Pope says church hierarchy was willed by God to ensure unity in faith

Published: 2007-03-07

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church was willed by God to ensure unity in faith, Pope Benedict XVI said. The church "is not a place of confusion or anarchy where each person can do what he wants at the moment," the pope said March 7 at his weekly general audience. The pope's speech marked the beginning of a new series of audience talks on the "apostolic fathers," the first and second generation of church leaders after the Twelve Apostles. Pope Benedict began the series by focusing on St. Clement, the bishop of Rome at the end of the first century, and on his letter to the Christian community in Corinth. St. Clement wrote the letter to address "the serious problems" the Corinthians were experiencing, the pope said. "In fact, the priests of the community had been deposed by some young challengers," he said. Exhorting the Corinthians "to reconcile in peace, renew their faith and affirm the tradition that they had recently received from apostles," St. Clement's letter "is the first exercise of the primacy of Rome after the death of St. Peter," the pope said.

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