Authority of the Church

Catholics and non-Catholics alike cannot understand the teachings of the Church until they first understand the Authority given her by our Lord Jesus.  This is because some Biblical teachings are explicit, while others are implicit.  It was the Church who defined doctrines like the Holy Trinity and declared the canon of Scripture – not the Bible.

Jesus told the Apostles that the Church would have the final say on matters concerning the Body (Matt. 18:15-18), that even the gates of hell wouldn’t prevail against his Church (Matt. 16:18), and gave them the power to retain and forgive sins (Matt. 16:19, 18:18, John 20:23).  He also assured the Apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide the Church to ALL truth about what was to come and that the Holy Spirit would take from what was Jesus’ and declare it to the Church (John 16:13-15). He never said “some truth” or “only up until the Reformation” He said, “ALL truth.”

In 1 Tim. 3:15, St. Paul asserts that the Church is the “pillar and foundation of truth”.  The Great Doctor of the Church, St. Augustine once said: “For my part, I should not believe the gospel except moved by the authority of the Catholic Church.”

It’s also interesting to note that Jesus equates his very self with his Church, which is his Body (Acts 9:4-5):  He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"  He said, "Who are you, sir?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Why are you persecuting the Church?,” which is exactly what Saul (St. Paul) was doing.  Jesus chose to equate himself with his Church – his Body.

Acts 15:28-29 is further proof that this Authority rests on the Church.  The early Church didn’t appeal solely to Scripture when making doctrinal decisions at the Council of Jerusalem:
'It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.'"