BONUS|Answering Two Papal Objections w/ Matt Sewell
Summary
What do Catholics believe about the Papacy? Who was Pope Liberius and why doesn’t his historical situation threaten the doctrine of papal infallibility? Who was Pope Honorius and why doesn’t his historical situation disprove the doctrine of papal infallibility? Matthew Sewell joins us to tackle two objections to the papacy and explain these historical episodes.
Guest Bio
Matthew Sewell is the host of The Popecast, a podcast about papal history and author of the popular “Popes in a Year” daily email series. He also occasionally writes at the National Catholic Register. By day, Matthew works at Flocknote to help parishes and dioceses build a more connected Church. Matthew, his wife, and their infant son, Leo, make their home in Spokane, Washington.
Sources Quoted
The Lord says to Peter: ‘I say to you,’ he says, ‘that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.’ . . . On him [Peter] he builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep [John 21:17], and although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was [i.e., apostles], but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all [the apostles] are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he [should] desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?
St. Cyprian of Carthage, AD 251 (source)
Resources Mentioned
The Popecast (Matthew’s podcast)
Related Episodes
Ep. #61 – Exegetical Support for Petrine Primacy w/ Fr. Gadenz
