Why Catholics Have a Pope

Fr. Mike goes all the way back to Genesis to explain why Catholics
have a pope. God established the kingdom of Israel with the twelve
sons of Jacob. Centuries later, he appointed David as the king who
would unite this kingdom. Centuries after that kingdom was divided,
Jesus established a new kingdom by appointing the twelve apostles.
To unite this new kingdom, which is the Church, he appointed Peter
as his vicar here on earth. Jesus is the king, but he gave the keys
of the kingdom to Peter. This means Peter and his successors play
the role of the “prime minister”, or the right-hand-man, or the
steward of the king while Jesus is gone. The papacy may be a
divisive topic today, but clearly God gave his Church a pope as a
sign of unity for all who are a part of the new kingdom Christ
established.