***If I were an active Episcopalian, I'd be running for the hills to find a new denomination.***
After having been Episcopalian for almost twenty years, it finally dawned on me why the authority of the Pope and the Magisterium is so important - to prevent heresies such as this! I finally realized that these verses are literally true:
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:17-19
It was a real DUH moment for me, and yes, I'm now Roman Catholic.
P.S. I was brought up in the Presbyterian church - the one that is now debating new names for the Trinity, such as Mother, Child & Womb. see this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1652320/posts
If you follow that thinking logically, you'll realize that is the very reason that the whole idea of a Pope is dangerous. Because the Pope has absolute authority over the Roman Catholic church, he is free to define what scripture means and what it doesn't. As we have seen throughout history, as Popes change, so do various church doctrines. Scripture is our authority, not the Pope or any other man.
When I was a piskie I asked one of our ministers (I don't call them priests anymore) what this verse meant and he said nobody really knows what it means. Now that I'm Catholic I find that it is the Rock of Scripture on which our whole church is built. Lovely.