Thursday, 8/8/13
Jesus told Simon, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church.” And he said, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven.”
But, two chapters, on in 18:18 of his Gospel, Matthew quoted
Jesus as telling the other disciples, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven.”
I mention that because I have been reading about the
discussions held during the second session of Vatican II when the bishops were
composing the Constitution on the Church. The members of the Curia, who had
been ruling in the Pope’s name, felt that Jesus had given all his authority to
the popes; but the bishops at the Council saw themselves as sharing the Pope’s
authority.
In the long discourse after the Last Supper, Jesus did not
restrict his guidance to Peter. To all the Twelve he said, “I have much more to
tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth he
will lead you to all truth.”
The twenty-four hundred bishops who took part in the Council
discussions were all men of prayer, and it was remarkable how they contributed
their prayer- earned insights to clarifying what we mean by the Church.
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