A few years ago I went to a once-a-semester meeting where students can come and ask a priest any question they want with the hope that one of them might stump him. An event aptly named “Stump the Priest.” I went and after some of the questioning, the priest made the comment that it seems like Protestants are given a list of questions that Catholics apparently can’t answer, a kind of to-do list of objections for us. One big one that comes up a lot, and is in fact most ridiculed, is the pope.
Whatever he says we have to hold as infallible, and we believe he cannot sin, right?
Not true.
One thing I’ve learned that needs to happen before any apology of the authority of the pope occurs is a conversation about what a bishop is. If a person doesn’t have bishops in her denomination, then they have at least two issues with the pope.
The office of the bishop occurs in Scripture as “overseer” or “episcopate”, and Paul even gives a description of the ideal bishop in 1 Tim. 3. Oh yeah, bishops are biblical too. From what I know anyone who is congregationalist wouldn’t have bishops, Baptists wouldn’t either, which I think count as congregationalist. It’s better to start with denominations that do. If you’re Catholic, United Methodist, Anglican, Orthodox, or Lutheran you have them. Otherwise no.
From the start, early in the second century, Irenaeus argued the authority of the bishops as successors to the apostles in their teaching. Back then they could say this guy was taught by a guy who was taught by one of the apostles, and if that isn’t authoritative, we have another discussion on our hands.
As far as what their purpose is in the church, bishops serve two big roles in the Catholic Church:
They preserve the teaching of the apostles. As successors to them through their being ordained a bishop, they teach and carry on orthodox theology. This is where the pope’s infallibility and role as teacher comes in. He’s just the bishop of bishops, as established by the hierarchy of the church.
The second role is that of administrator or shepherd to the people. They have all the functions of a presbyter (priest), yet are set above them to manage, exhort, and teach them. One bishop to a diocese unless they ask for more auxiliary ones, like what's happening in Dallas right now. We have two to help with Bishop Kevin Farrell.
What about cardinals? Another kind of bishop, they’re different in being set under the pope, his cabinet in a sense.
This revelation I found helpful in establishing a diplomatic discussion of the purpose and value of the pope, while working in the role of the bishop. I mean, that’s all he is, just another shepherd ordained to serve the people in a long line that stretches nearly two thousand years to those who walked with Christ in the flesh. No biggie.
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