Fr. Paul D. Scalia: A Dogmatic Response

Today’s Gospel (Matthew 16:13-20) is one of the most stereotypically Catholic – and even papal. It contains Christ’s authoritative words to Simon Peter: the changing of his name, the giving of the keys, the promise to the Church built on him.

Now, the Catholic temptation is to leap right away to this scene’s importance for establishing and defending papal and ecclesial authority. Indeed, as the text indicates, our Lord built his Church on Peter and on no other; he gave the keys to Peter and to no other. But this passage contains an even more fundamental principle, without which we can’t properly understand the papacy or ecclesial authority. …