Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church: Divinely Ordained or a Purely Human Construct?

Does the Roman Catholic Church find its origin in the eternal providence of God? Who is it, that founded the Church and its structure? And, did not Christ Himself promise that He would pray to the Father on the apostles’ behalf – that a Counselor be sent (the Holy Spirit), the Spirit of Truth, who remains with the faithful forever?

Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church:

The Church finds her origin and fulfillment in the eternal plan of God. She was prepared for in the Old Covenant with the election of Israel, the sign of the future gathering of all the nations. Founded by the words and actions of Jesus Christ, fulfilled by his redeeming death and Resurrection, the Church has been manifested as the mystery of salvation by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. She will be perfected in the glory of heaven as the assembly of all the redeemed of the earth.[1]

The eternal plan of God included sending the second person of the Holy Trinity, His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ to become Incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. That, He walk among men and women, teaching, healing, and ultimately offering His life in sacrifice for their sins. And, through His redeeming sacrifice, founded His Bride the Church:

Jesus Christ, the eternal Shepherd, established His holy Church by sending forth the apostles as He Himself had been sent by the Father (cf. Joh 20:21). He willed that their successors, namely the bishops, should be shepherds in His Church even to the consummation of the world. In order that the episcopate itself might be one and undivided, He placed blessed Peter over the other apostles, and instituted in him a permanent and visible source and foundation of unity of faith and fellowship (cf. Vatican Council I, Session 4, the dogmatic constitution “Pastor aeternus” : Denz. 1821 (3050 f.).[2]

Christ placed blessed Peter over the other apostles, instituting a permanent and visible source and foundation, ensuring – unity of faith and communion. In other words, Christ established the papacy: The supreme jurisdiction and ministry of the pope as shepherd of the whole Church.[3]

And, this reality, should help one recall a specific passage from Scripture: “What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”[4] If God Himself (Jesus Christ), established a college of bishops (the apostles and their successors), to be shepherds to the lay faithful even to the consummation of the world, and placed blessed Peter over the other apostles, instituting in him, a permanent and visible source and foundation of unity of faith and communion, who are men to pursue an alternate structure concerning His Church, foreign to the one He Himself founded?

Thus, whomsoever has been lawfully elected to the papacy, as successor of St. Peter, indeed receives authority over the whole Church as the “Vicar of Christ.” But, does this mean that Christ intends that the papacy, (or the Roman pontiff in union with the college of bishops), be given latitude to make pronouncements contrary to revealed Truth, or the Deposit of Faith?

Not at all! The Modern Catholic Dictionary defines infallibility and its conditions on page 276:

The bearer of the infallibility is every lawful Pope as successor of Peter, the Prince of the Apostles. But the Pope alone is infallible, not others to whom he delegates a part of his teaching authority, for example, the Roman congregations. The object of his infallibility is his teaching of faith and morals. This means especially revealed doctrine like the Incarnation. But it also includes any nonrevealed teaching that is in any way connected with revelation. The condition of the infallibility is that the Pope speaks ex cathedra. For this is required that: 1. he have the intention of declaring something unchangeably true; and 2. he speak as shepherd and teacher of all the faithful with the full weight of his apostolic authority, and not merely as a private theologian or even merely for the people of Rome or some particular segment of the Church of God. The source of the infallibility is the supernatural assistance of the Holy Spirit, who protects the supreme teacher of the Church from error and therefore from misleading the people of God. As a result, the ex cathedra pronouncements of the Pope are unchangeable “of themselves,” that is, not because others in the Church either first instructed the Pope or agree to what he says. (Etym. Latin in-, not + fallibilis; from fallere, to deceive: infallibilis, not able to deceive, or err.).[5]

The Pope alone is infallible, not other entities to whom he delegates a part of his teaching authority, such as the Roman congregations (dicasteries). And, the purpose, or goal, of this infallibility, is to affirm and clarify faith and morals, especially – revealed doctrine. To be infallible in his teaching, the Roman pontiff must not declare his opinion as a private theologian, rather, he must be speaking ex-cathedra (from the chair) – as the shepherd and teacher of all the faithful – with the intention of declaring something unchangeably true – with the full weight of his apostolic authority. This infallibility, is such, because its source is the Holy Spirit, who protects the supreme teacher of the Church from error and therefore from misleading the people of God. “The infallibility promised to the Church resides also in the body of bishops when that body exercises the supreme teaching authority with the successor of Peter. To the resultant definitions the assent of the Church can never be wanting, on account of the activity of that same Holy Spirit, whereby the whole flock of Christ is preserved and progresses in unity of faith (cf. Gasser, Vatican Council I: Mansi, 52, 1214 A.).[6]

Thus, it is not permitted in any way, shape, or form, to alter the Truth, faith and morals, or that which has been divinely revealed to us by God. He who would seek to do so, has received the warning:

Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.[7]

St. Vincent of Lerins encapsulates all of these principles within his first instruction, The Development of Doctrine:

Is there to be no development of religion in the Church of Christ? Certainly, there is to be development and on the largest scale. Who can be so grudging to men, so full of hate for God, as to try to prevent it? But it must truly be development of the faith, not alteration of the faith. Development means that each thing expands to be itself, while alteration means that a thing is changed from one thing into another. The understanding, knowledge and wisdom of one and all, of individuals as well as of the whole Church, ought then to make great and vigorous progress with the passing of the ages and the centuries, but only along its own line of development, that is, with the same doctrine, the same meaning and the same import. The religion of souls should follow the law of development of bodies. Though bodies develop and unfold their component parts with the passing of the years, they always remain what they were. There is a great difference between the flower of childhood and the maturity of age, but those who become old are the very same people who were once young. Though the condition and appearance of one and the same individual may change, it is one and the same nature, one and the same person. The tiny members of unweaned children and the grown members of young men are still the same members. Men have the same number of limbs as children. Whatever develops at a later age was already present in seminal form; there is nothing new in old age that was not already latent in childhood. There is no doubt, then, that the legitimate and correct rule of development, the established and wonderful order of growth, is this: in older people the fullness of years always brings to completion those members and forms that the wisdom of the Creator fashioned beforehand in their earlier years. If, however, the human form were to turn into some shape that did not belong to its own nature, or even if something were added to the sum of its members or subtracted from it, the whole body would necessarily perish or become grotesque or at least be enfeebled. In the same way, the doctrine of the Christian religion should properly follow these laws of development, that is, by becoming firmer over the years, more ample in the course of time, more exalted as it advances in age. In ancient times our ancestors sowed the good seed in the harvest field of the Church. It would be very wrong and unfitting if we, their descendants, were to reap, not the genuine wheat of truth but the intrusive growth of error. On the contrary, what is right and fitting is this: there should be no inconsistency between first and last, but we should reap true doctrine from the growth of true teaching, so that when, in the course of time, those first sowings yield an increase it may flourish and be tended in our day also.[8]

[1] Catholic Church, and Catholic Church United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2006. Compendium, Catechism of the Catholic Church. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops., para. 149., pg. 44.

[2]Vatican Council Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano) 1962-1965 :, and Joseph Gallagher. 1966. The Documents of Vatican II. Edited by Walter M. Abbott. New York: Guild Press., Lumen Gentium., Ch. III., pg. 37-38., (hereafter cited as Lumen).

[3] Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church: Revised in Accordance with the Official Latin Text Promulgated by Pope John Paul II, 2nd ed. (Vatican City; Washington, DC: Libreria Editrice Vaticana; United States Catholic Conference, 1997)., Glossary., Papacy., pg. 891., (hereafter cited as CCC).

[4] Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain). The Holy Bible : Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, Translated from the Original Tongues, Being the Version Set Forth A.D. 1611, Old and New Testaments Revised A.D. 1881-1885 and A.D. 1901 (Apocrypha Revised A.D. 1894), Compared with the Most Ancient Authorities and Revised A.D. 1952 (Apocrypha Revised A.D. 1957). Catholic ed. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1994., Mat 19:6., (hereafter cited as RSV.).

[5] Hardon, John A. 1980. Modern Catholic Dictionary. 1st ed. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday., Infallibility., pg. 276.

[6] Lumen., Ch. III., pg. 49.

[7] RSV., Luk 17:1-2.

[8] Catholic Church and Franciscans. 1975 1976. The Divine Office : The Liturgy of the Hours According to the Roman Rite : As Renewed by Decree of the Second Vatican Council and Promulgated by the Authority of Pope Paul. Volume IV. New York: Catholic Book Pub., pg. 363-365.