Hello Pope

I'm not sure if you've been following all the media coverage of the pope's visit to the USA or not, but it has been a big deal. When the head of the Roman Catholic Church crosses the sea to see what's what, that's a big deal to Catholics and many others. I happened to catch a glimpse of Shepherd I landing at Andrews Airforce Base and I also happened to catch a glimpse of it landing in New York just prior to the pope's address to the U.N. What interested me more than anything was the entourage of cardinals, bishops and other professional holy people who greeted, assisted and attended to the needs of the pope. Why would they do all of this?

The pope is considered by Catholics to be the head of the church on earth. He is the vicar of Christ and as such rules over the church in much the same way a monarch would rule over a country. Because of the great power that has been vested in him and the belief that he is the head of the church on earth, the pope receives all of the same treatment as any political ruler or monarch. The Roman Catholic Church derives their understanding of the pope's authority from Matthew 16: 17-19. In this passage Jesus says to Peter, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will be my church." Our Roman friends interpret that to mean that Peter is the rock upon which Christ will build his church. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most reasonable theologians believe that Jesus is using a play on words to indicate the object of who the church is built upon. The word for Peter in the language of the New Testament means a small rock. The word used for rock in this verse means a large ledge stone. It is commonly understood that the rocks (the word used for Peter) are broken off of THE Rock (the word for ledge stone) and they possess the same characteristics as the larger rock. No wonder Peter said in I Peter 2 that we are living stones being built up as a royal priesthood. One more thought on the pope as the head of the church on earth. Jesus said in Matthew 28: 18 that all authority has been given to him in heaven and on earth. Jesus is the head of the church on earth - not the pope.