This book in my opinion was a great defense of the papacy and the fact that Jesus Christ wanted the organized priesthood to continue to offer sacrifice, though an actual sacrifice, that in some mysterious way is exactly the one offered at Calvery but in a special identical way renewed. This mystery like the fact that the Eucharist is actually God almighty, who is everywhere (omnipresent) and see everything (omniscient) in the Person of the second person of the Blessed Trinity – Jesus Christ. It clarifies some of the theology behind the mass and Eucharist in that it was starkly different from all previous sacrifices, as a maturation of the Old Testament Religious Rites. The following is a quote of the description of the book from the back cover and it is followed by a quoting of the table of contents to hopefully convince you to take a look at this book if this topic if of interest to you.
“The papacy is no stranger to controversy. In many ways it’s Catholicism’s defining doctrine – but also its most divisive. From medieval pontiffs who acted like princes to a modern pope whose casual statements set off social-media firestorms, there has been plenty for non-Catholics to criticize and for the faithful to feel anxious about.
We profess that Jesus made St. Peter the visible head of his church on Earth and that his successors throughout the ages are guided by the Holy Spirit to govern, teach, and sanctify it. How can we strengthen this belief in the papacy in the face of challenges (both outside the Church and within it) and so strengthen out faith in the One who instituted it?
In Pope Peter, Joe Heschmeyer says that papal flaws are an opportunity to understand what the papacy really means, not to abandon it (or the Church). Drawing deeply on the scriptural and historical witness, he offers a thorough but accessible defense of the papal office and an edifying picture of the extent – and limits – of its authority.
Jesus made Peter the Rock of the Church and promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Pope Peter will confirm your faith in that promise and help you proclaim it to others.
In that it is a book after 1970, and the fact that approbations for books seems to have gone out of style though some books after that still carry the Imprimatur and similar approbations, it carries no official approbations, though it is published by a well know catholic publisher.
The publication identification is as follows
Publisher : Catholic Answers Press (June 15, 2020)
Paperback : 280 pages
ISBN-10 : 1683571800
ISBN-13 : 978-1683571803
ISBN-13 : 978-1683571810 (for kindle)
ISBN-13 : 978-1683571827 (for epub)
The Table of contents is as follows:
Introduction: the pope Francis Problem 9
- Getting Theology Right 15
- I Will Build My Church 25
- A City on a Hill 45
- Servant of the Servants of God 63
- The Good Shepherd Calls a Shepherd 77
- Jesus Tethers Peter to Himself 95
- The Fisher Pope 107
- Peter and the Eleven 121
- Upon this Rock 131
- You are Peter 157
- Whatever you Bind on Earth 181
- The Post-Petrine Papacy 209
This is the book to read if you want the justification 75 generations of Catholic’s until Martin Luther, a single catholic priest declared a new religion, from which tens of thousands of others sprang, each calling themselves something different (Lutherans who stood with Luther, methodists, Baptists, puritans etc.), though declaring themselves Christian (not catholic – Greek for universal), even though they reselected the books that had been the standard in the Bible for Catholic’s (the only Christian religion, in that it is one of the only ones that still requires priest and arguably THE only one that still offers a sacrifice in its worship, instead of a celebration or memorial meal) for more than 1500 years of the Christian era which started with Jesus Christ.
Traditional Thomistic Catholic 