“By what authority are you doing these things?” That challenge to Jesus about authority is a perennial one. In the Catholic Church the authority of the pope comes from his place as the successor to Peter, the rock on whom Jesus built his Church. In the Council of Chalcedon (451AD) which was dealing with controversies over the identity of Christ the matter was settled when Pope Leo (who was not in attendance) sent a letter explaining his position. The Council Fathers adopted his opinion: “Peter has spoken through Leo.” In our time when John Paul II was pope a segment of the Catholic population kept saying, “He’s the one with authority. Listen to him.” Now that Francis is pope a whole different segment of the population is saying, “He’s the one with authority. Listen to him.” Human nature being what it is, we tend to pick and choose which authorities we listen to.
JUNE32023
By Church Staff
