Peter, His Faith, or Christ as the Rock? What St. Augustine Actually Taught

 

There are actually plenty of quotes from Augustine with interpretations of Matthew 16:18 which at first glance favors the retractors of Petrine Primacy. Orthodox and Protestants often cite these passages to show the Early Church Fathers never taught Peter was the Rock on which the Church was founded.

 

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 (𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢), 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 (𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢) 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬; 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳; 𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵. ‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦,’ 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, ‘𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬‘ 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, ‘𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘔𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩;’ 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥, ‘𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘔𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩.’ 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, ‘𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘴; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, ‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵.’ 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, ‘𝘐𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥? 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶? 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭?’ 𝘈𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭, 𝘴𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳; 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵: 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳. — Translated by R.G. MacMullen. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 6. Edited by Philip Schaff. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1888.)

 

𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳‘𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳‘𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯? ‘𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥.’ 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦‘𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦‘𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦‘𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘳. — John Rotelle, O.S.A., Ed., The Works of Saint Augustine , © 1993 New City Press, Sermons, Vol III/6, Sermon 229P.1, p. 327

 

𝘜𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘜𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, ‘𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥,’ 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 (𝘔𝘵. 16:18). — John Rotelle, Ed., The Works of Saint Augustine (New Rochelle: New City, 1993) Sermons, Volume III/7, Sermon 236A.3, p. 48.

 

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢 (𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬) 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢; 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, ‘𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩,’ 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, ‘𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥.’ 𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬 (𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢) 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 (𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢); 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. — Augustine Tractate CXXIV; Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: First Series, Volume VII Tractate CXXIV

 

𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, ‘𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥.’ 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥, ‘𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘢𝘳–𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘢, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳‘ (𝘔𝘵 16:16-18). 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵‘𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨; 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯‘𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥. — John Rotelle, Ed., The Works of Saint Augustine (New Rochelle: New City, 1993) Sermons, Volume III/7, Sermon 244.1, p. 95

 

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥 (𝘔𝘵 16:15-16)…𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶: 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳; 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺, 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳–𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯‘𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯‘𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 (𝘔𝘵 16:17-18); 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩; 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. — John Rotelle, O.S.A. Ed., The Works of Saint Augustine (New Rochelle: New City Press, 1993), Sermons, Volume III/7, Sermon 270.2, p. 289  

 

…𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘵 (𝘔𝘵. 16:18). 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 (1 𝘊𝘰𝘳. 10:4). 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶? 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘴, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳. — John Rotelle, Ed., The Works of Saint Augustine (New Rochelle: New City Press, 1995), Sermons, Volume III/10,Sermon 358.5, p. 193

 

𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭: ‘𝘜𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘔𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩.’ 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬? 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨: ‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵.’ 𝘖𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯. — Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1956), Volume VIII, Saint Augustin, Exposition on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LXI.3, p. 249.

 

𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳: ‘𝘖𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵.’…𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: ‘𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩,’ 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨: ‘𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥,’ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 ‘𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯.’ 𝘍𝘰𝘳, ‘𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳‘ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 ‘𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬‘ 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 ‘𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵,’ 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮, 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. — The Fathers of the Church (Washington D.C., Catholic University, 1968), Saint Augustine, The Retractations Chapter 20.1:.

 

Here I address the quotations of St. Augustine’s Sermons and Retractions regarding the Petrine theory. Augustine’s stances on the issue are better summarized in his own statement we just read in his ‘Retractationes’, which are not actual retractions or recantations as we understand them in the common English; but reconsiderations, re-examinations or revisions as many Latin scholars have pointed out.

 

As he himself described, Augustine originally maintained the Petrine theory, situating Peter as the Rock in Matthew 16:18. Later, he preached such rock was Peter’s confession or statement of faith. Finally, he also adopted the simpler view Christ is Himself the rock, probably as a result of his constant reference to the Pauline understanding of Christ as the rock from which believers drink and his work on the Psalms.

 

So here we have St. Augustine upholding three different perspectives on the passage — how does He (and therefore ‘we’) reconcile them? To answer this, we need to first have in consideration two things regarding Catholic theology and the historical context in which these words were written:

 

1. No Christian in communion with the Catholic Church ever argued the See of Peter had no supreme authority over the universal church. We do find statements by Tertullian who first acknowledged the office of Peter in ‘Against Heresies’ to have such authority, but once he became a heretic, he recanted his position in ‘On Modesty’.
2. Because of the latter, neither the doctrine of Papal Infallibility needed to be rigorously defined nor the non-Petrine interpretation of the rock condemned. If Augustine, not being considered infallible, had maintained that the Church at large (and not Peter alone) received the power of the keys after this doctrine was defined, he would have been anathematized by the Council. But in his writings, he never denies or detaches this power from the figure of St. Peter, he only leaves the door open for the minister in the Church to opt for a more pastoral interpretation or a more doctrinal one.

 

It is only as a result of the many controversies questioning the authority of the Bishop of Rome that the Church infallibly defined the verses in question as follow: 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸 16:16-19 (“𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩“) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 21:15-17 (“𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘴 . . . 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘱“) 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘺. — Questions People Ask About the Catholic Church by Fr. Leslie Rumble (Kensington, Australia: Chevalier, 1972), pp. 176-177.

 

In Vatican I, Session 4, Chapter 1 we find the following:

1. 𝘞𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘥.

2. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴:

3. 𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘢𝘳–𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘢. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯.

4. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨:

5. 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘴, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘱..

6. 𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

7. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.

8. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙞𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙋𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩; 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙟𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛: 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙖.

 

Having this in mind, the Catechism teaches four things, reconciling the issue for us in the process:

1. 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴: ‘𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥.’ 𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘚𝘵. 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. (CCC 424)

2. 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦; 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥: “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥.” 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮: “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘵.” 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 “𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦“, 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵. (CCC 552)

3. 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳: “𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 “𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴” 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘥, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: “𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘱.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 “𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦” 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮. (CCC 553)

4. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 “𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬” 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.” 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩‘𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘱𝘦 (CCC 881).

The first and second point clearly collect most, if not all of the historic Catholic interpretations attributed to this passage. We see the Catechism, just like Augustine, teaches that Peter the man, his confession of faith and Christ Himself are all alluded as the foundational rocks. The Catechism later goes on verse by verse to identify the source of doctrinal developments.

 

Based on the third point, I must say non-Catholics who often attack papal supremacy by claiming Peter is not the rock in Mt 16:18 are quite missing the point. It is the handing of the keys alluded in the verse which alone confers Peter supreme authority over the rest of the Church, which is better understood in the light of Isaiah 22:22.

 

In point number 4, when the Catechism goes on to say “The Lord made Simon alone”, ‘alone’ is used in the individual sense, in comparison to the rest of the Apostles and the episcopal college. Thus, it does not exclude the understanding that the rock can be Simon’s confession of faith and Christ himself.

 

We conclude then, when it comes to putting to the test the Petrine theory of authority, the non-Catholic should challenge the power of the keys and the commission of Christ to feed His sheep, not the identity of the rock.

 

Acknowledging this, we also see in Catholic teaching there is room for more than one interpretation since they all approach the issue from different angles. We can say the rock in formal sense refers to Peter himself, just as the woman clothed with the sun refers to Mary. The rock in the material sense refers to a Christ-centered faith, since that is what Peter’s mission is fueled by. The rock in the efficient sense refers to Christ Himself, the fountainhead of grace through which the Holy Spirit edifies us in Him. Such understanding now makes much more sense thanks to the tireless work of Fathers like St. Augustine, who very often is juxtaposed against Catholic theology, but happened to be the one of the Church’s most loyal and revered servants.

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