Chapter VIII. On the Dignity of the Roman Pontiff

Well, then, let us examine with still greater diligence who thou art, that is to say, what role thou fulfillest, according to the time, in the Church of God. Who art thou ? Thou art the High Priest and the Sovereign Pontiff. Thou art the Prince of pastors and the Heir t " Qui apponit scientiam apponit et dolorem." The Vulgate has : * qui addit scientiam, addit et laborem " (" he that addeth knowledge, addeth also labour "). St. Bernard's reading is more in accordance with the Greek : " 7rpoaTt6(is yvaxrw irpoadrjaei aXyrjtxa." — (Translator.)

of the apostles. By thy primacy thou art an Abel ; by thy office of pilot (in Peter's barque), a Noe ; by thy patriarchate, an Abraham ; by thy orders, a Melchisedech ; by thy dignity, an Aaron ; by thy authority, a Moses ; by thy judicial power, a Samuel ; by thy jurisdiction, a Peter ; and by thy unction, a Christ. Thou art he to whom the keys have been delivered (Matt, xvi. 19) and the sheep entrusted (John xxi. 17). There are indeed other gate-keepers of heaven, and there are other shepherds of the flock ; but thou art in both respects more glorious than they in proportion as thou hast "inherited a more excellent name" (Heb. i. 4). They have assigned to them particular portions of the flock, his own to each ; whereas thou art given charge of all the sheep, as the one Chief Shepherd of the whole flock. Yea, not only of the sheep, but of the other pastors also art thou the sole supreme Shepherd. Wouldst thou know how I prove this ? I prove it from the words of Christ. " If thou lovest Me," He said to Peter, " feed My sheep " (John xxi. 17). To which — I do not say of the other bishops, but even of the other apostles, was the entire flock entrusted so absolutely and so indiscriminately ? For to what sheep did the Saviour refer ? Was it to the people of this or that city ? of this or that country or kingdom ? ' Feed My sheep " — these were His words. Who does not see plainly that, instead of designating some portion of the flock, they rather assign the whole ? For there can be no exception where there is no distinction. And probably all the other apostles were present when the Lord committed all the sheep to the care of Peter alone, thus commending unity to * Quoted compendiously. — (Translator.)

all in one flock and one Shepherd (John xxi.), according to what is written, " One is My dove, My beautiful one, My perfect one " (Cant. vi. 8). For where there is unity there is perfection. The other numbers imply, not perfection, but division, and the more so according as they recede from unity. Hence it is that the rest of the apostles, who understood this mystery, received each of them the charge of a particular community. Thus, for instance, James, although he " seemed to be a pillar " (Gal. ii. 9) in the Church, was nevertheless content with Jerusalem alone, leaving the government of the universal Church to Peter. James is called the " brother of the Lord " (Gal. i. 19). f Very appropriately, therefore, was he appointed to that see where Christ was slain, in order that he might " raise up issue to his Brother " (Matt. xxii. 24). Now if even the Lord's brother respected Peter's prerogative, is it likely that any other of the apostles would dispute it ?

Therefore, according to thine own canons, whilst the other bishops are called to a share of the solicitudes of government, thou art invested with the plenitude of power. Their authority is confined within certain limits, but thine extends itself even to them that have received power over others. Hast not thou the power to shut the kingdom of heaven even to a bishop, when necessity demands it, and to deprive him of his see, f St. James the Less was cousin-german to Christ, and hence according to the Hebrew custom called His brother. St. Jerome doubts as to whether the James mentioned here " by St. Paul was really James the Less, or some other who is called an apostle only because he had seen the Lord. See A Lapide pn^this text. — (Translator.)

yea, and to deliver him over to Satan (1 Cor. v. 5) ? Thy prerogative, therefore, remains secure and inviolable, both by reason of the keys entrusted to thy keeping and by reason of the flock committed to thy care. But I will present thee with a further confirmation of that prerogative. On a certain occasion, when some of the disciples were out afishing in the lake, the Lord Jesus appeared to them standing on the shore. The apparition was all the more consoling for that He showed Himself with His reanimated Flesh. " Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, girt his coat about him and cast himself into the sea," and so reached his Master, the others following in the ship (John xxi.). Now what else can be the mystical signification of this except that to Peter belonged a singular pontificate, whereby he was empowered to rule not one ship, like each of the other apostles, but the entire universe ? For by the sea is meant the world, and by ships particular churches. On another occasion Peter alone walked upon the waves with his Master, thus designating himself as the one Vicar of Christ, whose office it is to govern, not any particular people, but all nations. Hence it is written, " The waters which thou sawest are peoples, and nations, and tongues" (Apoc. xvii. 15). Accordingly, although each of the other bishops has his own ship to pilot, the largest ship of all is entrusted to thee. For thy ship is the universal Church, made up of all the particular churches, and extending around the world.

6o ON CONSIDERATION