Peter was made Christ’s Vicar on Earth (AKA Pope) when Jesus said what He said in Matthew 16:18. That is the siginificance to the RCC.
Jesus also gave Peter the keys to Heaven, something He did not give the other Apostles. This is important because the use of the word keys (and being a key-holder) represents an office, at least it refers to an office when keys are discussed in the Old Testament. If the gates of hell shall not prevail against Peter’s office then, voila, we have Papal succession right down to Benedict 16.
Sure. Those popes are just models of propriety and paragons of virtue, aren’t they?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Alexander_VI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Nicholas_III
Who Was The Most Evil, Degenerate and Corrupt Pope Ever???
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070801190702AA9sqKh
Utter blasphemy. The reference to the rock was back to Peter’s answer to who Jesus was. Jesus is the rock, the cornerstone. He was telling Peter that the Father in heaven had revealed to Peter who Jesus really was. The church is not built on Peter as the cornerstone.
Matthew 16:15-18
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 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.
18And 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.
Look at what Peter says about the Priesthood. The cornerstone is Jesus and all believers are building blocks of the spiritual house (the Church). We are all priests.
1 Peter 2: 3If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
5Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Peter quotes Isaiah 28:16 and applies the Messianic stone reference to Jesus. Peter references vivid imagery from Isaiah. God placed Jesus as the chosen and valuable cornerstone.
This is the idea that Peter is giving to us by quoting Isaiah. Jesus is the perfect cornerstone upon which the spiritual house of God is built. We are the spiritual stones in this house. But we cannot be built just anywhere on this structure. We must be measured against the Living Stone to ensure that we are in line with it.
The RCC has corrupted the scripture.