What to Do About Mediocre, Milky Homilies at Mass
Explicit Papal Infallibility in 96 AD (Pope St. Clement)
Photo by Chad Greiter on Unsplash
If, however, any shall disobey the words spoken by Him through us, let them know that they will involve themselves in transgression and serious danger; . . . (St. Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians, 59)
Joy and gladness will you afford us, if you become obedient to the words written by us and through the Holy Spirit root out the lawless wrath of your jealousy according to the intercession which we have made for peace and unity in this letter. (Ibid., 63)
Why is it that Clement is speaking with authority from Rome, settling the disputes of other regions? Why don’t the Corinthians solve it themselves, if they have a proclaimed bishop or even if they didn’t claim one at the time? Why do they appeal to the bishop of Rome? These are questions that I think Protestants need to seriously consider and offer some sort of answer for.
Why does Corinth have to obey Rome? Who determined that set-up? Why does it even cross their mind to write to a local church far away to settle their problems, and why does Clement assume that they should obey him, and that it would be “transgression and serious danger” if they don’t?
Clement definitely asserts his authority over the Corinthian church far away. Again, the question is: “why?” What sense does that make in a Protestant-type ecclesiology where every region is autonomous and there is supposedly no hierarchical authority in the Christian Church? Why must they “obey” the bishop from another region (sections 59, 63)? Not only does Clement assert strong authority; he also claims that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are speaking “through” him.
That is extraordinary, and very similar to what we see in the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:28 (“For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things”: RSV) and in Scripture itself. It’s not strictly inspiration but it is sure something akin to infallibility (i.e., divine protection from error and the pope as a unique mouthpiece of, or representative of God).
Recommended Stories
More Stories By Dave Armstrong:
About the Author
Dave Armstrong (see Facebook & Twitter pages) has been an apologist since 1981 & has defended Catholicism since 1991, when he was received into the Church. He has written for the Catholic periodicals, National Catholic Register (regular columnist since 2016; over 300 articles), Catholic Answers Magazine, Envoy Magazine, The Catholic Answer, Seton Magazine, The Michigan Catholic, The Catholic World Report, & others. Dave has written over 4,500 articles & 53 books (see book and purchase information), including A Biblical Defense of Catholicism (Sophia Institute Press, 2003), The Catholic Verses: 95 Bible Passages That Confound Protestants (Sophia, 2004; published also in Portugese), The One-Minute Apologist (Sophia, 2007), 100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura (Catholic Answers Press, 2012; also in Portugese), & The Word Set in Stone: How Archaeology, Science, and History Back Up the Bible (Catholic Answers Press: March 15, 2023). He has been happily married to his wife Judy since 1984, with four children & three grandchildren.<
