The faith of our fathers - Carmel Apologetics

128 THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS.in the person of James ;but it cannot yet spare thecommander-iu-chief. The enemies of the Churchhad hoped that the destruction of the chief shepherdwould involve the dispersion of the whole flock.Therefore they redoubled their fury against thePrince of the Apostles, just as her modern enemiesconcentrate their shafts against the Pope,his successor. Does not this incident eloquently proclaimPeter s superior authority? In fact, Peter figuresso conspicuously in every page, that his Primacy isnot only admissible, but is forced on the judgmentof the impartial reader.What are the principal objections which are ad.vanced against the Primacy of Peter? They arechiefly, I may say exclusively, confined to the threefollowing : 1. That our Lord rebuked Peter 2. that;St. Paul criticised his conduct on a point not affecting doctrine, but discipline. The Apostle of theGentiles blames St. Peter because he withdrew fora time from the society of the Gentile converts, forfear of scandalizing the newly-converted Jews. 13. That the supremacy of Peter conflicts with thesupreme dominion of Christ.For my part, I cannot see how these objectionscan invalidate the claims of Peter. Was not JesusPeter s superior And ? may not a superior rebukehis servant, without infringing on the servant s prerogatives ?And why could not St. Paul censure the conductGaLii.ll.