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Papal Primacy
The doctrine of papal primacy upholds the divine authority of the Successor of Blessed Apostle Saint Peter to rule over the entire Church with ordinary and immediate jurisdiction. Two Magisterial texts are key to understanding its supreme nature and the obligation of all who are not invincibly ignorant of this truth to submit to Papal authority for the sake of their salvation.
Pope Boniface VIII, in his Bull Unam Sanctum ( provided below ) , spelled out the doctrine of the necessity of the Church for salvation and with it the necessity of submission to the Roman Pontiff. Regarding the primacy of authority of Peter and his successors he stated:
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But this authority, although it is given to man and is exercised by man, is not human, but rather divine, and has been given by the divine Word to Peter himself and to his successors in him, whom the Lord acknowledged an established rock, when he said to Peter himself: Whatsoever you shall bind etc. [ Matt. 16:19 ]. Therefore, whosoever resists this power so ordained by God, resists the order of God [ cf. Rom. 13:2 ] ... Furthermore, we declare, say, define, and proclaim to every human creature that they by necessity for salvation are entirely subject to the Roman Pontiff.
As with all principles of morality, God does not hold the invincibly ignorant of the truth culpable for failing to live by them. Thus, Pope Pius IX could say regarding the salvation of those outside the Church, and thus also those who do not submit to the Roman Pontiff,
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We must hold as of the faith, that out of the Apostolic Roman Church there is no salvation; that she is the only ark of safety, and whosoever is not in her perishes in the deluge; we must also, on the other hand, recognize with certainty that those who are invincible in ignorance of the true religion are not guilty for this in the eyes of the Lord. And who would presume to mark out the limits of this ignorance according to the character and diversity of peoples, countries, minds and the rest?
This same Pope convened the First Vatican Council, which in addition to defining papal infallibility also defined papal primacy. Both doctrines point the faithful to the necessity of union with the Successor of Peter. Infallibility directs our attention to the unifying role of the Pope in matters of faith, and primacy to that role with respect to sacramental and other ecclesiastical disciplines.
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...all the faithful of Christ must believe "that the Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff hold primacy over the whole world, and that the Pontiff of Rome himself is the successor of the blessed Peter, the chief of the apostles, and is the true vicar of Christ and head of the whole Church and faith, and teacher of all Catholics; and that to him was handed down in blessed Peter, by our Lord Jesus Christ, full power to feed, rule, and guide the universal Church, just as is also contained in the records of the ecumenical Councils and in the sacred canons.
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... the faithful of whatever rite and dignity, both as separate individuals and all together, are bound by a duty of hierarchical submission and true obedience, not only in things pertaining to faith and morals, but also in those which pertain to the discipline and government of the Church spread over the whole world, so that the Church of Christ, protected not only by the Roman Pontiff, but by the unity of communion as well as of the profession of the same faith is one flock under the one highest shepherd. This is the doctrine of Catholic truth from which no one can deviate and keep his faith and salvation... [ Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Vatican Council I, 1870 ]
The Papal Oath
Note: This sacred oath was first taken, as recorded in Church annals [ Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum, Migne's Patrologia Latina 105, 40-44 and published by Eugene de Rozier, A.D. 1869 ], by Pope Saint Agatho A.D. 27 June 678. It is widely accepted that it was even taken by several predecessors of Pope Saint Agatho, as well as most of his successors. Who composed the oath is not known. What also cannot be fully verified is whether this, or a similar oath, was relied upon in the latter centuries. A Latin translation is yet to be verified, considering it would originally have been in the Mother tongue. For this reason, we welcome any assistance in its verification. What is important is to read below the absolute Catholicity of the words.
In this oath : the Vicar of Christ ( the selected Pope ) vows to never contradict the Deposit of Faith, or change/innovate anything that has been handed down to him ; to do so would gravely violate, before God, his intention and calling.
This Papal Oath is part of our Catholic Tradition. It began around the 6th or 7th Century, and even though it has been avoided by the recently selected Newchurch popes, it is, nonetheless, the faithful's vitae of the Pope, the Successor of Blessed Apostle Saint Peter. Having taken this oath, he would be without authority to veer from his promise to the Most Holy Trinity. Would this not be a given with every successor? Why then did the conciliar 'popes' refuse the basic essence of an oath relied upon from A.D. 678 through A.D. 1958 ? Why do Newchurch apologists refuse this commitment as basic and ageless as the tri-regno responsibility to teach, sanctify and govern as the 'servant of the servants' ? The chief Shepherd of the flock instead became, as Christ warned against - wolves in sheeps' clothing ! >
The Oath
"I vow to change nothing of the received Tradition, and nothing thereof I have found before me guarded by my God-pleasing predecessors, to encroach upon, to alter, or to permit any innovation therein;
"To the contrary: with glowing affection as her truly faithful student and successor, to safeguard reverently the passed-on good, with my whole strength and utmost effort;
"To cleanse all that is in contradiction to the canonical order, should such appear; to guard the Holy Canons and Decrees of our Popes as if they were the divine ordinance of Heaven, because I am conscious of Thee, whose place I take through the Grace of God, whose Vicarship I possess with Thy support, being subject to severest accounting before Thy Divine Tribunal over all that I shall confess;
"I swear to God Almighty and the Savior Jesus Christ that I will keep whatever has been revealed through Christ and His Successors and whatever the first councils and my predecessors have defined and declared.
"I will keep without sacrifice to itself the discipline and the rite of the Church. I will put outside the Church whoever dares to go against this oath, may it be somebody else or I.
"If I should undertake to act in anything of contrary sense, or should permit that it will be executed, Thou willst not be merciful to me on the dreadful Day of Divine Justice.
"Accordingly, without exclusion, We subject to severest excommunication anyone -- be it Ourselves or be it another -- who would dare to undertake anything new in contradiction to this constituted evangelic Tradition and the purity of the orthodox Faith and the Christian religion, or would seek to change anything by his opposing efforts, or would agree with those who undertake such a blasphemous venture."
Paul VI abandoned the Papal Tiara immediately after his selection. It is a symbolic reference to the infallible authority and spiritual standing of the "servant of the servants of God" ; accorded to one who has been properly selected to sit on The Chair of Peter. It is his singular responsibility to guide His faithful under the roof of the One True Church established to convert all of humanity to His Most Holy Trinity. It has been refused by each of the Newchurch 'popes' replacing Paul VI, as well. With that, Paul VI's actions, and the anathema of Vatican II, admitted by his signature on Lumen Gentium automatically put him, and all his successors outside the Church, thus making all of his appointments, decrees, pronouncements and works completely null and utterly void. Since no one has repented of this in continuing the anathema, nothing has changed. The conciliar church remains in apostasy and outside the true Catholic Church without which there is no salvation ( ).
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