I have returned from Mexico, and am eager to share with you the powerful experience and words\u00a0that came to me in prayer. But first, to address the concerns noted in a few\u00a0letters this past month…<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n ONE <\/strong>of the most moving and perhaps relatable texts in the Gospels is the moment when Jesus\u00a0fills Peter’s nets to overflowing. So moved by the Lord’s power and presence, Peter falls to his knees and declares,<\/p>\n Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. (Yesterday’s Gospel)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Who among us who has genuinely begun the journey into self-knowledge has not uttered these words themselves? Part of the liberating message of the Gospel is not only the truths of Jesus’ moral teachings, but the truth of who\u00a0I am, and who I’m not in light of them. For Peter,\u00a0true\u00a0self-knowledge seems to begin at this moment\u00a0and grows\u00a0the more he walks with Jesus. In fact, Peter is one of the few Apostles whose foibles and follies are put on display throughout the Gospel narrative. It is a reminder to us that the rock on which the Church is built <\/em>is a rock precisely because he is divinely supported. <\/em><\/p>\n …upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven… I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail… (Matt 16:18; Luke 22:32)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And that is precisely the point of why I have defended the office of Peter over the course of three pontificates now: it’s an office established, supported, and guided by Jesus Christ Himself.<\/em>\u00a0 This is not to say that “Peter” cannot be a weak, “sinful man”, as most of us are. As history has shown\u00a0from the beginning, the papacy has been occupied by men who have scandalized<\/em> that office. In fact, Peter’s “theology” of the Messiah was wrong from the start, right from the moment he received the Keys:<\/p>\n From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, \u201cGod forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.\u201d He turned and said to Peter, \u201cGet behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” (Matt 16:21-23)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That is to say that even “the rock” can get stuck in worldly thinking. Indeed, the history of the papacy is scarred by men who were greedy, fathered children, and were more concerned with power than the proclamation of the Gospel. As for Peter, even Paul rebuked him “because he clearly was wrong.” [1]<\/sup><\/a>Gal 2:11<\/span><\/span>![](\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/pfassocpress_000.jpg\")
\n Associated Press<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n
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