Why do Catholics follow the Pope?

John 21:15-17 states:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."

He then said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep."

He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." (Jesus) said to him, "Feed my sheep.

Matthew 16:17-19 states:

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Here are a few non-biblical proofs of the papacy and Peter as Bishop of Rome, all of them from before the council of Nicea in 325 A.D.

Pope Clement's letter to the Corinthians (written about 96 C.E.) was pastoral in tone.

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm

St. Ignatius of Antioch in his letter to the Romans (written c. 105) in a very long introductory sentence writes, "...; the Church ..., which also presides in the place of the report of the Romans, ..."

http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_articl...

In 189 C.E. Irenaeus of Lyons's Against Heresies (3:3:2) states, "With [the Church of Rome], because of its superior origin, all the churches must agree... and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition."

In 195 C.E., Pope Victor I excommunicated Christians belonging to another place and bishop, the Quartodecimans of Asia, for observing Easter on the wrong date.

Irenaeus in 189 C.E.:

"The very ancient, and universally known Church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul; ... The blessed apostles, then, having founded and built up the Church, committed into the hands of Linus the office of the episcopate." (Against Heresies 3:3:2-3) http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.iv.iv.htm...

Tertullian in 200 C.E.:

"For this is the manner in which the apostolic churches transmit their registers: as the church of Smyrna, which records that Polycarp was placed therein by John; as also the church of Rome, which makes Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter." (Demurrer Against the Heretics 32) http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm

Anonymous in 211 C.E.:

"For they say that all the early teachers and the apostles received and taught what they now declare, and that the truth of the Gospel was preserved until the times of Victor, who was the thirteenth bishop of Rome from Peter" (The Little Labyrinth, in Eusebius, Church History 5:28:3) http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.x.xxix...

Cyprian of Carthage in 251 C.E.:

"And although to all the apostles, after His resurrection, He gives an equal power, and says, “As the Father hath sent me, ..., they shall be retained;” (John 20:21-22) yet, He founded a single Chair. That He might set forth unity, He established by His authority the origin of that unity, as having its origin in one man alone. No doubt the others were all that Peter was, but a primacy is given to Peter, and it is thus made clear that there is but one Church and one Chair. So too, even if they are all shepherds, we are shown but one flock which is to be fed by all the apostles in common accord. If a man does not hold fast to this oneness of Peter, does he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he deserts the Chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, has he confidence that he is in the Church?" (The Unity of the Catholic Church 4) http://www.romancatholicism.org/jansenism/cyprian-...

And in 252 C.E.:

"Moreover, Cornelius was made bishop by the judgment of God and of His Christ, by the testimony of almost all the clergy, by the suffrage of the people who were then present, and by the assembly of ancient priests and good men, when no one had been made so before him, when the place of Fabian, that is, when the place of Peter24612461 [On the death of Fabian, see Ep. iii. p. 281; sufferings of Cornelius (inference), p. 303; Decius, p. 299.] and the degree of the sacerdotal throne was vacant; which being occupied by the will of God, and established by the consent of all of us, whosoever now wishes to become a bishop, must needs be made from without; and he cannot have the ordination of the Church who does not hold the unity of the Church." (Letters 51:8) http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf05.iv.iv.li.htm...

Eusebius of Caesarea in 312 C.E.:

"As to the rest of his followers, Paul testifies that Crescens was sent to Gaul; but Linus, whom he mentions in the Second Epistle to Timothyas his companion at Rome, was Peter’s successor in the episcopate of the church there, as has already been shown. Clement also, who was appointed third bishop of the church at Rome, was, as Paul testifies, his co-laborer and fellow-soldier." (Church History 3:4:9–10). http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.viii.i...

More other early Christian writings that refer to Peter as Bishop of Rome, see: http://www.americancatholictruthsociety.com/docs/e...

The Catholic Church believes 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 Pope is the senior pastor of 1.1 billion Catholic Christians, the direct successor of Simon Peter.

The Pope’s main roles include teaching, sanctifying, and governing.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 880-882: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3a...

With love in Christ.

You're so confused.

Catholics did not alter the Bible, and there was no Catholic Man who altered it. Luther removed some books, but other than that it has been the same Bible that was formed at the Councils of Carthage and Hippo, both of which are older than Constantine (thanks Fr. Joe!).

Jesus did start the Papacy. "Thou are Peter (which means 'rock') and upon this rock I will build my church". That is Jesus, in Scripture, starting the Papacy.

EDIT* Oh, ok, so you're not actually interested in learning anything, you already have it figured out and want to just pose as a questioner in order to put out a historical lie. We have the list of popes buddy, and it stretches back to St. Peter. If you want to be intellectually dishonest, be my guest.

"Not a christian". Hah. You reek of fundie.

Catholics don't follow the Pope. We follow Jesus Christ, and the Pope tells us to. It's amazing how many "Christians" say not to listen to the Pope who tells us to follow Jesus.

It's amazing how so many "Christians" don't like the Pope, and have never read one single word of his.

Jesus made Peter an important leader. He established an office (12 actually), kinda like the presidency of the U.S. is an office. If something is truly an office, it must have successors.

Peter died, and someone had to sit in the chair of his "office". Then, that person died, and he was replaced. And so on... down to this day. the Pope is a direct successor to the original office that Jesus made. This is a historical fact, not an opinion.

Note: Constantine dd NOT start the "official" Papacy.

While Constantine was certainly involved in the growth of the Church, the bishop of Rome has been established since Peter and Paul jointly chose Linus to lead the Church community in that city prior to their martyrdoms.

The first Bishop of Rome to state his authority to advise and lend his aid to brother bishops was Clement, in 90 A.D. His letter to Corinth clarifying the way of which the bishop there was to direct his community defined the concept of the Bishop of Rome being the greatest amongst equals.

the title "Pope" is originally attributed to Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria. In 325, the first council of Nicea occurred. This was the event that Constantine orchestrated, and the reason why so many people believe that the Papacy was started here. Athanasius, throughout his episcopacy, had been known as "Papa" by his community, a title that referred to their familiarity and fondness for him. Sylvester, the Bishop of Rome at the time, was amused by the title and told others about it. From there, the name "Papa" was used on and off with more and more regular consistency by various bishops, notably the Bishop of Rome.

It was Leo the Great, in the mid 400's, who adopted the title officially. During his period there was a great deal of conflict and disruption in the various episcopacies. Leo worked to help unite churches, discredit heresies, and helped to orchestrate the first Council of Constantinople. His work earned him the now popular title of "Papa", and as he worked with the other bishops, they too began to refer to him as "Papa". Leo officially stated that he and those who succeeded him would retain the title given by the bishops.

Papa was later transformed into "Papum," the anglos version of it being "Pope."

ironic how Creation plays the brainwash card when 8/10 of his answers are copy and paste.

anyhoo, I don't know what you're talking about (guy who altered he bible? I hope you're not referring to Constantine, since there were 29 popes before he even became emperor)

The pope is the successor of St.Peter. In the bible, Jesus tells Peter that he is the rock, and on this rock He will build a church.

Because he is the succesor to St. Peter, who was ordained by Jesus as the first Pope, St. Peter in turn passed thsi onto Linus I believe and all the way down the line to Benedict XVI. He is the head of the chirstian church the kingdom of heevan/God on earth. He speaks with the authority given him by Jesus.

The more pertentnait questio is if you consider yourself to be christian why don't you follow the pope. If you consider yourself to be christian and you do not follow the Pope head of the kingdom of God?heavenm on earth, then where is it you are going?

We sure do get things programmed into our brains, don't we? Right from birth? It sure is hard to get any new ideas into us- no matter where we live- we all tend to totally believe whatever we were told from birth, without question, don't we?????

Everyone seems to never leave what they have been told from birth!

No one really seems to change from what they have been "raised" in.

Those earliest writings are to the "bishop" at Rome- there was NO "one supreme pontiff" over all the churches. And that one who excommunicated the others over the Easter date... how ludicrous- as if it matters whether we celebrate Easter or not. It doesn't even matter to our salvation! It was a power grab.

Pontifex Maximus was the Ceasar's title, never Christians.

because Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep. Jesus knew he would assend into heaven, he would not leave us as orphans, he left his church with peter as the head, and the bishops who were the apostles, as bishops, they could make other men priests and they could become bishops then. They were needed to administer the 7 sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ. We needed peter, look in scripture, after Peter, stands up and speaks, thats the end of discussion, He took the role of leader in the bible and St Linus took over when Peter was crusified in Rome.

Jesus did do it. He gave Peter the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, and told him to feed his sheep. This gave Peter, and his successors, the responsibility and authority to lead the faithful.

The Pope's office is one designated and authorized by Christ himself. I'm not sure what you mean by the "guy who altered the Bible." Who would that be?

Every Pope is a successor to Peter, not to the Pope before him. Each one carries the Keys of Peter and therefore we, as faithful Christians and Christ's sheep...follow him. The Pope (as was with Peter) stands in the place of Christ here on earth, he holds the authority of Christ, until Christ's return.

The catholic bible is not altered or you talking about the KJV that has several gospels/scriptures missing?

Anyway as the above post said 'upon this rock I will build my church',

John 21:15-17 states:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."

He then said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep."

He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." (Jesus) said to him, "Feed my sheep.

Matthew 16:17-19 states:

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

The Catholic Church believes 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 Pope is the senior pastor of 1.1 billion Catholics, the direct successor of Simon Peter.

The Pope’s main roles include teaching, sanctifying, and governing.

Constantine was the first Christian Roman Emperor. He established the new capital of Rome at the old Greek town of Byzantium, which he renamed after himself (Constantinople) and which would be the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. He raised Christianity (which had not long been legal in the empire) to the status of a "permitted religion." He took a direct interest in matters of doctrine, setting a precedent for future emperors, and called the first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church (at Nicaea).

Constantine saw a vision earlier in Gaul on his way to Rome. The most widely known is that at noon on the day of battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine saw a cross of brilliant light imposed over the sun with the words "By This, Conquer" attached. Eusebius the historian in his "Life" says that Constantine personally told him the story. Some sources say Constantine was a "closet" Christian for much of his life. Others say that Constantine became a Christian later in life.

A triumphal arch was built three years after the battle with words about how Constantine saved the republic '"by greatness of mind and impulse of divinity." After Rome was conquered the troops carried a pennant bearing the monogram of Jesus - the Greek letters "chi" and "rho" standing for the word "Christ".

``Soon after the victory (313) Constantine issued the Edict of Milan( recognizing Christianity as an acceptable religion, restoring previously confiscated church property and protecting Christian people from persecution.) Within several years he sponsored the Council of Nicaea to negotiate a statement of orthodox Christian belief that could be recognized across the Empire. The Nicaean Creed continues to be used today``.

Therefore it is complete nonsense to say that Constantine started the Catholic church but it is truthful to say that Christ used him to set the persecuted church free from Roman tyranny,and allow it to flourish as Christ intended.