Quotes concerning authority of the pope

Just a few quotes from Catholic teachers and authorities detailing how if we Protestants don't march in lock-step with the Great Harlot, we are anathema.

St. Peter Julian Eymard, Eucharistic Handbook, Article I--"We must honor the Pope as the visible Vicar of Jesus Christ. He is the Teacher of teachers, the Father of fathers, the Master of masters; that is why he wears the tiara, the triple crown of Jesus Christ. To the Sovereign Pontiff therefore we own sovereign honor and supreme respect; he is Jesus Christ in the divinity of His mission on earth.

Then to the Bishop, we owe high honor and profound respect; he is the hand, the heart, the mouthpiece of the Pope, and of Jesus Christ; he is a prince of the Church, seated on the steps of the pontifical throne and sharing in the spiritual royalty of the Sovereign Pontiff. To the pastors, to the priests, we owe religious respect and angelical honors; they are the angels of the New Testament, the ambassadors of heaven, the ministers of God. To despise the priest, to sin against him, would be to sin against Jesus Christ himself.

"He who despises you despises Me," said the Saviour. He has again said through the Prophet: "Lay no hand on them...servants anointed." A violation of this command calls for the most terrible chastisements. For he who sins against the priest strikes at the teacher, the mainstay, the channel of Catholic Faith; and he is himself justly punished by the weakening and loss of faith. And since, usually, there is no remission of sins without the priest, no Eucharist without the priesthood, and no charity without this fire which feeds it unceasingly, he who no longer believes in the priesthood is lost."

Pope Pius IX, Encyclical from April 8, 1862--"To the Bishops of the Eastern Churches. Venerable Brothers, Greetings and Apostolic Benediction.

Our most beloved Redeemer, Christ the Lord, willed as you well know, venerable brothers, to deliver all men from the captivity of the devil, free them from the yoke of sin, call them from darkness into his wonderful light and be their salvation. When he had blotted out the handwriting of the decree against us, fastening it to the cross, he formed and established the Catholic Church, won by his blood, as the one "Church of the living God,"[1] the one "kingdom of heaven,"[2] "the city set on a hill,"[3] "one flock,"[4] and "one body" steadfast and alive with "one Spirit,"[5] one faith, one hope, one love joined and firmly held together by the same bonds of sacraments, religion and doctrine. He further provided his Church with leaders whom he chose and called. In addition, he decreed that the Church will endure as long as the world, embrace all peoples and nations of the whole world, and that whoever accepts his divine religion and grace and perseveres to the end will attain the glory of eternal salvation.

2. To preserve forever in his Church the unity and doctrine of this faith, Christ chose one of his apostles, Peter, whom he appointed the Prince of his Apostles, his Vicar on earth, and impregnable foundation and head of his Church. Surpassing all others with every dignity of extraordinary authority, power and jurisdiction, he was to feed the Lord's flock, strengthen his brothers, rule and govern the universal Church. Christ not only desired that his Church remain as one and immaculate to the end of the world, and that its unity in faith, doctrine and form of government remain inviolate. He also willed that the fullness of dignity, power and jurisdiction, integrity and stability of faith given to Peter be handed down in its entirety to the Roman Pontiffs, the successors of this same Peter, who have been placed on this Chair of Peter in Rome, and to whom has been divinely committed the supreme care of the Lord's entire flock and the supreme rule of the Universal Church.

3. You above all, venerable brothers, have known how this dogma of our religion has been unanimously and unceasingly declared, defended and insisted upon in synods by the Fathers of the Church. Indeed, they have never stopped teaching that 'God is one, Christ is one, the Church established upon Peter by the voice of the Lord is one;'"

Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos, quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 4, Chapter 4--"No one is found in the one Church of Christ, and no one perseveres in it, unless he acknowledges and accepts obediently the supreme authority of St. Peter and his legitimate successors."

Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam, quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 4, Chapter 4--"If, therefore, the Greeks or others say that they are not committed to Peter and to his successors, they necessarily say that they are not of the sheep of Christ, since the Lord says that there is only one fold and one shepherd (Jn.10:16). Whoever, therefore, resists this authority, resists the command of God Himself. "

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 85--"The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living, teaching office of the Church alone. This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome."

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 119--"For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God."

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 882--"For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered."

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 889--"In order to preserve the Church in the purity of the faith handed on by the apostles, Christ who is Truth willed to confer on her a share in his own infallibility. By a supernatural sense of faith the People of God, under the guidance of the Church's living magisterium, unfailingly adheres to this faith."

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 891--"The Roman Pontiff... enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful - who confirms his brethren in the faith - he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals... This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself."

Code of Canon Law, Canon 747--"The Supreme Pontiff, in virtue of his office, possesses infallible teaching authority when ... he proclaims with a definitive act that a doctrine of faith or morals is to be held as such."

Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ July 18, 1870 Chapter 3--"[The] jurisdictional power of the Roman pontiff is both episcopal and immediate...This is the teaching of the catholic truth, and no one can depart from it without endangering his faith and salvation...if anyone says that the Roman pontiff has merely an office of supervision and guidance, and not the full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the whole church...or that this power of his is not ordinary and immediate both over all and each of the churches and over all and each of the pastors and faithful let him he anathema.

Satis Cognitum, Pope Leo XIII, Acts of Leo XIII, Rome, Vatican Press, 1896--Remember and understand well that where Peter is, there is the Church; that those who refuse to asso­ciate in communion with the Chair of Peter belong to Antichrist, not to Christ. He who would separate himself from the Roman Pontiff has no further bond with Christ.

Fifth Lateran Council, session 11, On the abrogation of the Pragmatic Sanction, December 19, 1516--"It is necessary for salvation that all the faithful of Christ be subject to the Roman Pontiff."

Pope Pius XII, Orientalis Ecclesiae, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 36:129, Rome, Vatican Press--"It is absolutely necessary that the Christian com­munity be subject in all things to the Sovereign Pontiff if it wishes to be a part of the divinely-established society founded by our Redeemer."

Pope Pius XI, Papal Teachings – The Church, Mortalium Animos, St Paul Editions, 1962 para 873--"No one is found in the one Church of Christ, and no one perseveres in it, unless he acknowledges and ac­cepts obediently the supreme authority of St. Peter and his legitimate successors."

St. Cyprian, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Vol III, Pt. 1 p. 207--"It is an error to believe that a man is in the Church if he abandons the See of Peter, the foundation of the Church."

Pope Pius XI, Papal Teachings – The Church, Mystici Corporis, St Paul Editions, 1962 para 1040 &41--"To be Christian, one must be Roman, governed by Christ's Vicar on earth. The Church does not rest on Christ alone, but also on Peter. That Christ and His Vicar constitute only one single Head is solemn teaching. Therefore, those who think they can ac­cept Christ as the Head of the Church without ad­hering faithfully to His Vicar on earth are in dan­gerous error."

Pope Clement VI, Super Quibusdam--"No man outside obedience to the Pope of Rome can ultimately be saved. All who have raised themselves against the faith of the Roman Church and died in fi­nal impenitence have been damned, and gone down into Hell."

Pope Leo XIII, Papal Teachings – The Church, Satis Cognitum, St Paul Editions, 1962 para 484--"It is an absolute necessity to submit to the Supreme Pastor, to whom it is absolutely necessary for salva­tion to remain subject."

Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam--"We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is ab­solutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff."