Look, Peter himself said he was writing from Babylon which was a city with a very large Jewish population to which Peter was church teacher. Babylon was still a large city at that time and to think that he would use that name to hide the fact that he was in Rome just doesn’t make sense. Rome was not referenced as Babylon until long after Jerusalem was destroyed. Add to that that Paul never once referenced Peter being in Rome, no other proof has ever been substantiated that he was in Rome and much evidence exists that he was not in Rome, I’m going to never be convinced that in fact he was in Rome. The only slim references ever made were by men long after Peter was gone. I’m not going to be convinced that Peter was ever in Rome.
CynicalBear:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09674b.htm
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11457c.htm
There are 2 links above. One is an article on the Gospel of St. Mark and one is from St. Papais, the first Church Father who attests to the canonicity of the Gospel of Mark and Matthew.
On the question of authorship of the Gospel of Mark, the evidence indicates that Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark while in ROme with Peter, which is alluded to in 1 Peter 5:13-14.
Eusebius, the first great Church Historian, writing in 320 AD states that it is also said that Peter’s first epistle, in which he makes mention of Mark, was composed in Rome itself, and tht he indicates this himself as he refers to the city figuratively as Babylon in these words “She that is the elect in Babylon greets you as does also my son Mark. They say that this Mark was the first to be sent to preach in Egypt the Gospel, which indeed, he had written, and that he was the first to establish churches in Alexandria itself.
Eusebius continues that Peter was first sent to preach to the Jews in diaspora [hellenistic Jews eventually after first starting in Jerusalem] and hat last he came to Rome where he was martyed. He also states that Paul was martyred around the same time during the reign of Nero.
Now, one can reasonbly conclude that writing in code, i.e. Babylon for Church of Rome was probably done so to avoid getting all of the Apostles in Rome killed before Peter and Paul could set the Church of Rome up [which they did and they eventuall were killed] and before they could send St. Mark to Alexandria.
St. Clement of Alexandria, who lived from 150 to 215 AD has a writing which survived as a fragment which was quoted by later Fathers which has an early NT canon that was recognized at the CHurch of Alexandria in the late 2nd century. He writes that the Gospel of Mark was written under these circumstances, When Peter preached in Rome and declaredthe Gospel, many who were present...including Mark...heard Peter, and Mark being a long time follower of Peter wrote down what was proclaimed. Having composed the Gospel, he gave it to those who requested it. When Peter learned of it, he neither forbade it but neither did he encourage it.
So the tradition starting with ST. Papias, who lived from roughly 65 to 130AD states that Mark was the co-worker of Peter in Rome, which is what is implied in 1 Peter 5:13-14 and that Peters preaching was the source of ST. Mark’s Gospel, etc.
So in addition to the Letters of St. CLement of Rome [95AD], St. Ignatius in 107AD and St. Ireneaus in 175 AD, we have another source tradition relating to the writings and writers of the Gospels [ST. Papias, St. Clement of Alexandria, Eusebious] that attest that ST. Mark was in ROme with Peter and compiled his Gospel in Rome while listening to Peter before going to Alexandria and founding the CHurches in that region.