Catholic Apologetics Guidebook

The Church and the Papacy

Topics on This Page:

The Nature of the Church
Apostolic Succession
Peter, the Rock and Keeper of the Keys
Papal Authority
Papal Infallibility
Anti-Catholic Objections to the Church and the Papacy

The Nature of the Church

Articles:

• Is the Church Visible or Invisible? by John J. Moran
• The Nature of the Church by Peter Kreeft
• The Four Marks of the Church by Fr. William Saunders
• The Four Marks of the Church by Monsignor Ronald Knox

Audio:

• One Church by John Martignoni – What the Bible says about the one true church founded by Jesus.  (You must enter a name and an e-mail address to download this mp3 audio file, but it is a free download.)

Books:

• One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic: The Early Church Was The Catholic Church by Kenneth Whitehead

Apostolic Succession

Articles:

• Successors of the Apostles by Jimmy Akin
• Catholic Answers: Apostolic Succession

Peter, the Rock and Keeper of the Keys

Articles:

• Catholic Answers: Peter and the Papacy
• Catholic Answers: Origins of Peter as Pope – Contains numerous quotes from the early church fathers.
• Was Peter the First Pope? by Fr. William Saunders
• Who Is the Rock of Matthew 16:18? – Protestant scholars find a Catholic answer to this question.
• Catholic Answers: Was Peter in Rome?

Books:

• Upon This Rock: St. Peter and the Primacy of Rome in Scripture and the Early Church by Stephen Ray.  (Click here to read a chapter from this book online.)
• Jesus, Peter, and the Keys: A Scriptural Handbook on the Papacy by Scott Butler, Norman Dahlgren, and Deacon David Hess

Video:

• Peter: Keeper of the Keys (Footprints of God Series) with Steve Ray

Papal Authority

Articles:

• CUF Faith Facts: No Bull - Papal Authority and Our Response
• Catholic Answers: The Authority of the Pope - Part 1 | Part 2 – Quotes from the early church fathers in support of papal authority.
• The Primacy of the Roman Church as Evidenced in Ancient Christian Writings by Lane Core

Audio:

• Apostolic Authority and the Pope by John Martignoni – Biblical support for the pope and for apostolic authority.  (You must enter a name and an e-mail address to download this mp3 audio file, but it is a free download.)

Books:

• Upon This Rock: St. Peter and the Primacy of Rome in Scripture and the Early Church by Stephen Ray.  (Click here to read a chapter from this book online.)
• Jesus, Peter, and the Keys: A Scriptural Handbook on the Papacy by Scott Butler, Norman Dahlgren, and Deacon David Hess

Papal Infallibility

Articles:

• Catholic Answers: Papal Infallibility
• How to Argue for Papal Infallibility by Jason Evert

Anti-Catholic Objections to the Church and the Papacy

Articles:

• Catholic Answers: Hunting the Whore of Babylon
• Catholic Answers: The Whore of Babylon
• Pope Fiction: Answers to Five Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy by Patrick Madrid – This article skillfully refutes the following five "pope fictions":  (1) Peter was not the first pope, (2) Peter was never in Rome, (3) the papacy is a medieval invention, (4) there was a "Pope Joan" in the Middle Ages, and (5) the pope is the beast spoken of in Revelation 13.

Books:

• Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy by Patrick Madrid
• Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians" by Karl Keating