Our Security

The Pope is not perfect. The Pope makes mistakes. The Pope sins. The Pope says things he should not say. Now, to which Pope am I referring? Pope Honorius (who was a heretic); Pope Peter (who was our first Pope); Pope Francis; or any one of the other Popes we have had down through history?

In Scripture, our Lord chose to tell us about a great number of St. Peter's blunders. None of the authors of Scripture ever tried to "justify" them, reinterpret them, or make them appear to fit in light of the truth; we are just told about them, and thus we have to accept them as a part of reality. They were mistakes and this is the way it is. Yet, we are also supposed to realize that this can build our hope, because if all these mistakes and errors are reality, they fit right along with the reality that God promised that the Church would not be overcome (it is not as though St. Peter surprised Jesus!) , and that the Pope would be protected from destroying the Church (though it appears some have tried to do so!).

Some Catholics today are tempted to bail on the Pope and try to find a way to be Catholic without him. I completely understand their feelings. What we each need to remember is that God allows these things to happen as a reminder for us: He is in charge, and nothing we do (or that the Pope does), no matter how awful can stop Him from securing the Church until the second coming of Christ. It is impossible for us to foul things up enough where God's promises fail. He just works our mistakes into His plan for His own glory.

Doctrinal or moral error will never be formally supported by the Church. The Church will remain until the end of history. Christ and His grace will always be available to us. So, then, go ahead Satan: do your worst. We may at times be afraid, but we have hope; we have confidence because our security does not rest in our own righteousness; it rests in the grace of our Almighty Lord.