Below we transcribe, as we received them, Luis Padrosa’s objections regarding papal infallibility to which we responded. HERE.
Objections of Luis Padrosa on Papal infallibility
PONTIFICAL INFALLIBILITY
THE Catholic dogma of the infallibility of the Roman Pontiff is deduced by the Catholic Church from the granting of the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven by Jesus Christ to Saint Peter.
«And I in turn tell you that you are Peter, and on this Stone I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 16:18-20).
This is what Jesus Christ says literally.
What does the Roman Church say?
«I will give the keys to you and your successors…»
«On this stone that is you and your successors…»
Whatever you and your successors loose will remain loose, and whatever you and your successors loose will remain loose.”
The Catholic Church knows that Jesus Christ did not say “your successors,” but it assures, as a matter of faith, that he meant it.
And of course, if the successors of Saint Peter, that is, the Bishops of Rome, have the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, it is evident that the only way to enter heaven is to do what the Roman Catholic Church orders.
For this reason he firmly affirms: “There is no salvation outside the Church.”
* * *
Let us calmly analyze this evangelical fact. If when Peter and his successors close the doors to someone, Jesus Christ opens them, and when Peter and his successors open them, Jesus Christ closes them, it makes no sense to have given him the keys. It would have been a mere play on words. It would be of no use to Peter and his successors to have received the keys on this condition.
If Peter and his successors have received the keys of the kingdom of heaven from Jesus Christ, when they open it it must remain open, and when they close it must remain closed.
And is this reality?
This is stated by the Catholic Church. But we say ‘; If so, we must accept as a logical consequence that Jesus Christ renounced judging men forever and in all cases.
Peter and his successors are the absolute judges and owners of heaven and earth as far as the salvation of men is concerned.
Those who Peter and his successors say will enter, and those who Peter and his successors say will stay out.
If so, we ask: How does Jesus Christ say through Saint Matthew: «And all nations will be gathered before Him: and He will separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those who will be on his right: Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation “of the world: For I was hungry and you gave me food…” (25-32-36).
«Then he will also say to those who will be on the left: Depart from me, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Because I was hungry and you did not give me food…” 26:41-46).
And in the previous chapter it says: «Blessed is the servant whom his master upon his return will find doing thus. Truly I tell you that he will put him in charge of his property. (46-47).
And speaking of the unfaithful servant he says: “And he will break him in half, and will bring him the same fate as the hypocrites: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
And in St. Luke: «Try earnestly to enter through the narrow door, because many, I assure you, will try to enter and will not succeed. Once the master of the house gets up and closes the door, if you stay outside, no matter how much you start knocking on the door, saying: “Lord, open it for us,” He will answer you saying: “I don’t know where you are from.” (13:24-30).
In the parable of the tares, Jesus Christ clearly explains that the servants, upon learning that an enemy man sowed tares in the field, say to him: “Do you want us to go and gather them?” He said to them, “No, lest when you gather it you uproot the wheat with it. Let them grow together, one and the other until the blind, and at harvest time I will say to the reapers: Gather up the tares first and tie them in sheaves to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. (Matthew 13:24-30).
The disciples asked for an explanation of this parable and the Lord clarified the meaning: «He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the tares are the children of the wicked… The Son of Man will send his angels, who will gather from his kingdom all the scandals and all those who work iniquity and will throw them into the fiery furnace.
Let us note that nowhere does Jesus say that he will receive those whom the Apostles have forgiven or judged as good. He always appears judging or using his angels. But the Judge who will give the sentence and separate the good from the bad is only Christ Jesus.
Don’t we say in the Creed: “From there he must come to judge the living and the dead”?
Let us argue then: Could it be that on the day of Judgment Jesus Christ will take the keys from Peter and his successors and review the cases sentenced by them?
If this were the case, we ask again: What is the point of Peter and his successors opening now if Jesus Christ has to close later, and vice versa?
The keys are of no use to them.
Or is it that on Judgment Day, Jesus Christ will only come to solemnly ratify what Peter and your successors have done?
In this case Jesus Christ does not say the truth when he affirms that he will come to judge, nor when he declares in the Apocalypse: “This is what the Holy One, the True One, says, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens.” (Rev. 3:7).
The Catholic cannot resolve this dilemma, and no Catholic apologist relates the granting of the keys to Peter with the Final Judgment, for fear of the obvious consequence.
We have repeated many times: “Peter and his successors”, because this is what the Oatolic Church says. But we must note that Jesus Christ and his Apostles did not say it even once.
This alone makes anyone who judges calmly and who sincerely seeks the truth think of the possibility of sophistry.
Jesus Christ explicitly says: “To you, I give the keys. So that what you open remains open, and what you close remains closed.”
Not once did he say: “Whatever you and your successors open, let it remain open.”
Not once.
He did not give them to the Church either.
Not once did he say: “On this rock I will build my Church and to it I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”
He did not deliver them to the Apostolic College either.
I give them only to Peter: “To you.”
What, then, were these keys that only one man could have and use?
They were not referring to the power to bind and unbind, since this same power was given, in chapter 18 of the same gospel of Saint Matthew, to all the apostles: “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Even more: «I truly tell you that if two of you agree on earth to ask for anything, my Father who is in heaven will give it to you. For wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst.
We must not confuse, therefore, the privilege of keys, which is given to one, with that of binding and loosing, which is given to many.
There is only one thing that Saint Peter did uniquely and no one else has been able to do. Inaugurate the Church Age, opening the doors of the Kingdom of heaven, first to the Jews and proselytes of Judaism on the day of Pentecost, then to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:44-4.
Evidently Jesus Christ wanted to give the keys to Saint Peter as one gives the minister or the governor the keys to a building that is going to be inaugurated.
The Apostle Saint Peter himself refers with satisfaction and legitimate pride to this unique privilege granted by his Lord, at the Council of Jerusalem: “After a long deliberation, Peter stood up and said to them: “Brothers, you know how long ago God determined here among you that through my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe.” (Acts 15, 7).
Let us observe that Saint Peter does not say: “Men and brothers, you know how, for a long time, God chose that I be the infallible head of the Church and therefore I declare and define ex cathedra the matter that is being debated in this Council.” But only: “God determined that by mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe.”
This is how Saint Peter himself interpreted the privilege of the keys. Can we understand it in any other way?
«To you, Peter – says Christ – I will give the keys». Because your statement and your privilege are a unique case.
«Not “to you and the other Apostles”, because only one is enough to inaugurate.
«But you according to this text, and they according to chapter 18, can bind and loose by moving the powers of heaven from the earth through prayer.
Not to you and your successors, since the idea of an apostolic successor is totally unknown in the New Testament.
The Apostles were an exclusive group of witnesses of Christ, to the point that Paul’s apostleship was discussed because he had not walked with Christ in the days of his flesh, although he defends himself by declaring that he saw the Lord in his glory and this gives him the right to call himself an apostle (2Cor. 12:1-6 and 1Cor. 9:1-3).
Which of the Popes has had either of these two privileges?
With what reason, then, can the Bishops of Rome claim apostolic rights?
Where is the declaration of Christ and Saint Peter that such rights could be conferred on another person outside the group of twelve?
Jesus Christ speaks accurately and knows how to express what he wants.
Jesus Christ distinguishes well between you, you and her.
You, Peter, will be the fundamental stone, that is, said without metaphor, the founding architect of my Church. He who put the first of the building with the declaration gives my divinity and will inaugurate it.
I will give you the keys, conferring upon you this special honor.
You, Apostles, supported by Peter, together with him, will build my church. Whatever you do in this building, inspired by the Holy Spirit who will guide you into all truth (John 16:13), I will consider it well done.
You, the twelve, together and supported by Peter, whose declaration of faith in divinity is the basis, the fundamental stone of my church (St. Cyril, in his book IV on the Trinity, says: “I believe that by the rock you must understand the Unchanging faith of the Apostles.”
Saint Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, in his book on the Trinity, says: “The rock (stone) is the blessed and only rock of the faith confessed by the mouth of Saint Peter.”
Saint John Chrysostom, in his Homily 55 of the Gospel of Saint Matthew, says: “On this rock I will build my Church. That is, on the faith of its confession.” Now: What was the Apostle’s confession? Here it is: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
St. Augustine, in a commentary on the 1st Epistle of St. John, states: “What do the words, ‘I will build my church on this rock’ mean? About this faith, about this that you tell me: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
She, the Church, will have an assistance, a supernatural force, against which the infernal powers will crash.
To you, Peter, the keys to open, to inaugurate the Age of Grace.
To Her, the Church, the strength to resist until the consummation of the centuries.
Therefore, it is clearly seen that Jesus Christ knows how to properly distinguish and give each person what they want without any confusion.
But the fact is that, despite the evidence of what has been said, there is a text on which Catholics rely, as proof, in their opinion conclusive, of their dogmatic affirmation.
Jesus Christ said: “I will be with you until the end of the ages.”
And it is evident that neither Jesus Christ nor the Apostles thought they would live until the end of the world.
Then, the Catholic Church concludes: Jesus Christ referred to the successors of Saint Peter and the Apostles. Otherwise – this statement made no sense.
To this we respond that it is true that Jesus Christ made this promise to the Apostles and that Jesus Christ certainly did not believe in such a prolonged temporal life of the Apostles.
What Jesus Christ promises you has fulfilled and will fulfill, just as he said, until the end of the centuries.
And what will it accomplish?
What he promised: To be with Them until the end of the ages.
In evangelical language: “Consummation of the ages”, “Always”.
With this affirmation, Jesus Christ assures them of eternal salvation. He and they would never be separated again. They are assured of eternal salvation, by virtue of their genuine faith in Him as declared in Saint John (5:24): “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in Him who sent me has eternal life.”
This is why he assures them that he will be with them while they are in this world and eternally afterward.
“I am going to prepare for you,” he tells them, “a mansion so that where I am, you may also be there.” (John 14:2).
Jesus Christ foresaw the discussion that this matter would bring and wanted to insist and speak with exceptional precision and clarity, since finding the Truth or erring forever depended on it.
Let us note that Jesus Christ insists, as in the case of the keys to Peter: “with you”; not with “your successors.”
Not “with my Church” as an organization or hierarchical Society, but with you.
This “you” only admits two interpretations:
A literal one: the apostolic group as we have just referred to.
Another general one: thinking of the Apostles as representatives of the entire Church.
But this general interpretation includes all great and small believers of all times: it does not refer to any hierarchy.
It is true that Christ will also be with us until the end of the ages, those of us who seek Him, love Him and believe in Him and in His Gospel.
Which he confirms in another passage when he says: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am among them.” (Saint Matthew 18:20).
He will never abandon us. But it is evident that this does not give us infallibility.
And it is true that the gates of hell will not be able to destroy it. As long as there are men, there will be those who love Him and observe His commandments, and there will be the Church founded by HIM.
All this is true, and it is very comforting. But it does not provide proof of infallibility for anyone.
* * *
Catholics say that if the Church could fall into doctrinal errors it would have been defeated by the powers of hell. The devil who is the father of error and lies would have triumphed over her.
For the Church to err in doctrine is to err in the main thing. Therefore, Jesus’ promise would not be fulfilled.
In order for the divine promise to be fulfilled: “And the gates of hell will not prevail against it,” it is necessary that there can never be any error in its doctrinal statements.
To this we respond that when Jesus Christ said that the infernal forces would not prevail against her, he was referring to the preservation or duration of the Church.
He never wanted to indicate that in his Church there would be no sins of all kinds.
Among the twelve Apostles, chosen by Him, one was a traitor, and the rest committed many mistakes and fell into countless errors.
Jesus Christ had to continually correct them. And after the Assumption of the Lord, the Apostles always had to fight against the doctrinal errors and deviations that arose among their disciples.
No; Jesus Christ did not give any privilege of infallibility, or at least there is no evidence that he gave it to anyone, outside the Apostolic College, when they spoke and wrote inspired by the Holy Spirit, that is, in doctrinal matters.
And let us note well that the infallibility of the Apostles is sufficient so that whoever wants to find the Truth can achieve it with certainty.
Knowing that the Truth is in Christ and in what the Apostles said and did after the indifference of the Holy Spirit, it is no longer necessary to give infallibility to anyone else. To anyone who wants to know the Truth, it is enough to point out the Holy Scripture and say: “Here it is; Read and practice what is taught here. Whoever does this will live. “Whoever deviates from this will not have eternal blessed life.”
And it is evident that to say this it is not necessary to be infallible.
And since there will always be those who say this and practice this, Jesus Christ could truly say, “that the gates of hell will not prevail against Her.” That is to say: they will never destroy it.
For this purpose I want to narrate a strictly historical anecdote.
On a train there was a group of young evangelicals chatting happily on their way back from a Baptist youth rally.
They wore insignia of the Baptist Young Men’s Union to which they belonged.
A Jesuit Father approached them and, suspecting what they were, said to them:
—What insignia is this that you carry?
—From the Baptist Youth Union.
– Possible? Protestants? But who has kidded you?
And after a few brief sentences, the ironic Jesuit wanted to fire the coup de grace against the faith of those young people.
— Let’s see. Who tells you what you should believe?
– The Bible – they answered,
-Magnificent! But you already know that the Bible is made up of several books selected from many. They called some saints and inspired by God and others, apocryphal or simply human history. Tell me: who has selected these holy books and who guarantees that it is these and not those that you should believe? If there is no infallible authority, your belief in the Bible alone is without foundation.
For the moment everyone remained silent as if surprised by the argument. But one of them politely addressed the Jesuit and asked him:
—Do you know how many parts Dante’s Divine Comedy has?
“Three,” said the Jesuit, “Hell, Purgatory and Heaven.”
—And do you know who owns the Odyssey and the Iliad?
– Clear! From Homer.
—Are you sure?
—Very sure.
—If I told you that Dante’s Divine Comedy has a fourth part describing Limbo, and that the Odyssey and the Iliad are by Virgil, what would you tell me?
—That you are ignorant.
—And you would be right. But now I ask you: to have this certainty, have you had to consult a teaching body of infallible critics and historians?
-No.
—Obviously not. Neither you nor anyone. The man who to admit that the Divine Comedy has three parts and not four, and who to believe that the Odyssey is by Homer and the Aeneid by Virgil would require a Literary Academy with the gift of Infallibility, we would consider him ignorant and foolish. We know or can know with certainty, if we want, what Homer said, what Horace said, and what Virgil said. And not only what he said, but how he said it. And we distinguish the editions with assumptions, interpolations or deformations of their style, without the need for infallible teaching.
«This demand for an infallible authority that Catholics have to be able to interpret at their whim what those who were certainly infallible said. It is enough for us to know what they said to be sure of our faith.
«And I add more: What authority can there be in this world that could prevent anyone from reading Saint Matthew, Saint John, Saint Peter and Saint Paul? And the Church prohibits it. It only allows its reading on the condition that the text of the sacred writer is clarified by some Catholic theologian.
And this is common sense – said the Jesuit – because not everyone is capable of understanding what the Bible says.
-TRUE; Just as not everyone is capable of understanding Dante and although we feel the convenience of comments, no one has ever thought to prevent the direct reading of the original text.
«If Father Bover, Father Pons, or Nacar-Colunga, put some aside in the margins of the sacred text, we can now read Saint Luke and Saint John. If there is no Catholic to give it notes, what Saint John wrote must be put in the index of Forbidden Books.
«And what Saint Matthew wrote, placed in the index of Forbidden Books!
«And what Saint Paul wrote, in the index of Forbidden Books!
«And — the height of absurdity! — what “the first Pope, the cornerstone of the Church, laid down by Jesus Christ himself,” says, condemned among the forbidden books, if there is not some Catholic theologian to put some notes on it!
So one who is not infallible, gives legality and orthodoxy to the text of those who had received the gift of doctrinal infallibility.
***
There is another truth in the Gospel that is closely related to what we have just said.
Jesus Christ has promised the Apostles that, on the day of Judgment, They, that is Peter and the other apostles, will sit on twelve thrones and with Him they will judge, as part of the court, the twelve tribes of Israel.
Let us note here again that Jesus Christ limited this great privilege to his twelve Apostles. Not one more. It does not speak of thrones for the successors of Saint Peter through the centuries.
All the others, that is, those who are not the twelve: Popes, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests and laymen will be under, or before the twelve presided over by Jesus Christ, to be judged.
Not the Apostles. They will be with the Supreme Judge Jesus Christ Our Lord.
Then, obvious consequence: Peter and the other Apostles are separated by an abyss from the Popes and Bishops who succeeded them.
This proves once again that the privileges Christ granted to his Apostles were personal. Non-transferable; granted for having been companions, members of the Apostolic College and founders of the Church of Jesus Christ, together with Him.
Let us conclude this chapter clear to us who take the teachings of the Gospel as they are, and so dark to Roman Catholics who close their eyes to the Truth, with the following dilemma:
To prove Pontifical Infallibility it should be demonstrated that:
1º Jesus Christ gave the keys to the Church, that is, to Peter and his successors.
2° Either Peter, who was the only one who could do and undo by himself, transmitted all his privileges to his successors, that is, to the Bishops of Rome.
Since neither the 1st nor the 2nd is demonstrated, no one in this world can claim the gift of infallibility.
