By what "Authority" do we do these things ?
Recently I had a discussion with a man who is Catholic and his wife is Protestant.
He argued that the Protestant Church is not the true church because it does not have "The Authority" that the Catholic Church possesses.
By this he meant, "The Apostolic Authority" passed on to them from Peter to all successive Popes. The "Keys" were given to Peter and now The Catholic Church has them. He also stated that the power to change the brea...d and wine into the body and blood of Christ Jesus can only be accomplished by "their" priests - meaning that only through them can this command of Jesus to remember Him be fulfilled as a sacrament.
So - what is religious authority to The Catholic Church ? It is their belief that Peter was their first "Pope" and all his successors received their authority directly from Jesus. Their authority therefore come from the Pope, their traditions, rituals, teachings and doctrines found within the Bible or taught by the Catholic church which supersedes the scriptures as the final word.
Peter, although a leader in the early church was never the first Pope of The Church in Rome and may never have even gone to Rome. The authority Jesus gave to His Church was given to all born- again believers through the gifts, callings and power of The Holy Spirit.
Authority of The Catholic Church - The Pope and Catholic traditions, doctrine and some scripture.
Authority of The True Church - The Holy Spirit and The Bible - All of scripture is inspired by God and is our final "Authority".