Prof. Alfonso Carrasco Rouco, Madrid

In the unity bull Laetentur caeli, from the Council of Florence (July 6^th 1439) one reads the following definition: "The Roman Pontiff is the successor to the blessed Peter, prince of the Apostles, authentic Vicar of Christ and the head of the entire Church, the Father and Teacher of all Christians" (DH 1307). This formula, which is part of a broader quote and one that was preceded by a long history of a variety of interpretations, was readopted in the Pastor aeternus Constitution by the First Vatican Council in its definition of the judicial primacy and the infallibility of the papal teachings and also by the Second Vatican Council. With these words the Florentine Council expressed the Catholic awareness of the primacy through formulations that referred to the authentic Latin theological tradition the profoundest meaning of which must be understood in the light of their reception and proposal by both the Vatican Councils.

With the words "the authentic Vicar of Christ", the Council of Florence proposed the nucleus of its teachings regards to the ministry of Peter. These words are intimately associated to the previous statement concerning the succession of the blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, and are interpreted as follows: it is a mission received only by Peter so as to represent Christ for the whole Church as the shepherd for the entire flock. The word "vicar" wished to express that vices Christi habere in terris, that "taking his place", as a Vicar who receives power from He who personally has it. Since the title "vicar of Christ" was traditionally also used for bishops, the adjective "authentic" was added so as to indicate the difference, a particular and unique relationship in the vicarial representation of Christ in the person of Peter and in his successors.

Hence the nucleus of Peter’s tradition is expressed by the Catholic Church, clarified in the expression: "the head of the entire universal Church", that according to the beliefs of the Florentine counciliar Fathers, intended the exclusion of possible counciliar interpretations of the expression "vicar of Christ". In other words, in this manner the fact that papal power is neither given nor derives from the ecclesial community is stated, but that on the contrary it is governed by Christ through his Vicar, the bishop of Rome. Furthermore "full powers" for pasturing and governing the universal Church are bestowed by Christ.

The First Vatican Council was to repeat in a more systematic manner these teachings in its chapters on the institution of Peter’s apostolic primacy by Christ, on the perpetual characteristics of this ministry through his successors, and on the nature of this "jurisdictional" primacy provided with the charisma of infallibility.

It is important however to observe that the power belonging to the "vicar of Christ" cannot be abstractly deduced starting from a canonical or juridical concept of "vicarial power"; it is instead determined by Christ’s positive will and bestowed by Him; hence also the meaning of the historical bond implied by the title: "successor of Peter". This is why for example the canonical or theological theories that implied that being the "vicar of Christ" involved power over the whole world, on the Church and on temporal events, both over Christian and non-Christian believers, were wrong. Nor may one deduce that all the Church’s laws and jurisdiction derive directly from the full power of the "vicar of Christ".

The counciliar statements coming from Florence, from the First and Second Vatican Councils also emphasise in fact that bishops are also natural shepherds, successor of the Apostles, and that the Papal ministry does not eliminate the Episcopal ministry, converting the bishops into the Pope’s "vicars" or "delegates", on the contrary it confirms and strengthens this. In this sense one can understand the continuation of the quotation from Laetentur caeli, the paragraph Tantum autem abest in the Pastor aeternus, as well as the broad teachings contained in Chapter III of Lumen gentium about the Episcopal ministry and college. These perspectives are of particular importance for the Ecumenical path, as shown in the Council of Florence, but also very clearly by Lumen gentium and by Unitatis redintegratio as well as finally by the Encyclical Ut unum sint.

With the words: "Teacher of all Christians" the singular service to the faith of the whole Church entrusted by the Lord to Peter and his successor is emphasised. It was this way therefore that in Florence the awareness that the Bishop of Rome had always preserved and defended the authentic faith in his position as the real teacher of all the faithful was expressed. The First Vatican Council in fact was correctly capable of relying on this sentence for its definition of the infallibility of the Papal teachings; the service rendered by the Vicar of Christ so that the Church should always remain within the true faith therefore encountered the solemn expression of its foundations in the special assistance of the Holy Spirit. The Second Vatican Council confirmed these teachings concerning the authentic magistery of Peter’s successor, including the charisma of the infallibility with which the Spirit maintains it within the truth of the Gospels, seen as the fundamental dimension of the ministry of the Vicar of Christ for the entire Church.

Hence in this manner the Bishop of Rome, Peter’s successor, renders Christ present in his own and authentic way through his ministry as the Father and Teacher of all Christians, and also the head of the universal Church. For this Church, which is in Christ the sacrament "of the intimate unity with God and the unity of all mankind" (LG 1), in which there are no borders or discriminations on the basis of human criteria, the Bishop of Rome is the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity in faith and in communion, both for the bishops and for the multitude of the faithful.