I love being Catholic; but sometimes I get too defensive when under-educated Catholics and misinformed non-Catholics make inaccurate statements about the Catholic Church. Jesus Christ, God Himself, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, established One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. That Church is the Roman Catholic Church. It has been the visible extension of Jesus Christ on earth since his death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven nearly 2000 years ago. Most importantly, we have God's word that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide the Church until the end of the age. When is the end of the age? It's at the Second Coming when Jesus returns in His glory with all His angels to judge the living and the dead.

If you were to meet a non-Catholic Christian who told you, "Jesus built His Church on Himself, not Peter," how would you react? Would you agree with him and quickly change the subject? Or would you clear up his misunderstanding? I hope you would choose to clear up the misunderstanding. Faithful Catholics know that Jesus did build His Church on Peter the Rock. Let's correct the misinformation by turning to that most Catholic of books: the Bible.

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus then said to Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven."

We clearly heard Jesus tell Peter and the other Apostles that He would build His Church on Peter the rock. Yet, as clear as Jesus is in Matthew's gospel (16:13-19), our separated brothers and sisters in other Christian denominations often look for ways to refute the Church's infallible interpretation of this Bible passage. They will say that Jesus Himself is the rock on which He built His Church. Or they'll say Jesus built His Church on Peter's profession of faith. For non-Catholic Christians, a lot is riding on the correct interpretation of this passage. If non-Catholics Christians accept the Church's interpretation, they can no longer justify their separation from the Church that God established.

The New Testament (NT) was written in Greek; although, Jesus and the Apostles spoke Aramaic. Therefore, Jesus would have used the same Aramaic word Kepha when He referred to "Peter" and to "Rock". (Jesus would have said, "You are Kepha and on this Kepha I will build my Church.") When Matthew wrote his Gospel, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he used the Greek word Petros (a masculine noun meaning small stone) for Peter; but he used the Greek word Petra (a feminine noun meaning large rock) for Rock. (Jesus would have said, "You are Petros and on this Petra I will build my Church.") Non-Catholic Christians point to this Greek use of two different words for Peter and Rock to declare that God did not build His Church on the small stone, Peter, but on Peter's profession of faith or on Jesus Himself. Matthew used two different Greek words for "rock" because it would have been inappropriate to refer to Peter with the feminine noun Petra.

Not only does Jesus build His Church on Peter, but He gives him the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Let's visit an Old Testament (OT) passage, Is 22:20-22, and unravel the significance of these keys. Isaiah shows us how the king of the House of David appoints a prime minister to speak and rule for the king in his absence. Just like Eliakim, the prime minister in the OT who was given the authority to speak for the king in his absence, Jesus in the NT gives Peter the authority to speak for Him in His absence. When Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom, He gave him and his successors the authority to be the universal voice of the Church on earth.

I've heard both Catholic and Protestant Bible scholars state, "The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is revealed the New." Perhaps these verses in Isaiah and Matthew are an example of this. The NT was written by Catholics in the first century. In the latter half of the fourth century, the complete canon of Sacred Scripture was compiled and approved by the Catholic Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is a Catholic book. Jesus gave His Church the authority to infallibly interpret it. "Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me," Jesus tells the Apostles in Lk 10:16. The Catholic faith has always taught that Jesus built His Church on Peter.

Although there are many other Bible passages that highlight the Primacy of Peter, let me focus on two. In Lk 22:31-32, Jesus tells Peter that Satan has demanded to sift all the Apostles like wheat, but He (Jesus) has only prayed for Peter that his faith won't fail; and that once Peter turns back to Him (Jesus), Peter must strengthen the other Apostles. In Jn 21:15-17, we read the story of Jesus making Saint Peter the shepherd of His earthly flock. You know what happens. Three times Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me?" And each time Peter says he does, Jesus tells him, "Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep." Jesus made Peter and his successors the universal shepherd of His earthly flock.

In the NT, Peter's name always heads the list of Apostles, the Apostles are sometimes referred to as "Peter and his companions," and Peter's name appears 191 times, while the combined names of the other Apostles only appear 130 times. At the first Church Council, held in Jerusalem, Peter addresses the issue raised by Paul and Barnabas as to whether or not gentiles could be saved without being circumcised. After Peter spoke the whole assembly fell silent.

Every visible organization on earth has a visible head. Do not let anyone tell you that the Church established by God is an exception. Jesus made Saint Peter the visible head of His Church.

For more insight read CCC paragraphs 552-54, 567, 641, 765, 880-82, 936. Also, pull out your "Catholic" Bible and reference Is 22:20-22; Mt 10:1-5; 16:13-19; 17:24-27; Mk 3:14-19; 9:2; Lk 6:13-16; 22:31-32; 24:34; Jn 1:41; 21:15-17; Acts 1:13; 2:14, 36-41; 4:8-13; 5:1-11, 29; 8:14-17; 10:9-49; 12:5-17; 15:6-12a; 1 Cor 15:5; Gal 1:15-18; 2:7-91 Pet 1:1-2, 13-16; 2 Pet 1:1-2.