In these sad and shocking days of the Roman Catholic Church we see a great deal of turmoil and confusion among not only the clergy but especially the laity and one can only imagine the thoughts and reactions of non-Catholics. In fact, because of the scandals especially due to a crisis in leadership the Church is witnessing, this has given cause to suggest the Roman Catholic Church couldn't possibly be the True Church that Christ founded. Yes, we have seen a crisis of leadership especially during one of the most critical moments of the Church when Pope Francis was asked for guidance on Cardinal Vigano's explosive revelations; instead of direction on the matter, the Holy Father flatly told the world, “I will not say a single word” on Vigano's allegations. My answer to this resides in Romans 8:31:

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who is against us?”

For we know that God has established the Church as the Pillar and Ground of the Truth, many of us thanks to Sacred Scripture - “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth .” 1 Timothy 3:15 - The Church, which is the Pillar and Ground of the Truth, can neither deceive nor be deceived – meaning of all the truths revealed by God and define by the Magisterium, we are never mislead into error so long as we follow what has been passed down from Christ Himself. – We know also that Jesus established His Church but also that it was founded upon Cephas or Peter (the Rock) to which there are successors from St. Peter all the way until today. “And I say to thee: That thou art Peter ; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth , it shall be loosed also in heaven.” Matthew 16: 18-19. We also have the insight of the those before us to help us better understand such statements as such sacred mysteries are found only in the Deposit of the Faith – consider some of the writings of from the Haydock Commentary on Matthew 16 concerning the 'gates of Hell:

The Gates of Hell - That is, the powers of darkness, and whatever Satan can do, either by himself, or his agents. For as the church is here likened to a house, or fortress, built on a rock; so the adverse powers are likened to a contrary house or fortress, the gates of which, that is, the whole strength, and all the efforts it can make, will never be able to prevail over the city or church of Christ. By this promise we are fully assured, that neither idolatry, heresy, nor any pernicious error whatsoever shall at any time prevail over the church of Christ.

Also more commentary on St. Peter as the Rock:

As St. Peter, by divine revelation, here made a solemn profession of his faith of the divinity of Christ; so in recompense of this faith and profession, our Lord here declares to him the dignity to which he is pleased to raise him: viz., that he to whom he had already given the name of Peter, signifying a rock, St. John 1. 42, should be a rock indeed, of invincible strength, for the support of the building of the church; in which building he should be, next to Christ himself, the chief foundation stone, in quality of chief pastor, ruler, and governor; and should have accordingly all fullness of ecclesiastical power, signified by the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

So how can it be that the Roman Catholic Church has suffered bad Popes that have even endangered the faith life of the Church? Does this mean the Gates of Hell prevailed? Of course not! To suggest the gates of hell prevailed also suggests that Christ is a liar and that cannot be so. Recall before Christ was turned over to the Jews and Romans to be crucified that St. Peter attempted to convince Christ from allowing that to happen. What was Jesus' response?

“...Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men ...” - Matthew 16:23

In one moment, Jesus establishes His Vicar on earth and says He will build His Church upon St. Peter and in the next Jesus is calling St. Peter Satan – literally within a few verses from one another! *side note* Did you notice also that St. Peter remained Christ's Vicar even after such a rebuke? So what does this tell us? This tells us that St. Peter, who was commonly known for his failures, was still entrusted to lead the Church. As the saying goes, 'God does not call the qualified but He does qualify those who He calls.' No one ever said that the Pope will be without blemish or wrinkle. In fact, the very election of the Pope has never been regarded as an infallible act of the Holy Spirit but rather an act of administration. As Cardinal Burke once said in an interview on the World Over with Raymond Arraylo,

“In Conclave, all those present must cooperate with the Holy Spirit when voting for the next Vicar of Christ.”

Consider Pope Liberius, who during the Arian Heresy (which taught that Jesus was not truly divine), this sad Pope did not condemn this heresy. In fact, maybe out of fear, affirmed many who accepted this diabolical teaching. It was St. Athanasius who stood up and challenged Pope Liberius for not faithfully defending what was taught. St. Athanasius was even excommunicated (albeit wrongfully) for his brave efforts to stand up against error and a misuse of the office of the Papacy. **see infallible definition of Vatican 1 on teaching authority of the Papacy** It was not until after Pope Liberius passed away and another Pope was elected to come and make a solemn judgment against Pope Liberius' pontificate and undo what his harmful hand wrought – namely to lift the falsely imposed excommunication on St. Athanasius. What then? What does this tell us? Every thinking mind should understand that men are sinners. Period. It does not matter what office a man holds. We are all subject to error and being mislead. However, it is within the Deposit of the Faith that teaches that the Pope is infallible in matters of faith and morals ONLY. Not to mention, in order to exercise this power of infallibility, he must declare his words using 'Ex Cathedra' meaning from the “Seat of Peter, We define...” and this definition on whatever matter must be found in the Apostolic faith passed down from Christ Himself, understood by the faithful until today. On top of that, a Pope is rarely infallible unless he uses that exact formula that, once again, that which has been passed down. A part from this truth, the Pope can certainly be wrong and might I add he can also fall from grace and be an enemy of the faith if he allows Satan to guide him.

But this in no way deviates from the truth that the Roman Catholic Church enjoys the primacy of holding the truth and binding revelations of God – in short, that the Holy Roman Catholic Church is still the one true Church of God. Because it isn't the man who sits in the seat of St. Peter that ensures the Church is true, it is Jesus Christ who founded that office and the entire the Church. We pray for good leadership but we often get what we deserve. If we deviate from humility, we will be overcome by pride; if we deviate from chastity, we will be overcome by lust; if we deviate from the truth, we will be overcome by the lie and so on. As Catholics, we should all see this as the happy beginning to the restoration of the Church because the Church like her Lord follows in her Lord's footsteps in His passion, death, and resurrection. Do not flee from the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic faith simply because “St. Peter” has taken his eyes off of Christ and began to sink. Pray instead and stand up for truth, stand up for the only Church that Christ founded. Amen.