Papal Authority — Roman Catholicism Debunked

The Catholic Church claims Peter was the first pope — Scripture says otherwise.

Matthew 16:18 ('you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church') is the foundation of papal claims, but 'petra' (rock) refers to Peter's confession of faith, not Peter himself. In Matthew 18:18, the same 'binding and loosing' authority is given to all the apostles. Peter himself never claimed papal authority — in 1 Peter 5:1 he calls himself a 'fellow elder.' Paul rebuked Peter to his face (Galatians 2:11), which would be unthinkable if Peter were the infallible head of the Church.

Verdict: Peter was an apostle, not a pope — his own letters prove it.