The Church has always taught the supreme authority of Peter and his successors over the Church. The opponents of the Roman Pontiffs call this dogma “hyperpapalism”. That is not the correct term. But it is nevertheless true that papal authority is supreme over the whole Church, and those who oppose the Pope certainly call any correct description of this true doctrine hyperpapalism, even as they present a strawman argument with distortions of this teaching. So, fine, I will use the term. What the Church teaches as dogma on the authority of the Roman Pontiff is what the papal accusers would call Hyperpapalism or Utramontanism. And it is dogma, as shown below. See the many sources cited in this article below.

But of course any true dogma can be distorted and exaggerated by heretics and schismatics. So the hyperpapalism which is dogma has been distorted and exaggerated by the papal accusers so as to discredit this teaching. They are using a strawman argument. But the true teaching of the Church on papal authority is dogma, and it is a supreme papal authority over doctrine and discipline.

Over at OnePeterFive, the authors are accustomed to rewrite Church history, with very elaborate and fanciful claims, claiming that the doctrine of the supreme authority of the Roman Pontiff was a 19th century innovation. They claim that this teaching is “ultramontanism” or “hyperpapalism”, and has not been the ancient constant teaching of the Church.

Here is one such article at 1P5: What is the False Spirit of Vatican One? By T. S. Flanders, October 3, 2023 and here is another more recent one: Can We Learn Anything from the Critics of Vatican I? by Darrick Taylor, Ph.D., November 13, 2023

The latter article above promotes and approves of heresy by rejecting the dogma of papal infallibility at Vatican I (under Blessed Pope Pius IX). The picture at the top of the article is of Dollinger, whom the author calls a heretic, but then he spends the entire article exonerating his position, and attacking Vatican I, papal infallibility, and Pius IX.

“Döllinger became a heretic when he rejected the anathemas of Vatican I. But in what was said in the above quotation, was Döllinger right? Is there a link between Vatican I and the papacy of Francis, who has governed in an authoritarian manner, often at the expense of Tradition?”

Pope Francis is authoritarian because he uses his authority in a way that is contrary to the ultraconservatives of the Church. If he used the same authority with their approval, they would not complain. And we easily see the purpose of this attack on Vatican I, to undermine and oppose the papacy of Pope Francis.

Then the first article above attacks other Popes. The editor of 1P5 adds a note at the top of the article on Dollinger, as follows:

“The issues we face predate Vatican II by a few generations, especially in regards to the clericalist nature of Vatican I (and thus the modern Church), an innovation imposed on the Church by Bl. Pius IX.”

Then the article is by Timothy Flanders, the editor-in-chief of OnePeterFive. So apparently another editor posted that note above Flanders’ article. The article accuses Pope Leo XIII of hyperpapalism, along with Blessed Pope Pius IX and Pope Saint Pius X. All this to accuse Pope Francis of having too much authority because they do not like his decisions. They would seek to deprive the entire papacy of the authority given by Christ to Peter and his successors just to discredit the current Pope. And they have no shame in accusing a Pope Saint, a Blessed Pope, and the highly-regarded Pope Leo XIII, all to present a false argument that also accuses Pope Francis. He is in good company.

“The effect of Pius’ action was the de facto suppression of the Two Swords doctrine, by negating the office of the lay, temporal sword aforementioned and represented at councils by emperors, kings, princes and noblemen, who would not be judges of doctrine, yet also not mere spectators. But they, as well formed Christian noblemen, would encourage and enable the bishops to do their job. Thus the lay, temporal order, de facto stripped of its rights by Pius IX, was vulnerable to the clericalist hyperpapalism of Leo XIII in his dealings with the Third Republic.

“St. Pius X then revoked the right of lay veto over the pope, further stripping the lay order of its traditional rights.”

The two swords doctrine is stated in Unam Sanctam, based on Luke 22:38. Note that this same doctrine is expressed as the Two Keys of Peter, the one over doctrine and the other over discipline. The article above absurdly claims that one of the swords, and therefore one of the Keys of Saint Peter (the two keys seen on the Vatican flag and on the papal insignia) is of the lay order. That is a laughable claim. Christ gave Peter His own full authority:
[Matthew]
{16:18} And I say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.
{16:19} And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound, even in heaven. And whatever you shall release on earth shall be released, even in heaven.”

Christ did not establish, along side the successors of Peter and the successors of the other Apostles, a lay authority holding one of the two Keys or swords. The two keys or two swords are the one over doctrine, by the spiritual authority of the Pope and the Church, and the other over discipline, by the temporal authority of the Pope and the Church. This latter Key or sword is authority over Church matters that require prudential judgment of the temporal order, as well as the authority of the Church to judge the things of society in general, whether they are good or not. All this is explained in Unam Sanctam.

Unam Sanctam
“4. We are instructed in the Gospel sayings that in Her and within Her power, there are two swords, specifically, the spiritual and the temporal. For the Apostles say, “Behold, there are two swords here,” that is, in the Church. But when the Apostles were speaking, the Lord did not respond, “it is too much,” but “it is sufficient.” [Luke 22:38] Certainly, whoever denies that the temporal sword is in the power of Peter, misunderstands the word of the Lord, saying: “Put your sword into its sheath.” [Matthew 26:52] Therefore, both are in the power of the Church, namely, the spiritual sword and the material….
[…]
“8. But this authority, even though it may be given to a man, and may be exercised by a man, is not human, but rather divine power, having been given by the divine mouth of Christ to Peter, and to him as well as to his successors, by Christ Himself, that is, to him whom He had disclosed to be the firm rock, just as the Lord said to Peter himself: “Whatever you shall bind,” [Matthew 16:19] etc. Therefore, whoever resists this authority, such as it has been ordained by God, resists the ordination of God. [Romans 13:2]

“9. Moreover, that every human creature is to be subject to the Roman pontiff, we declare, we state, we define, and we pronounce to be entirely from the necessity of salvation.”

But the Key or sword of temporal authority is NOT held by laypersons. While some laypersons in society exercise temporal authority, such as kings, presidents, governors, they do not act with the authority of the Church; rather, the Church has a key or sword to oversee such decisions, even while the Church does not run every government. And this sword, even when exercise by lay leaders in secular government, is NOT an authority of the laity to be at Ecumenical Councils or to oversee the decisions of Popes and Bishops.

And notice the feigned outrage by Flanders that lay persons are no longer represented at Ecumenical Councils. This is the same Flanders and the same OnePeterFive that vehemently oppose the Synod on Synodality. They don’t want the Church to consult with laypersons in that Synod, and they don’t want the laity to have a vote (25%) on the documents. But Flanders wants the laity to attend and have influence over Ecumenical Councils?

So the claim by Flanders that “St. Pius X then revoked the right of lay veto over the pope” is a ridiculous lie. The laity never have had a right of lay veto over the Pope. Flanders just wishes that he and his fellow papal accusers could veto Pope Francis. See Matthew 16:19. The Keys are given to Peter and his successors, not even to the other Apostles and their successors, unless they teach or judge with the Roman Pontiff as their head and with his approval.

The article by Flanders has a long false explanation of 19th century Church history, all of it aimed at convincing the reader that Blessed Pope Pius IX, Pope Leo XIII, and Pope Saint Pius X committed the allegedly grave error of hyperpapalism, giving too much authority to the Pope. Was Christ guilty of that error too? Supreme papal authority it taught by Christ. Christ gave Peter the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven:

{16:19} And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound, even in heaven. And whatever you shall release on earth shall be released, even in heaven.”

Does this not fit the definition of hyperpapalism used by the papal accusers? Whatever the Pope binds or loosens is so even in Heaven. So there is no appeal or veto against the decisions of the Pope on doctrine or discipline.

And let’s see what the Church has taught from ancient times on the same subject. Full set of quotes and citations here.

Pope Saint Clement I, 88-97: “If any disobey what He [Jesus Christ] says through Us, let them know that they will be involved in no small offence and danger; but We shall be innocent of this sin.”

Pope Saint Clement I: “Joy and gladness will you afford Us, if you become obedient to the words written by Us, and, through the Holy Spirit, root out the lawless wrath of your jealousy, according to the intercession which We have made for peace and unity in this letter.”

Origen, 184-253: “It is manifest, even if it were not expressed, because the gates of Hell can prevail against neither Peter, nor the Church, for if they prevailed against the rock on which the Church was founded, they would prevail against the Church.” [Mt 16:18]

Saint Cyprian: “If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?”

Saint Cyprian, Bishop, 210-258: “There is one God and one Christ, and one Church, and one Chair founded on Peter by the word of the Lord. It is not possible to set up another altar or for there to be another priesthood besides that one altar and that one priesthood. Whoever has gathered elsewhere is scattering.”

Theodotus of Ancyra, martyr, fl. 303: “This holy See holds the reign of the Churches of the world, not only on account of other things, but also because She remains free from the heretical stench.”

Pope Saint Julius I, 337-352, writing to the Eastern Bishops: “Do you not know that this is the custom, that first you must write to us, and that here what is just shall be decreed.”

Pope Saint Julius I: “It is not right to make laws for the Churches, apart from the knowledge of the Bishop of Rome.”

Council of Sardica, 344 (not Ecumenical), writing to Pope Saint Julius I: “It seemed best and most proper that the priests of the Lord should refer from every province to the head, that is to the See of the Apostle Peter.”

Saint Optatus of Milevis (c. 370) to the Donatists: “How can you pretend to have the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, [you] who sacrilegiously fight against the See of Peter by your presumption and impudence?”

Saint Jerome, 305-384, as quoted by Pope Benedict XVI: “This is what Jerome wrote: ‘I decided to consult the Chair of Peter, where that faith is found exalted by the lips of an Apostle; I now come to ask for nourishment for my soul there, where once I received the garment of Christ. I follow no leader save Christ, so I enter into communion with your beatitude, that is, with the Chair of Peter, for this I know is the rock upon which the Church is built’ (cf. Le lettere I, 15, 1-2).”

Pope Saint Innocent I, in 417, praised the local Council of Carthage for having “kept and confirmed the example of ancient discipline.” He states: “You have referred to our judgment, knowing what is due to the Apostolic See, from which the Episcopate itself and all authority of this Name has come…. You know that nothing, even in the most distant provinces, is to be settled until it comes to the knowledge of this See; so that the decision be established by the whole authority of this See.”

Saint Augustine, Doctor, 354-430: “For my part, I should not believe the Gospel except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church.”

Saint Augustine: “Roma locuta est; causa finita est [Rome has spoken; the case is closed].”

Saint Augustine: the Roman Church, “in which the ruling authority of the Apostolic See has always held firm.”

Pope Saint Zosimus, 417-418: “the tradition of the Fathers attributed so much authority to the Apostolic See that no one dared to challenge its judgment and has always preserved it through canons and regulations … such great authority belongs to Us that no one could argue again with Our decision….”

Pope Saint Boniface I, 418-422: “No one has ever boldly raised his hands against the Apostolic Eminence, from whose judgment it is not permissible to dissent; no one has rebelled against this, who did not wish judgment to be passed upon him.”

Pope Saint Boniface I: “there is to be no review of our judgment. In fact, it has never been licit to deliberate again on that which has once been decided by the Apostolic See.”

Pope Saint Boniface I, to the bishops of Thessaly: “It is therefore certain that this Church [the Roman See] is to the Churches throughout the world as the head to its members. If anyone cut himself off from this Church, not being in union with her, he is outside the Christian religion.”

Pope Saint Celestine I, 422-432: “The sanctions of the blessed and Apostolic See may not be violated.”

Pope Pelagius II, 590 AD, writing to the Bishops of Istria: “For you know how the Lord in the Gospel declares: ‘Simon, Simon, behold Satan has desired you that he might sift you as wheat, but I have prayed to the Father for thee, that thy faith fail not, and thou, being converted, confirm thy brethren.’ See, beloved, the truth cannot be falsified, nor can the faith of Peter ever be shaken or changed.”

Pope Saint Gregory I (the great), Doctor, 590-604: “Who does not know that the whole Church was strengthened in the firmness of the Prince of the Apostles, to whom it was said, ‘Upon this rock I will build my Church … and thou, being converted, confirm thy brethren?’ [Mt 16:18; Lk 22:32]”52 Saint Bellarmine: “There Gregory clearly teaches the strength of the Church depends upon the strength of Peter, and hence Peter is less able to err than the Church herself.”

Pope Saint Vitalian, 657-672, to Archbishop Theodore (608): Pope Vitalian, servant of the servants of God…. And in accordance with the authority of the blessed Peter, first of the apostles, to whom was given by our Lord God the power of binding and loosing in heaven and earth, we, though unworthy, holding the office of that same blessed Peter key-bearer of the kingdom of heaven, grant to you, Theodore, and your successors, to hold unchangeable in your own metropolitan see in the city of Canterbury the rights granted in perpetuity in ancient times. If anyone, whether bishop or priest or deacon, tries to go against our wishes and the authority of our apostolic decree of privilege, we decree with our apostolic authority that a bishop shall be removed from office and priests or deacons be told that they have lost their posts; and lay people, kings or princes, great or small, must know that they are banned from sharing in the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Pope Saint Vitalian, Letter to Paul, archbishop of Crete (669): “What things we command thee and thy Synod according to God and for the Lord, study at once to fulfil, lest we be compelled to bear ourselves not in mercy but according to the power of the sacred canons, for it is written: The Lord said, ‘Peter, I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not, and thou being once converted, confirm thy brethren.’ [Lk 22:32] And again: ‘Whatsoever thou, Peter, shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ [Mt 16:18]”

Saint Theodore of Studium (759-806) was one of the great defenders of the veneration of icons against the iconoclast heretics who had been condemned by Nicaea II in 787. The Popes had always defended the use of icons, and this might help to explain why St. Theodore regarded Rome as the judge of all heresies. In a letter to Pope Leo III, he writes:
“For it is to the great Peter that Christ our God, after having given him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, conferred the dignity of chief of the flock. It is to Peter, that is to say, to his successor (pros Petron etoi ton autou diadochon) to whom one must submit all heretical novelties introduced into the universal Church by those who distance themselves from the truth.”

Pope Saint Nicholas I (the great), 858-867: “If anyone condemns dogmas, mandates, interdicts, sanctions, or decrees, promulgated by the one presiding in the Apostolic See, for the Catholic faith, for the correction of the faithful, for the emendation of criminals, either by an interdict of threatening or of future ills, let him be anathema.”

Pope Saint Nicholas I: “Neither by the emperor, nor by all the clergy, nor by kings, nor by the people will the judge be judged…. The first See will not be judged by anyone….”

Pope Saint Nicholas I, Letter to the Emperor: “Furthermore, if you do not listen to Us, it necessarily follows that for Us you are to be considered, as our Lord Jesus Christ commands, as those who refuse to listen to the Church of God, especially since the privileges of the Roman Church, built upon blessed Peter by the word of Christ, deposited in the Church herself, observed in ancient times and celebrated by the sacred universal councils and venerated jointly by the entire Church, can by no means be diminished, by no means infringed upon, by no means changed….”

Pope Saint Nicholas I: “Since, according to the canons, where there is a greater authority, the judgment of the inferiors must be brought to it to be annulled or to be substantiated, certainly it is evident that the judgment of the Apostolic See, of whose authority there is none greater, is to be refused by no one….”

Pope Saint Nicholas I to the emperor: “The privileges of this See are perpetual, divinely-rooted, and also [divinely-] planted. One can strike against them, but not transfer them; one can drag them, but not tear them out.”

Pope Saint Leo IX, 1049-1054: “By passing a preceding judgment on the great See, concerning which it is not permitted any man to pass judgment, you have received anathema from all the Fathers of all the venerable Councils….”

Pope Innocent III: “To him [Peter] the Lord committed his sheep to be shepherded by a thrice-repeated word, so that anyone who wishes not to have him as his shepherd, even in his successors, should be deemed an alien to the Lord’s flock.”81

Pope Innocent III: “The Lord confesses at the time of the Passion that he prayed for him: ‘I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail: and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren’ [Lk 22:32], by this manifestly indicating that his successors would never at any time deviate from the Catholic faith, but rather they would recall others and also strengthen others in such a way as to impose on others the necessity of obeying….”

Saint Thomas Aquinas: “For it is revealed that to be subject to the Roman Pontiff is from the necessity of salvation…. And [Saint] Maximus [the Confessor] in the epistle to those of the East directly says: ‘We state that the universal Church has been united and founded upon the rock of the confession of Peter, [and] according to the definition of salvation, in Her, by the necessity of salvation, our souls are to remain, and to her [our souls] are to be obedient, keeping her faith and confession.’ “

Pope Clement VI, 1342-1352: “whether you have believed and do believe that the supreme and preeminent authority and juridical power of those who were the Roman pontiffs, We who are so, and Those who will be so in the future have been, are, and will be such that They and We were not, are not, and in the future will not be able to be judged by anyone; but that They and We have been, are, and will be reserved in judgment by God alone; and that it was not possible, is not possible, and will not be possible for Our decisions and judgments to be appealed to any other judge.”

Pope Gregory XI, in 1377, Condemned the Error: “An ecclesiastic, even the Roman Pontiff, can legitimately be corrected, and even accused, by subjects and lay persons.”

Hugo de St. Victor, 1096-1141: “The spiritual authority holds the ability so that it may establish the earthly authority, and holds the ability to judge if it might not have been good.”

Fifth Lateran Council: “And since it arises from the necessity of salvation that all the faithful of Christ are to be subject to the Roman Pontiff, just as we are taught by the testimony of the divine Scriptures and of the holy Fathers, and as is declared by the Constitution of Pope Boniface VIII of happy memory, which begins ‘Unam Sanctam,’ for the salvation of the souls of the same faithful, and by the supreme authority of the Roman pontiff and of this holy See, and by the unity and power of the Church, His spouse, the same Constitution, being approved by the sacred Council, we renew and approve.”

Catechism of the Council of Trent, 1566: “The Church has but one ruler and one governor, the invisible one, Christ, whom the eternal Father has made head over all the Church, which is his body; the visible one, the Pope, who, as legitimate successor of Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, fills the Apostolic chair. It is the unanimous teaching of the Fathers that this visible head is necessary to establish and preserve unity in the Church. This Saint Jerome clearly perceived and as clearly expressed when … he wrote: ‘One is elected that, by the appointment of a head, all occasion of schism may be removed.’ “

Catechism of the Council of Trent, 1566: “Should anyone object that the Church is content with one Head and one Spouse, Jesus Christ, and requires no other, the answer is obvious. For as we deem Christ not only the author of all the Sacraments, but also their invisible minister — He it is who baptizes, He it is who absolves, although men are appointed by Him the external ministers of the Sacraments — so has He placed over His Church, which He governs by His invisible Spirit, a man to be His vicar and the minister of His power. A visible Church requires a visible head; therefore the Savior appointed Peter head and pastor of all the faithful, when He committed to his care the feeding of all His sheep, in such ample terms that He willed the very same power of ruling and governing the entire Church to descend to Peter’s successors.”

Catechism of the Council of Trent, 1566: “Above all these, the Catholic Church has always placed the Supreme Pontiff of Rome, whom Cyril of Alexandria, in the Council of Ephesus, named the Chief Bishop, Father and Patriarch of the whole world. He sits in that chair of Peter in which beyond every shadow of doubt the Prince of the Apostles sat to the end of his days, and hence it is that in him the Church recognises the highest degree of dignity, and a universality of jurisdiction derived, not from the decrees of men or Councils, but from God Himself. Wherefore he is the Father and guide of all the faithful, of all the Bishops, and of all the prelates, no matter how high their power and office; and as successor of St. Peter, as true and lawful Vicar of Christ our Lord, he governs the universal Church.”

Pope Pius II, 1459: “Though you nobly praised the See of Saint Peter, which We occupy, though We are not his equal in merit, nobody has ever praised it with enough spirit and zeal. For the Roman and Apostolic See was not created and established by princes, or king, or emperors, or mighty peoples, or by decrees of fathers or councils, and it was not set above all the other churches by conciliar decision. No, it was Christ Himself, true man and true God, reigning in the Trinity, who desired that all the churches spread over the whole world should form one Church, one bridal chamber, and that Saint Peter should be its Head. This See is the one perfect and chosen See of its mother and source, [the Church]. This is the Apostolic See, instituted by the Word which also created Heaven and Earth, and not by frail mortal men. This is the See foretold by the prophets. This is the See which God has set over peoples and kingdoms. This is the See which He strengthened with the testimony of the apostles, the blood of the martyrs, and adoption by the imperial power. Whoever opposes the ordinances of this See opposes the power of God.”

Saint Bellarmine: “Now our adversaries respond that the Church ought to hear him [the Roman Pontiff] so long as he teaches correctly, for God must be heard more than men. On the other hand, who will judge whether the Pope has taught rightly or not? For it is not for the sheep to judge whether the shepherd wanders off, not even and especially in those matters which are truly doubtful. Nor do Christian sheep have any greater judge or teacher to whom they might have recourse. As we showed above, from the whole Church one can appeal to the Pope; yet from him no one is able to appeal; therefore necessarily the whole Church will err, if the Pontiff would err.”

Bellarmine: “It can be believed probably and piously that the supreme Pontiff is not only not able to err as Pontiff but that even as a particular person he is not able to be heretical, by pertinaciously believing something contrary to the faith.”

Bellarmine: the Pope “cannot in any way be heretical, or publicly teach heresy.”

Pope Pius IX, in 1864, Condemned the Error: “The obligation by which Catholic teachers and authors are strictly bound is confined to those things only which are proposed to universal belief as dogmas of faith by the infallible judgment of the Church.”

Pope Pius IX, in 1864, Condemned the Error: “Roman pontiffs and ecumenical councils have wandered outside the limits of their powers, have usurped the rights of princes, and have even erred in defining matters of faith and morals.”

Pope Pius XII, 1943: “After His glorious Ascension into Heaven this Church rested not on Him alone, but on Peter, too, its visible foundation stone. That Christ and His Vicar constitute one only Head is the solemn teaching of Our predecessor of immortal memory [Pope] Boniface VIII in the Apostolic Letter Unam Sanctam; and his successors have never ceased to repeat the same.”

Cardinal Manning: “The application of the promise ‘Ego rogavi pro te,’ [“I have prayed for you”] etc. to the infallible faith of Peter and his successors, is made by Saint Ambrose; Saint Augustine; Saint Leo; Saint Gelasius; Pelagius II; Saint Gregory the Great; Stephen, Bishop of Dori in a Lateran Council [of 649, not Ecumenical]; Saint Vitalian; the Bishops of the IV Ecumenical Council AD 451 [Chalcedon]; Saint Agatho in the VI AD 680 [Constantinople III]; Saint Bernard AD 1153; Saint Thomas Aquinas AD 1274; Saint Bonaventure AD 1274; that is, this interpretation is given by three out of the four Doctors of the Church, by six Pontiffs down to the seventh century. It was recognized in two Ecumenical Councils. It is expressly declared by the Angelic Doctor, who may be taken as the exponent of the Dominican school, and by the Seraphic Doctor, who is likewise the witness of the Franciscan; and by a multitude of Saints.”

Saint Newman, 1801-1890: “I have said that, like St. Peter, he is the Vicar of his Lord. He can judge, and he can acquit; he can pardon, and he can condemn; he can command and he can permit; he can forbid, and he can punish. He has a Supreme jurisdiction over the people of God. He can stop the ordinary course of sacramental mercies; he can excommunicate from the ordinary grace of redemption; and he can remove again the ban which he has inflicted. It is the rule of Christ’s providence, that what His Vicar does in severity or in mercy upon earth, He Himself confirms in heaven.”

Pope Leo XIII, 1878-1903: “In faith and in the teaching of morality, God Himself made the Church a partaker of His divine authority, and through His heavenly gift she cannot be deceived. She is therefore the greatest and most reliable teacher of mankind, and in her swells an inviolable right to teach them.”

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum, in 1896:
10. But as this heavenly doctrine was never left to the arbitrary judgment of private individuals, but, in the beginning delivered by Jesus Christ, was afterwards committed by Him exclusively to the Magisterium already named, so the power of performing and administering the divine mysteries, together with the authority of ruling and governing, was not bestowed by God on all Christians indiscriminately, but on certain chosen persons.

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum, 10, quoting St. Thomas:
“ ‘For the same reason, therefore, because He was about to withdraw His visible presence from the Church, it was necessary that He should appoint someone in His place, to have the charge of the Universal Church. Hence before His Ascension He said to Peter: “Feed my sheep” ‘ (St. Thomas, Contra Gentiles, lib. iv., cap. 76).”

11. “Jesus Christ, therefore, appointed Peter to be that head of the Church; and He also determined that the authority instituted in perpetuity for the salvation of all should be inherited by His successors, in whom the same permanent authority of Peter himself should continue. And so He made that remarkable promise to Peter and to no one else: “Thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church” (Matt. xvi., 18).”

“Wherefore when Christ promised to give to Peter the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, he promised to give him power and authority over the Church. “The Son committed to Peter the office of spreading the knowledge of His Father and Himself over the whole world. He who increased the Church in all the earth, and proclaimed it to be stronger than the heavens, gave to a mortal man all power in Heaven when He handed him the Keys” (S. Johannes Chrysostomus [St. John Chrysostom], Hom. liv., in Matt. v., 2). In this same sense He says: “Whatsoever thou shall bind upon earth it shall be bound also in Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth it shall be loosed also in Heaven.” This metaphorical expression of binding and loosing indicates the power of making laws, of judging and of punishing; and the power is said to be of such amplitude and force that God will ratify whatever is decreed by it. Thus it is supreme and absolutely independent, so that, having no other power on earth as its superior, it embraces the whole Church and all things committed to the Church.”

12. “These, then, are the duties of a shepherd: to place himself as leader at the head of his flock, to provide proper food for it, to ward off dangers, to guard against insidious foes, to defend it against violence: in a word to rule and govern it. Since therefore Peter has been placed as shepherd of the Christian flock he has received the power of governing all men for whose salvation Jesus Christ shed His blood. “Why has He shed His blood? To buy the sheep which He handed over to Peter and his successors” (S. Joannes Chrysostomus, De Sacerdotio, lib. ii).

12. “Rightly, therefore, does St. Leo the Great say: “From the whole world Peter alone is chosen to take the lead in calling all nations, to be the head of all the Apostles and of all the Fathers of the Church. So that, although in the people of God there are many priests and many pastors Peter should by right rule all of those over whom Christ Himself is the chief ruler” (Sermo iv., cap. 2). And so St. Gregory the great, writing to the Emperor Maurice Augustus, says: “It is evident to all who know the gospel that the charge of the whole Church was committed to St. Peter, the Apostle and Prince of all the Apostles, by the word of the Lord…. Behold! he hath received the keys of the heavenly kingdom — the power of binding and loosing is conferred upon him: the care of the whole government of the Church is confided to him” (Epist. lib. v., Epist. xx).”

13. “For this reason the Pontiffs who succeed Peter in the Roman Episcopate receive the supreme power in the church, jure divino [by divine law]. “We define” (declare the Fathers of the Council of Florence) “that the Holy and Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff hold the primacy of the Church throughout the whole world: and that the same Roman Pontiff is the successor of St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, and the true Vicar of Christ, the head of the whole Church, and the father and teacher of all Christians; and that full power was given to him, in Blessed Peter, by our Lord Jesus Christ to feed, to rule, and to govern the universal Church, as is also contained in the acts of oecumenical councils and in the sacred canons” (Conc. Florentinum). Similarly the Fourth Council of Lateran declares: “The Roman Church, as the mother and mistress of all the faithful, by the will of Christ obtains primacy of jurisdiction over all other Churches.” These declarations were preceded by the consent of antiquity which ever acknowledged, without the slightest doubt or hesitation, the Bishops of Rome, and revered them, as the legitimate successors of St. Peter.

Pope Leo XIII quotes Saint Jerome: ” ‘You are not to be looked upon as holding the true Catholic faith if you do not teach that the faith of Rome is to be held’ (Sermo cxx., n. 13).”

Pope Leo XIII continues: “So, too, St. Cyprian: “To be in communion with Cornelius [the Pope at the time] is to be in communion with the Catholic Church” (Ep. lv., n. 1). In the same way [Saint] Maximus the Abbot teaches that obedience to the Roman Pontiff is the proof of the true faith and of legitimate communion. ‘Therefore if a man does not want to be, or to be called, a heretic, let him not strive to please this or that man…but let him hasten before all things to be in communion with the Roman See. If he be in communion with it, he should be acknowledged by all and everywhere as faithful and orthodox. He speaks in vain who tries to persuade me of the orthodoxy of those who, like himself, refuse obedience to his Holiness the Pope of the most holy Church of Rome: that is to the Apostolic See.’ The reason and motive of this he explains to be that “the Apostolic See has received and hath government, authority, and power of binding and loosing from the Incarnate Word Himself; and, according to all holy synods, sacred canons and decrees, in all things and through all things, in respect of all the holy churches of God throughout the whole world, since the Word in Heaven who rules the Heavenly powers binds and loosens there” (Defloratio ex Epistola ad Petrum illustrem).”

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum: “We have no wish to quote every available declaration; but it is well to recall the formula of faith which [Byzantine emperor] Michael Paleologus professed in the Second Council of Lyons: “The same holy Roman Church possesses the sovereign and plenary primacy and authority over the whole Catholic Church, which, truly and humbly, it acknowledges to have received together with the plenitude of power from the Lord Himself, in the person of St. Peter, the Prince or Head of the Apostles, of whom the Roman Pontiff is the successor. And as it is bound to defend the truth of faith beyond all others, so also if any question should arise concerning the faith it must be determined by its judgment” (Actio iv.).”

“It is necessary, therefore, to bear this in mind, viz., that nothing was conferred on the apostles apart from Peter, but that several things were conferred upon Peter apart from the Apostles. St. John Chrysostom in explaining the words of Christ asks: “Why, passing over the others, does He speak to Peter about these things?” And he replies unhesitatingly and at once, “Because he was pre-eminent among the Apostles, the mouthpiece of the Disciples, and the head of the college” (Hom. lxxxviii. in Joan., n. I). He alone was designated as the foundation of the Church. To him He gave the power of binding and loosing; to him alone was given the power of feeding. On the other hand, whatever authority and office the Apostles received, they received in conjunction with Peter. “If the divine benignity willed anything to be in common between him and the other princes, whatever He did not deny to the others He gave only through him. So that whereas Peter alone received many things, He conferred nothing on any of the rest without Peter participating in it” (S. Leo M. [Pope Saint Leo the great] sermo iv., cap. 2).”

“15. From this it must be clearly understood that Bishops are deprived of the right and power of ruling, if they deliberately secede from Peter and his successors; because, by this secession, they are separated from the foundation on which the whole edifice must rest. They are therefore outside the edifice itself; and for this very reason they are separated from the fold, whose leader is the Chief Pastor; they are exiled from the Kingdom, the keys of which were given by Christ to Peter alone.”

“Wherefore [Saint] Optatus of Milevis blamed the Donatists for this reason: “Against which ages (of hell) we read that Peter received the saving keys, that is to say, our prince, to whom it was said by Christ: ‘To thee will I give the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the gates of Hell shall not conquer them.’ Whence is it therefore that you strive to obtain for yourselves the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven — you who fight against the chair of Peter?” (Lib. ii., n. 4-5).”

15. “But the Episcopal order is rightly judged to be in communion with Peter, as Christ commanded, if it be subject to and obeys Peter; otherwise it necessarily becomes a lawless and disorderly crowd. It is not sufficient for the due preservation of the unity of the faith that the head should merely have been charged with the office of superintendent, or should have been invested solely with a power of direction. But it is absolutely necessary that he should have received real and sovereign authority which the whole community is bound to obey. What had the Son of God in view when he promised the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter alone? Biblical usage and the unanimous teaching of the Fathers clearly show that supreme authority is designated in the passage by the word keys.”

Pope Saint Pius X, 1903-1914, Oath against Modernism (1910): “I … firmly embrace and accept each and every definition that has been set forth and declared by the unerring teaching authority of the Church…. I believe with equally firm faith that the Church, the guardian and teacher of the revealed word, was personally instituted by the real and historical Christ when he lived among us, and that the Church was built upon Peter, the prince of the apostolic hierarchy, and his successors for the duration of time.”

Pius X: “The Pope is the guardian of dogma and morals; he is the depositary of the principles that form honest families, great nations, holy souls; he is the counselor of princes and peoples; it is the head under which no one feels tyrannized, because it represents God himself; he is the father par excellence who in himself brings together everything that can be loving, tender, divine. It seems incredible, and it is also painful, that there are priests to whom this recommendation should be made, but unfortunately we are in our days in this hard unhappy condition of having to say to priests: love the Pope!”

Pius X: “And how is one to love the Pope? Non verbo neque lingua, sed opere et veritate. [Not in words only, but in works and in truth. (cf. 1 Jn 3:18).] When you love a person, you try to conform to his thoughts in everything, to carry out his wishes, to interpret his desires. And if our Lord Jesus Christ said of himself: Si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit [If anyone loves me, he shall keep my word], so to show our love for the Pope, it is necessary to obey him.”

Pius X: “Therefore, when one loves the Pope, there is no discussion about what he disposes or demands, or how far obedience must go, and in what things one must obey; when one loves the Pope, one does not say that he did not speak clearly enough, as if he were obliged to repeat in the ear of everyone that clearly expressed will many times, not only verbally, but with letters and other public documents…”

Pius X: “his orders are not questioned, citing the easy pretext of those who do not want to obey, that it is not the Pope who commands, but those who surround him; the field in which he can and must exercise his authority is not limited. The authority of the Pope is not preceded by that of other people, however learned, who disagree with the Pope, who, if they are learned, are not saints, because whoever is holy cannot disagree with the Pope.”

Pius X: “This is the outlet of a grieving heart, which I do with deep bitterness not for you, dear confreres, but with you, to deplore the conduct of so many priests, who not only allow themselves to discuss and review the Pope’s wishes, but are not ashamed to arrive at an impudent and blatant disobedience, with so much scandal toward the good and with so much ruin of souls.”

Pius X, Major Catechism (1905): 204. How should each Catholic behave towards the Pope? Each Catholic should recognize the Pope as Father, Shepherd, and universal Teacher and be united with him in mind and heart.

Pope Pius XI: “Wherefore, let the faithful also be on their guard against the overrated independence of private judgment and that false autonomy of human reason. For it is quite foreign to everyone bearing the name of a Christian to trust his own mental powers with such pride as to agree only with those things which he can examine from their inner nature, and to imagine that the Church, sent by God to teach and guide all nations, is not conversant with present affairs and circumstances; or even that they must obey only in those matters which she has decreed by solemn definition as though her other decisions might be presumed to be false or putting forward insufficient motive for truth and honesty. Quite to the contrary, a characteristic of all true followers of Christ, lettered or unlettered, is to suffer themselves to be guided and led in all things that touch upon faith or morals by the Holy Church of God through its Supreme Pastor the Roman Pontiff, who is himself guided by Jesus Christ Our Lord.”

Pope Pius XI: “Furthermore, in this one Church of Christ no man can be or remain who does not accept, recognize and obey the authority and supremacy of Peter and his legitimate successors.”

Pius XII: “They, therefore, walk in the path of dangerous error who believe that they can accept Christ as the Head of the Church, while not adhering loyally to His Vicar on earth.”

Ecumenical Councils:

Lateran V: “It arises from the necessity of salvation that all the faithful of Christ are to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”

Lateran V: “the person who abandons the teaching of the Roman pontiff cannot be within the Church….”

Council of Trent: “Therefore, the Sovereign Pontiffs, by the supreme authority handed down to them in the universal Church, were rightly able to reserve, to their special judgment, some of the more grievous cases of offenses.”

Vatican I:
“9. So, then, if anyone says that the Roman Pontiff has merely an office of supervision and guidance, and not the full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the whole Church, and this not only in matters of faith and morals, but also in those which concern the discipline and government of the Church dispersed throughout the whole world; or that he has only the principal part, but not the absolute fullness, of this supreme power; or that this power of his is not ordinary and immediate both over all and each of the Churches and over all and each of the pastors and faithful: let him be anathema.”

Vatican II, Lumen Gentium:
“But the college or body of bishops has no authority unless it is understood together with the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter as its head. The pope’s power of primacy over all, both pastors and faithful, remains whole and intact. In virtue of his office, that is as Vicar of Christ and pastor of the whole Church, the Roman Pontiff has full, supreme and universal power over the Church. And he is always free to exercise this power. The order of bishops, which succeeds to the college of apostles and gives this apostolic body continued existence, is also the subject of supreme and full power over the universal Church, provided we understand this body together with its head the Roman Pontiff and never without this head. This power can be exercised only with the consent of the Roman Pontiff. For our Lord placed Simon alone as the rock and the bearer of the keys of the Church,(156) and made him shepherd of the whole flock….”

“This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra; that is, it must be shown in such a way that his supreme magisterium is acknowledged with reverence, the judgments made by him are sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will. His mind and will in the matter may be known either from the character of the documents, from his frequent repetition of the same doctrine, or from his manner of speaking.”

Canon Law:

“Can. 331 The bishop of the Roman Church, in whom continues the office given by the Lord uniquely to Peter, the first of the Apostles, and to be transmitted to his successors, is the head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ, and the pastor of the universal Church on earth. By virtue of his office he possesses supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the Church, which he is always able to exercise freely.”

Canon 1404: The First See is judged by no one. [Current Code of Canon Law]
Canon 1556: The Primatial See can be judged by no one. [Previous Code]

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So this is the ancient constant teaching of the Church, infallible under the ordinary universal magisterium, also taught infallibly by the First Vatican Council, and even by Vatican II. It is not a 19th century innovation that led the Church astray. The Church has always taught that Peter and his successors have supreme authority over the entire Church, over both doctrine and discipline, and that there is no appeal against the decisions of the Roman Pontiff to anyone.

Ronald L Conte Jr