Who Needs a Pope?
As a follow-up to yesterday's post, I thought it would be appropriate to address the topic of the papacy. Why do Catholics insist they need a pope? What's the big deal, anyway? I will acknowledge that a blog post is insufficient to cover this topic in its entirety. I will also admit that I don't have the depth of learning on this topic that others have. I'm just going to explain this in the most simple terms. (If you want a more complete explanation, please see this article . Also, I have found this site to be very helpful, and a little less complex.) Most people know the Catholic Church traces the popes all the way back to St. Peter. Of course, you wouldn't see that title in the Bible. The bishop of Rome did not hold that title exclusively until the 4th century. Prior to that time, the title was used of bishops in general. However, the "chair of Peter" (bishop of Rome) has been recognized as the "first among equals" s...