An English Translation of Juan de Torquemada's Summa de Ecclesia, Book II, Chapter 80

 

Chapter LXXX. That the Roman Pontiff has Authority of Jurisdiction and Superior Power Greater than the Whole Universal Church

Having well-considered what was most fully stated above, light has been shed on the subject such that anyone can know that the Roman Pontiff has greater superiority and authority of jurisdiction than the whole rest of the Church. We will demonstrate this conclusion concerning superiority by recalling some of what has already been said.

The first proof is that every pastor has superior authority of governance and power of jurisdiction than the flock of which he is the shepherd, but the Roman Pontiff is shepherd over the universal Church. Therefore he has authority and power of jurisdiction superior to the universal Church. The consequence is sound. The major premise is clear from what has already been set forth. It is said by Christ to Peter and, through Peter, to the Roman Pontiff, “feed my sheep” in the last chapter of the Gospel of John. In whose words, St. Peter was constituted as the shepherd of the universal Church, and through him, anyone who is his legitimate successor in the Apostolic See. In confirmation of this, the Church, in praying for the Roman Pontiff, says, “O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful, look upon your servant (Pope’s name), whom you have willed to preside as shepherd over your Church,” etc. And in the prayer for the consecration of the Roman Pontiff, it is said, “Grant to him, O Lord, the pontifical throne for governing your Church and the people of his appointed charge throughout the bounds of the world.”

The second proof is this: the Roman Pontiff is the head of the universal Church. Therefore, he is superior to the universal Church. The consequence is sound, seeing as the head is over and above the whole body and [possesses] the authority of governance and greatness of power. The antecedent has been shown by the authority of many holy fathers above in chapters 19 through 24. It is also clear from the fact that the Pope and martyr, St. Marcellus, writes to the bishops in Antioch, “we ask you with love, brothers, that you only teach and believe what you have learned from St. Peter and the rest of the Apostles and received from the Fathers, since Peter is the head of the whole Church, to whom the Lord said, “you are Peter,” etc. The same is witnessed to by St. Calixtus and St. Anacletus, both Popes and martyrs.

The third proof is thus. The Roman Pontiff is the prelate possessing preeminence over the whole Church. Therefore, he is superior to and greater in authority than the whole Church. The consequence is sound. The antecedent is clear, as he is the prelate and ruler of the same. Thus was it read out in the Council of Chalcedon, and the whole synod shouted its approval of Pope Leo, saying, “May Leo, the most holy Apostolic and ecumenical, that is, universal, Patriarch live for many years; and it is as Christ says in the Gospel of Matthew; the Son granted to Peter, throughout the whole world, the power that belongs to the Father and to the Son Himself, and He gave authority over all things that are in heaven to a mortal man, giving him the keys for this purpose: that he might enlarge the Church everywhere. Again, the same as above in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter received, from the Son, power over all who belong to the Son, not as Moses had over one people, but over the whole world.” So much the Council of Chalcedon.

The fourth proof is thus: the Roman Pontiff is prince of the universal Church. Therefore, he has the primacy of the whole Church, and because of that, has authority greater than it. The consequence is sound. The antecedent is clear, firstly from what we read in the Church, of Christ saying to Peter “I have appointed you as prince over my people.” But Christ’s people are the universal Church. The Roman Pontiff is truly that servant of which Luke 12 speaks about, “the faithful servant whom the Lord has appointed over His household,” and a gloss says, “Church.” Thus does Pope Leo, in his fourth sermon on his assumption to the Papacy, says: “Therefore, beloved, since we see that so great a protection has been divinely established for us, rightly and justly placed in the merits and dignity of our leader, St. Peter, let us rejoice, giving thanks to God our Redeemer, who gave such great power to him whom He made the prince of the whole Church, so that, if anything is rightly done by us in our own time or rightly arranged, it must be attributed to his guidance, to him to whom it was said: ‘strengthen your brethren,'” etc. And St. Bernard, in his epistle to Pope Eugene, says "the place, I say, in which you stand is holy ground; it is the place of Peter, the place of the Prince of the Apostles, where he has stood. It is the place of him, whom the Lord constituted the lord of His house, and the prince of all His possessions.” Thus Bernard. Also agreeing in this place, Moses, before his death, prays to God for the people who, in that time, the Church of God was said to exist. He says, “May the Lord the God of the spirits of all flesh provide a man that may be over this multitude.” Therefore, the prince of the Church has primacy and authority above the whole Church. This seems to be so unshakable and firm a truth, as Aquinas says in his works Against the Errors of the Greeks, “The error of those who say that the Vicar of Christ, the Pontiff of the Roman Church, does not have a primacy over the universal Church is similar to the error of those who say that the Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Son. For Christ himself, the Son of God, consecrates and marks her as his own with the Holy Spirit, as it were with his own character and seal. And in like manner the Vicar of Christ by his primacy and foresight as a faithful servant keeps the Church Universal subject to Christ.” So much Aquinas.

The fifth: the Roman Pontiff has supreme power in the Church. Therefore he is superior to all other prelates and the totality of the universal Church itself. The consequence is sound, since the supreme power can only be one, and only in one. The antecedent is a matter defined by Pope Martin V in the Council of Constance, as Pope Nicholas writes in his epistle to the Patriarch and clergy of Constantinople, “Judge for yourselves to whom one should rather offer resistance: to the power which Almighty God has ordained in Peter, exercised over the whole Church, or the ordination of Gregory of Syracuse. To him it must be said even a thousand times or more: You are the man through whom so many scandals have entered into the Church of Christ!” Also in Gratian, it is held that in the Apostolic See the Lord placed primacy over the whole Church.

The sixth is thus. The Roman Pontiff alone has the fullness of power in the Church. Therefore, he has superior power above all others in the Church. The consequence is sound. And the antecedent has been demonstrated above in chapter 70. It is also held in Gratian.

The seventh is this: The Roman Pontiff is the general Vicar of Christ of the whole universal Church. Therefore his authority is above and superior to that of the universal Church. The consequence is sound, since he is regarded as the same judge as Christ on earth as Pope (following that passage in Matthew 16, “whatever you bind on earth,” etc., and on this, Origen says, “see how much power the rock has upon whom the Church is built, as also his judgments remain firm as if God were judging through him”), so it follows that just as Christ has authority of jurisdiction superior to the whole Church, it seems that his general Vicar would, too.

[Please note: Some citations removed]