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Paul didn’t immediately go out preaching the word after his encounter. He spent much time with Peter and the others before being sent out. Yes, these men are called by God, guided by the Holy Spirit, and as far as seeing the Lord, which seems to be your litmus test, who are we to say that each pope hasn’t seen the Lord? Can you positively say that they haven’t?

First, allow me to clarify... my litmus test is scripture. As a follower of Christ, is there a higher litmus test we can use? There are additional scriptural signs of an Apostle that the Bible contains, and I sent these to you in an earlier post (#100). Please feel free to go over them and confirm what they say.

If the Popes have/had seen Christ, and have NOT made this known to their followers, then this may also be an issue. The signs, wonders, etc were all to attest to and verify that the Apostles were who they claimed.

As to Paul, scripture tells us that he DID go out immediately and preach. While I'm not sure what bearing this has on the question of Catholic Apostolic Succession, I've included the passage below.

Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. (Acts 9:18-20)

I believe the Greek makes clear that the 'at once' here refers to immediately following his baptism, and concurrent with the time spent with the disciples in Damascus, but we'll need someone with access to NT Greek to confirm this.

I guess in the end, the question is;
Is the Pope your 'head', or is Christ Jesus? If there is disagreement between their teachings, who will you put your faith in?