“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18.

In the Roman Catholic Church the pope is referred to as the “vicar of Christ”.  Vicar comes from the Latin word vicarius which means “instead of”.  So the pope is referred to “instead of Christ”.  All of this stems from the scripture above when Jesus told Peter, He (Jesus) was the rock upon which His (Jesus’s) church would be built.  There are a few important things to know regarding this scripture and the Roman Catholic belief of Peter being the first pope.  One of which is this…Peter wasn’t even the Apostle to the Romans but Paul was sent to Rome, where in fact he died.

Some other things to note.  In this verse we will find the first time Jesus ever referred to Simon Peter as “Peter”.  In the Greek Peter was “petros” meaning a “piece of a rock” and the word “rock” in the scripture was “petra”,  meaning an immovable rock, Jesus Christ.   “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”, 1 Cor. 3:11.  Jesus Christ is our “Petra”, He alone is our immovable rock.

Lastly, regarding “…and upon this rock I will build my church…”, Jesus is referring to Himself just as He did in John 2:19, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  In speaking of “this Temple”, Jesus is referring to Himself.  So Peter (petros) was a piece of rock to which Jesus would build His Church with Him (Jesus) being the foundation, the immovable rock…the “Petra”

Sorry to disappoint Francis but what you preach is another gospel.  As a Child of God, we will not be judged by what pope Francis says but what the Word of God says and the Word of God says “I (JESUS) am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” John 14:6…not the “vicar of Christ”.  – Donna Clark Warren