The Troubling Question
Recently, an acquaintance belonging to the schismatic Eastern “Orthodox” Church asked me directly and without reservation: “Well? What about the statement of the Savior Jesus ‘That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’? Does it apply to Pope Francis? Or hasn’t the visible Church been defeated by the gates of hell?” As you might easily suppose, he knows almost everything about the current crisis in the Church. Christian websites in countries like Romania, Greece, Russia, and Serbia are often the scene of critical presentations and condemnation of declarations such as Fiducia supplicans. With that specific jubilation of those who believe they are always right, Eastern schismatics point fingers at us when saying: “See, we told you that the papists (i.e., Catholics) are heretics!” It is certainly not easy to deal with their criticism in a context like the one we find ourselves in today – absorbed as if in a vortex.
Half serious, half ironic, my acquaintance was implicitly questioning one of the well-known Catholic interpretations of the passage from Matthew 16:18. According to it, none of the Popes will ever fall from the true Christian faith (i.e., doctrinal orthodoxy). As Peter has been the “rock,” every pope in history will be a “rock.” Saint Augustine himself embraced a similar interpretation after his conversion. Only three years before his death, in Retractationes, he shows that, in fact, the “rock” is Jesus Christ, and Peter is only a model for all those who assume and confess the same faith in Christ – the “rock.”[i]
To justify their nearly millennium-long separation from the Catholic Church and the rejection of the authority and jurisdiction of the Sovereign Pontiff, the Eastern schismatics exclude any interpretation that includes the apostle Peter as the “rock” or foundation of the Church. The saint they most often invoke is John Chrysostom. He, somewhat similarly to Saint Augustine, showed that Christ does not refer to Peter as a person but to the faith professed by him. Therefore, what the Savior says in Matthew 16:18, explains Saint John Chrysostom, means that “on this faith and confession I will build my Church.” In other words, it is not something about the person of the first Pope in history. The “rock” is only the true faith professed by him. Usually, Eastern schismatics cite the first part of the sentence of Saint John Chrysostom, possibly adding a little of what follows – “many should believe what Peter had confessed.” However, they never mention the end of the sentence, namely that by virtue of this testimony, the Savior made him his vicar, that is, Pope. They avoid any connection between Peter’s testimony and his unique function within the college of the Apostles.
When I think about our current situation, the words from the Gospel according to Matthew come to mind: “They were distressed, and lying like sheep that have no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
In order to better understand the importance of this connection, we can turn to Saint Thomas Aquinas. He, with his style of adamantine clarity, simply and unequivocally showed that “Christ is the foundation through himself, but Peter insofar as he holds the confession of Christ, insofar as he is his vicar.” Obviously, the function of vicar refers to the function of pope, even though Saint Thomas also emphasizes that this function has value only through reference to the sacred treasure of Christian Revelation. As one might say, we have two rocks: one, Christ the Savior, who is the rock in himself, and another, derived, which is and remains a rock as long as it professes what Peter professed in Matthew 16:16, “Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Not a controversy
Do not think that I started this essay with any polemical intention. Living in a predominantly “Orthodox” country, I have simply grown weary after almost 25 years of endless debates with those who claim that “light comes from the East.” But what should I reply to anyone who asks me what my acquaintance asked me? Considering everything we have seen in recent decades, after the Second Vatican Council, probably all of us have wondered, in one form or another, whether or not the Church founded on the rock that is Christ Himself has been defeated by the “gates of hell.” Obviously, a positive answer would be a denial of God’s own words telling us that this will never happen. On the other hand, I am sure that God wanted to leave us these words in Holy Scripture precisely because He foresaw how difficult we would be tried in dark times like the ones we are experiencing now.
And yet, if someone asks us where the true Church is – about which we firmly believe is the Catholic Church – what do we answer? Can we show them Rome? Can we have them read the official documents of Pope Francis? Or those of Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández? Can we show them today’s “Catholic” episcopate? Let’s say we only present the prelates who have taken a stand against current heresies (whether doctrinal or practical): Cardinals Müller, Burke, Sarah or Bishops Schneider, and Strickland. I myself have done this by giving those mentioned as examples of doctrinal orthodoxy. I was immediately asked: “Well, how do I choose? Are the ones you mentioned superior to the Pope? If not, why should I listen to them and not to Pope Francis himself? Who helps me discern correctly?” How do we respond to that without getting into a deadlock?
The acquaintance who asked me the question mentioned at the beginning of the article did this knowing my explanations about the possibility of a heretical pope (referring to the current pontiff), about the defection of a large part of the hierarchy, etc. Consequently, he asked me, taking my explanations seriously: “If it’s as you say, what about that word of the Savior that says the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church?” So, with a heretical pope, with a compromised hierarchy incapable of reaction, has the Church been conquered or not? That is the question.
But despite the terrible situation in which we are immersed, supernatural faith will be transmitted despite the total war unleashed by the forces of darkness against everything that is good, true, and beautiful.
A difficult answer
In recent decades, I have often read comments and notes, especially in the traditional Catholic environment, where there is talk of the “hijacking” of the Church. It sounds like those sensational news stories about taking a plane’s control by terrorists. I don’t know if those who used such words understood all the implications of their statements. For some, it might imply that the enemies of the Church have overcome the militant Church. An alternative, rather simple explanation was suggested to me by Saint Augustine. Describing the situation of Christians in the last years before the end of the world, he shows how terrible it will be: like after the explosion of nuclear bombs, there will be only dying people everywhere, not a single healthy person capable of standing on their own. Spiritually, it seems to me that we are like the survivors of the detonations at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nothing triumphant, only groans and sighs. But ultimately, the fallen world was described in the Old Testament as a “vale of tears” (Latin: vallis lacrimarum), isn’t it? And yet, what is the concrete significance of the encouraging words of the Savior – namely that the Church will not be overcome by the gates of hell?
Whenever I ask myself such questions, I put myself “in brackets.” That is, I prefer to see, first of all, what are the answers given by the holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church. So I will do now. Let’s see, therefore, their responses.[ii]
Saint Jerome (c. 342-347–420) tells us that the gates of hell are “vice and sin, or at least the doctrines of heretics by which men are ensnared and drawn into hell.” He is supported by the Alexandrian catechist and scholar Origen (c.185–c.253) who, in turn, shows that “every spiritual sin is a gate of hell.” The great Renaissance exegete, the Jesuit Cornelius à Lapide S.J. (1567–1637), categorically states that the gates of hell signify “heresies, and heresiarchs.”[iii] He probably follows Saint Thomas Aquinas, who asserts in his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew that it refers to “heretics, because just as one enters into a house through a gate, so one enters into hell through these.”[iv] Good, so far it’s clear. Now comes the hard part. Both Cornelius à Lapide and the Angelic Doctor affirm that it is about the incorruptibility of the Church. Here is a significant quote from the latter:
“Although other churches can be reproached for heretics, yet the Roman church was not corrupted by heretics, because it was founded upon the rock. Hence there were heretics in Constantinople, and the apostles’ labor was lost; only Peter’s church remained inviolate. Hence, ‘but I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not’ (Luke 22:32). And this does not only refer to Peter’s church, but to Peter’s faith, and to the whole western church. Hence I believe that those in the west owe more reverence to Peter than to the other apostles.”[v]
So, although Saint Thomas affirms that the Savior’s statement about the Church being unconquered refers primarily to Peter’s faith, it also includes the Roman Catholic Church (i.e., the whole Western church). Considering the situation we find ourselves in now, in the year of grace 2024, I believe we cannot avoid the conclusion that seems evident: Saint Thomas was wrong. Just as Saint Alphonsus and all those saints who, with good and pious intentions, believed that no pope could ever be a heretic. So how do we answer my acquaintance’s question? Have the gates of hell overcome the Church or not?
Today’s reality doesn’t allow us any escape: things are as we see them. So the Savior’s statement that the “gates of hell” will not overcome the Church can only mean one thing: just as it happened during His first coming to earth, the faith revealed by the heavenly Father to Peter will remain unbeaten – until the end of the world – in those unknown and disregarded true Christians (disregarded by both Church hierarchs and political leaders). When I think about our current situation, the words from the Gospel according to Matthew come to mind: “They were distressed, and lying like sheep that have no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). But despite the terrible situation in which we are immersed, supernatural faith will be transmitted despite the total war unleashed by the forces of darkness against everything that is good, true, and beautiful. I don’t know how else to answer, though I will gladly read any comment that can bring a glimpse of light, especially of hope.
Veni, Domine Jesu! (Revelation 22:20)
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[i] Here is the complete quotation from Saint Augustine: “I have said in a certain place of the Apostle Peter, that it was on him, as on a rock, that the Church was built. But I know that since that I have often explained these words of the Lord, ‘Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build my Church,’ as meaning upon Him whom Peter had confessed in the words, ‘Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God;’ and so that Peter, taking his name from this rock, would represent the Church, which is built upon this rock. For it is not said to him, ‘Thou art the rock,’ but, ‘Thou art Peter’ (1 Cor. 10:4.) But the rock was Christ, whom because Simon thus confessed, as the whole Church confesses Him, he was named Peter. Let the reader choose whether of these two opinions seems to him the more probable.”
[ii] All the quotations from the Fathers of the Church are taken from Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Catena Aurea: https://www.ecatholic2000.com/catena/untitled-23.shtml [Accessed: 25 March 2024].
[iii] The Great Commentary of Cornelius Cornelii à Lapide, Translated by Thomas W. Mossman (assisted by various scholars), Edinburgh: John Grant, 1908, p. 222.
[iv] Saint Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew: https://aquinas.cc/la/en/~Matt.C16.L2.n1385.2 [Accessed: 25 March 2024].
[v] Saint Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew: https://aquinas.cc/la/en/~Matt.C16.L2.n1385.2 [Accessed: 25 March 2024].
