The-papacy-its-history-dogmas-genius-and-prospects-wylie

THE PRIMACY AN IMPOSTURE.Solletters could not but have left traces of itself.The Epistlesof Peter emit the sweet perfume of apostolic humility,—notthe rank effluvia of papal arrogance.Thus the primacy of Peter is without the least foundation,either in Scripture, in ecclesiastical history, or in thereason of the thing; and unless we are good enough toaccept the word of the pontiff, given ex cathedra^ in theroom of all other evidence, this pretence of primacy mustbe given up as a gross delusion and imposture.* The argumentends hero of right ; for all other reasons, urged fromsuch considerations as thatPeter was Bishop of Rome, areplainly irrelevant, seeing it matters not to the authority ofthe popes in what city or quarter of the world Peter exercisedhis office, unless it can be shown that he w^as primateof the apostles and head of the Church. But granting thatthat difficulty is got over. Papists are instantly met by otherdifficulties equally great. It is essential to the Romanscheme to establish as a fact, that Peter was Bishop ofRome. This no Romanist has yet been able to do. Now,in the first place, we are not prepared to deny that Peterever visited Rome, any more than Papists are able to prove* As Roiiianists now ascribe to Mary the work of redemption, so theyhave begun to put the primacy of Peter in the room of the mission ofChrist, by speaking of it as the grand proof of God's love to the world.In a "pastoral" issued upon the festival of St Peter, by '^ Paul, by thegrace of God and favour of the apostolic see. Archbishop of Armagh and Primateof all Ireland;' given in the Tablet of June 28, 1851, we find the writerconmienting on the words, tliou art Peter, ^c, and speaking of " the virtuesand glory of him to irhom they were addressed. The visible image of the Divinepaternity which encirclesheaven and earth in its embrace, nowhere does the providenceof God shine forth with so much splendour, whilst impressing into the heartsof the faithful the most ineffable confidence and consolation, as in the guardianshipof his Church, entrusted to Peter and his successors." And then follows theblasphemous application of Ephesians, iii. IS, to Peter's primacy, "andparticularly, that in the most glorious and touching manifestation of hispaternal love towards us in the guardianship of this Church, ' you may beable to comprehend with all the saints, what is its ' breadth and length, and heightand depth; "