Church. But like every father, his authority is deviant if it does not serve life, truth, and divine order. Restoration will not come through papal novelty but through papal fidelity to Christ, Scripture, and Tradition.
The faithful must fervently pray for a new Holy Father who will embrace his duties well and support him when he teaches the truth. We also need to pray for our bishops, that they may have the courage to make an appeal and remind the pope, at times, of his God given duties, if and when he departs from them. For as St. Paul once rebuked Peter to his face (Gal 2:11), so too must we remember that even the pope must be respectfully corrected when he fails in his duty. The pope is human and a sinner, like our own biological fathers, and like our own fathers, we must honor and obey him so long as he does not contradict God’s law.
Authority is a blessing, not a burden, when it is rooted in the truth and ordered toward salvation. May the Church rediscover the sacred purpose of papal authority and, through it, restore faith and divine order within the Church.
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Ships passing in the night?
The so-called Francis magisterium was a twofold effort to, first, deny nothing in Warner’s formal discourse—while at the same time, second, informally enabling “concrete” exemptions from the above…
As if, for example, those afflicted by non-binary tendencies involve not only difficult personal paths to reason and sanctity, but comprise a new an exempt “concrete” category (!) where so-called “abstractions” do not apply. And, where the non-demonstrable first principle of non-contradiction, itself, is set aside as “rigid, bigoted, and backwardist.”
Synodaler Cardinal Hollerich reported this private epiphany: “In Japan, I got to know a different way of thinking. The Japanese don’t think in terms of the European logic of opposites. We say: It is black, therefore it is not white. The Japanese say: It is white, but maybe it is also black. You can combine opposites in Japan without changing your point of view.” https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/who-is-cardinal-hollerich . Synodaler Cardinal Grech colorfully defended such harmonization as being neither black nor white (!), but as “stretching the grey area.”
Real contradictions are reduced to superficial “polarities” of cultural or imaginary construction—now to be dissolved and harmonized by the synodal roundtable process. Which began with the successors of the Apostles reduced too much to serving “primarily as facilitators.”
SUMMARY: The immediate question is not whether the full conclave can complexly clarify all of the above, but first whether enough cardinals can simply turn the lights on. And, the longer-term question is Cardinal Grech’s tutelage over a post-synodal 2028 “Ecclesial Assembly” among bottom-up continental congregations…
Does “style” now equal structure? Continental Drift?
Teaching with clarity. What a novel idea
UGCC=Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Already the deals are being done and the constant YouTubers comments on who will be pope and the like are sicking! The South America experience is over, souls need to be saved and stability freedom from the diabolical influence of soros and davos must end! The days of thumbs up is over!
Thank you. Amen.
J.M.J.
We can know through both Faith and reason that,
“It is not possible to have Sacramental Communion without Ecclesiastical Communion”, due to The Unity Of The Holy Ghost, for It Is “Through Christ, With Christ, And In Christ, Oh God , Almighty Father, In The Unity Of The Holy Ghost (Filioque), that Holy Mother Church, outside of which, there is n Salvation, due to The Unity Of The Holy Ghost (Filioque) exists.
The denial of The Unity Of The Holy Ghost, Is the source of all heresy that leads to apostasy from Divine Eternal Perfect Love, Grounded In Divine Eternal Law. There is no such person as an autonomous Christian , for one cannot be autonomous and in communion simultaneously.
“No one can come to My Father, except Through Me.” – Jesus The Christ
Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, And Apostolic Church Exists, Through , With, And In Christ, In The Unity Of The Holy Ghost, thus we can know through both Faith and reason that both the Arian Heresy, and The Protestant Revolt, stem from a denial of The Unity Of The Holy Ghost (Filioque), thus “the rejection of authority within (and outside) the Church can be traced back to that time”, so although “the first significant break”, may have been The East-West Schism, Arius, by denying The Divinity Of Christ, like the Protestant Heresies, ipso facto, denied The Unity Of The Holy Ghost, and thus The Divinity Of The Most Holy Blessed Trinity, Father, Son, And Holy Ghost.
Let no one deceive you, to claim that “if there is a union of a private nature, there is neither a third party, (The Holy Ghost) nor is society affected”, is to create a counterfeit magisterium in order to make it appear as if a “right to privacy”, includes a nonexistent right to sin and/or dismiss consensual sin within private relationships. How else can you account for the fact that those “who competence it is “, have yet to charitably anathema those Baptized Catholics who are attempting to remain visibly within The Catholic Church, having left Christ’s Church spiritually, ipso facto when they denied The Sanctity Of All Human Life From The Moment Of Conception To Natural Death, And The Sanctity Of The Marital Act Within The Sacrament Of Holy Matrimony, denying , in essence, God, The Ordered Communion Of Perfect Eternal Divine Love, In The Unity Of The Holy Ghost, Is The Author Of Love, Of Life, And Of Marriage, because they desire to render onto Caesar or themselves, what Has Always, And Will Always Belong To God, The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity, In The Unity Of The Holy Ghost (Filioque).
Dear Blessed Mother Mary, Mirror Of Justice And Destroyer Of All Heresy, Who Through Your Fiat, Affirmed The Filioque, and thus the fact that There Is Only One Son Of God, One Word Of God Made Flesh, One Lamb Of God Who Can Taketh Away The Sins Of The World, Our Only Savior, Jesus The Christ, thus there can only be, One Spirit Of Perfect Complementary Love Between The Father And The Son, Who Must Proceed From Both The Father And The Son, In The Ordered Communion Of Perfect Complementary Love, The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity (Filioque), hear our Prayer.
“Behold your Mother.”-Christ On The Cross
In The Unity Of The Holy Ghost, May A Faithful Pope be elected to The Papacy, and may this Faithful Pope with those Faithful Bishops in UNION with him, and thus in Union with The One Body Of Christ, The One Bride Of Christ, do The Consecration Of Russia To Our Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Heart, exactly as Our Blessed Mother requested, visibly shedding light on The One Body Of Christ, through the charitable anathema of the counterfeit church, for the sake of Christ, Her Son’s One, Holy, Catholic, And Apostolic Church, Through The Unity Of The Holy Ghost, all who will come to believe, and the multitude of prodigal sons and daughters, who, hopefully, will soon return to the One Body Of Christ, Outside Of Which, There Is No Salvation, due to The Unity Of The Holy Ghost, (Filioque), The Spirit Of Perfect Eternal Divine Love, Who Proceeds From The Father And The Son.
“Hail The Cross, Our Only Hope.”
“Blessed are they who are Called to The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb.”
“For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”
Unless I misread you, be informed that the UGCC is among the two dozen eastern rite churches in full union with Rome. Not to be confused with the schismatic Orthodox Churched (which, however, retain valid sacraments).
What is this exactly, and how does it relate directly to the article? Did you even read it? What is your intention in posting this disturbing rambling?
What disturbing rambling are you referring to, Athanasius? Surely not that to deny, in Essence, The Unity Of The Holy Ghost, The Ordered Communion Of Perfect Divine Eternal Love Between The Father And His Only Son, Who Proceeds From Both The Father And The Son(Filioque) and thus deny The Divinity Of The Most Holy Blessed Trinity, In The Unity Of The Holy Ghost, or to simply deny that The Son Is Consubstantial with The Father in Godhead, and thus does not return , simultaneously, to His Father, The Essence Of This Spirit Of Perfect Divine Eternal Love He Receives from The Father? Please clarify your post.
May the Lord correct through a willing pontificate the heteropraxy preached by Franciscus, the Bishop of Rome. As the successor of St. Peter, the Rock, the safe “mooring” of the Church “became a mourning.” May the next Pope not make another messy shipwreck of the Church. To the Conclave: “Do not break unity…God holds His court in your consciences.” (Cf. St. Augustine Homily on John 1).
Thanks, Fr. For reminding us about the ecclesiastical checks and balances in the Church’s hierarchical structure. Hopefully our next Pope will be a strong leader committed to honoring the boundaries of his office while at the same time inspiring us to move outside our comfort zones into bringing the Church and its teachings to the starving secular world. New and relevant methods can be used to communicate the old unchanging truths. We must no open to change and be willing to consider new ideas. We must be patient and give him a chance and not be hasty and paste labels on him- such as conservative or liberal. Above all we must love and respect him even if we don’t agree with him.
Conservative & liberal are terms more suited for politics. I believe orthodoxy is what’s in question.
No one is impressed by your equivocations. The new pope should be “labeled” as quickly, clearly, and accurately as possible. If he turns out to be another progressive like Francis, then opposition should begin immediately. Enough damage has been done.
Simply put, the man elected to the Papacy, in order to affirm that his election was valid, must affirm The Unity Of The Holy Ghost,( The Filioque),and thus affirm The Divinity Of The Most Holy Blessed Trinity, Father, Son, And Holy Ghost, so as to affirm The Office Of The MUNUS, and thus The Ministerial Office, and thus The Papacy.
Regardless of what we think about how Peter is doing his duty, we have our own duty.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, ‘For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:35-39)
Amen.
I was listening to a homily on You Tube & Father said that no matter what happens in the Conclave, if we’re in God’s will, we will be ok. We need to reflect more on how we’re cooperating with God & obeying Him & less on the events in Rome.
Cardinal Zen delivered a bracing intervention to the consistory of Cardinals, illustrating how the Pontiff Francis and his circle (Parolin etc) have engineered the “synod on synodality” (a Canadian Jesuit bureaucratic process) to subvert the divine authority of bishops.
Zen warned the Cardinals that this conclave is a choice between “life and death first the Church.”
The Pillar has published Zen’s intervention in full, here:
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/cardinal-zen-reform-needed-because
Excellent diagnosis but to allow this apostasy to subsist within Christ’s Church, is to align oneself with a counterfeit church, with a counterfeit magisterium that is, in essence , anti Christ. The counterfeit church must be charitably anathema as it is eclipsing The True Church of Christ, Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, And Apostolic Church, In The Unity of The Holy Ghost, existing for The Salvation of Souls.
“Penance, Penance, Penance.”