Does the Catholic Church have "authority" to declare doctrines?

Our response to claims made on YouTube by Mr. Mike Winger (Part One)

Hey folks,

I’d like to share a recent exchange I had on YouTube after commenting on a video by Mr. Mike Winger. His video attempts to discredit the Catholic Church in nearly every way imaginable. While I didn’t watch the entire video (which is over an hour long), the first few minutes were enough to reveal his strategy: wide, sweeping statements and misleading rhetoric designed to lead Catholics away from their faith.

After hearing some of his comments, I posted the following:

"Sadly, this gentleman is not presenting the Catholic faith…. But instead, bits and pieces of Catholic terminology fused with his own misunderstanding or purposeful misrepresentation of Catholicism. He should not be speaking as an authority about a topic he is deeply unqualified to declare anything about."

Since my comment, I have not received any response from Mr. Winger. However, someone identified as "Nickick8498" responded:

"Wanna give examples?"

I welcomed this opportunity, as my comment was intended to invite meaningful dialogue, even if it’s not with Mr. Winger. It’s important, however, to approach such conversations wisely. When defending the faith, we don’t need to chase every claim or tangent presented. Instead, focus on their foundational assertions and address them directly. Never take the bait to go down the proverbial “rabbit hole” because you will lose focus and find yourself led all over the map.

In this case, I concentrated on Mr. Winger’s opening statement, which I paraphrase slightly for clarity:

"The single pillar of Catholicism is their claim to authority. Once you realize that this claim isn’t biblical or historical, you realize that all of the doctrines built on this claim don’t have authority over you. Catholics feel liberated when they see they can just open the Bible, believe it, and not add anything to it. Tonight, we’ll examine the false teachings of the Roman Catholic Church."

Mr. Winger is correct to focus on the issue of authority as foundational. The Catholic Church does indeed make bold claims about its authority. However, his assertion that this authority is neither biblical nor historical is entirely false.

So let’s begin here. First, the Catholic Church does not identify "authority" as its "single pillar" of anything. Instead, the Catholic Church claims the Word of God is the authority of our faith. However, let’s examine Mr. Winger’s claim that there is no "authority" that the Catholic Church claims in the Bible or history. The Catholic Church’s claim to authority is deeply biblical, rooted in Jesus’ establishment of the Church upon Peter in Matthew 16:18-19, where Christ gives Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven and the power to bind and loose. This authority is also affirmed historically, as the early Church Fathers repeatedly recognized the unique role of Peter and his successors in guiding the Church. For example, St. Ignatius of Antioch, writing in the early 2nd century, emphasized the necessity of unity with the bishop and the Church of Rome, which 'presides in love.' The Church's authority is not self-declared; it is derived from Christ and has been consistently upheld through Scripture, Tradition, and the witness of history. To dismiss this authority undermines the very foundation of the Christian faith as handed down by the apostles. Now… Mr. Winger might not agree that Jesus’s words to Peter establishes authority, but in plain language, it does, along with many other scriptural references we can get into that support the Catholic position. To say that it isn’t supported in Scripture is absolutely false. However, I absolutely agree with Mr. Winger, just open the Bible and read it [because you won’t find any claims that the Catholic Church teaches anything that is not supported by the Word of God]."

By addressing Mr. Winger’s initial claim about authority, I avoided the distraction of responding to countless other tangents. This approach keeps the discussion focused and grounded in truth.

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In Closing…

Of course, Mr. Winger goes on [over an hour’s worth] to say more about this topic and offer a selection of Scriptures that he tries to use as prooftexts against Catholic teaching, but for now, I want to leave it here and see where Nickick8498, or Mr. Winger, himself, want to take the conversation. Again, there’s no need to chase endless comments that seem designed to mislead. Perhaps they are just misunderstandings, but Mr. Winger, himself, appears to speak with quite a bit of “authority” that he gets from his own interpretation of Scripture and what he wants it to mean, not what it says by simply reading it. However, if I don’t get a response from either of them, I may share more of his statements in future newsletters and look at them alongside what actually has all authority: the WORD OF GOD!

For now, let’s keep in mind that the Church’s authority is firmly rooted in Scripture, Tradition, and history, as demonstrated by the clear evidence in passages like Matthew 16:18-19 and the writings of the early Church Fathers. Think about it: Without authority, what would the Church look like? We wouldn’t have unity but instead chaos—38,000+ denominations, all claiming to be their own authority, Bibles in hand, and thousands of disagreements over core doctrines. This is precisely what the authority of the Church and the unity it provides are meant to prevent, and yet, here we are with division and thousands of competing “interpretations”. Just doesn’t make sense. This is the condition Christ would set up for his Church? Don’t think so!

That brings us to a question for Mr. Winger: What authority does he have to make such audacious claims? What makes his interpretation of Scripture authoritative or infallible? Catholics have no issue with reading Scripture; the issue arises with individual interpretations of Scripture that disregard the consistent witness of history and create division rather than unity. For now, let’s see if Nickick8498 responds. I anticipate a continued challenge and look forward to engaging further in a respectful and meaningful dialogue. Stay tuned!

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