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Q:Was the Apostle Peter ever in Rome? I'm a Protestant searching for answers.
(Brandon)
Dear Brandon:
You have probably noticed in your search for answers that there seems to be much interest in this question, judging by the number of references to it on certain religious websites. What appears to concern people, especially our Protestant brothers and sisters, is the apparent lack of Biblical evidence for Peter's presence in Rome. The accepted Catholic position, in relation to Sacred Scripture, is that St. Peter's First Epistle was written in Rome, as evidenced by his closing remark: "The Church here in Babylon, united with you by God's election, sends you her greeting." (1 Peter: 13). The argument here, with which I am sure you are familiar, is that 'Babylon' is a concealed reference to Rome, a deception made necessary at the time because of the ongoing persecution of Christians by the Roman authorities. Generally speaking, though, the Catholic belief in St. Peter's mission and eventual death in Rome during the Neronian persecution relies more on what Catholics call Sacred Tradition.
Catholics believe - and this is what possibly accounts for the heightened interest in this subject - that St. Peter was our first Pope, and that all our subsequent Popes, in direct and unbroken succession from Peter, retained the authority handed on to Peter by Christ himself, as indicated in the following passage of Sacred Scripture:
"And I tell thee this in my turn, that thou art Peter, and it is upon this rock that I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt 16: 18-20)
When Christ spoke these words to Peter to establish the papacy and papal authority, the apostles were not, of course, in Rome, but somewhere in the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi according to Matthew's gospel. Nor were they in Rome, but by the Sea of Tiberias, when following his resurrection, Jesus appeared to the apostles and further confirmed Peter's authority by telling him: "Feed my lambs...Feed my sheep." (John 21:16-18)
As Catholics, then, we believe that St. Peter and the apostles, and subsequently all the bishops of our Church, received special teaching authority from Christ himself, which the bishops continue to exercise today under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and in communion with the successor of St. Peter, Pope Benedict XVI. This teaching authority is known as the Magisterium of the Church. Catholics believe that the magisterium is the authentic interpreter, not only of Sacred Scripture, but of what is called Sacred Tradition. When Catholics speak of Sacred Tradition, we mean:
"What was handed on by the apostles...everything which contributes to the holiness of life, and the increase in faith of the people of God; and so the Church, in her teaching, life and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is and all that she believes." (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation)
The Catholic Church "does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from holy Scriptures alone," (Catechism: 82), but believes and teaches that "Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God." (Dei Verbum, 1965). This belief in Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture as "flowing out from the same divine well-spring" (Catechism: 80) was held by all Christians until the early 16th century, when it was abandoned by our Protestant brothers and sisters during the Reformation in favour of the idea of 'sola scriptura', the notion that scripture alone is our sole authority.
One of the most telling arguments against 'sola scriptura' is that put forward by biblical scholar, and former evangelical Protestant, Dr. Scott Hahn, among others. If the Bible is to be our sole authority, says Dr. Hahn, then where in the Bible does it actually teach that scripture must be our sole authority? As Dr. Hahn points out, nowhere does the Bible declare Sacred Scripture to be the Christian's only authority, but in a number of places the Bible does state that God's authoritative Word is also to be found in the Church and Tradition, as we read in Matthew 16:18-20 (above), and again in Paul's letters to the Thessalonians,
"So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter." (2 Thessalonians 2:15)
and to Timothy,
"...the Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation on which the truth rests."
(1 Timothy 3:15)
In examining an issue, then, like Peter's presence in Rome, the Catholic Church does not rely solely on the evidence from Sacred Scripture. Instead, Catholics look at the constant teaching of the Church for centuries: namely, the writings of the early Church Fathers, the decisions of Church Councils, and even non-Christian writings and archaeological findings. Perhaps you have come across some of this evidence during your own research and have seen the references to Peter's presence, and death in Rome, in the work of early writers such as Tertullian, Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Lactatius. Perhaps, too, you have read how Emperor Constantine constructed the first St. Peter's Basilica over the tomb of the great saint in 325, and how later, in 1506, Pope Julius II totally reconstructed the basilica, leaving only St. Peter's Tomb and a few other church features intact. Decades of excavations under the high altar at St. Peter's have led to the discovery of the tomb, including an inscription identifying the place as St. Peter's burial site.
Sometimes churches today appear to be speaking with many different voices, resulting in a lack of direction and some confusion among the faithful. As Catholics we feel most blessed to have the constant guidance of the Vicar of Christ, the successor to St. Peter, the supreme head of the Church, Pope Benedict XVI, a holy leader who speaks out directly and forthrightly - and authoritatively - about how we must act in order to continue Christ's mission to the world.
God bless,
Father Norbert