Why Catholics Need Popes (Even When Some of Them Were a Hot Mess)

 

For Catholics, the pope isn’t just a religious figure—he’s a symbol of unity, a successor to St. Peter, and a spiritual anchor for the whole Church. But let’s be honest: history hasn’t exactly handed us a spotless lineup of saintly popes. Some were profoundly holy; others were… well, let’s just say they made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

So why does the Church even need a pope? And how do we reconcile the need for papal authority with the reality of deeply flawed men sometimes occupying the chair of St. Peter?

It Starts With Scripture

The concept of a pope isn’t some later invention—it’s rooted directly in the words of Christ. In Matthew 16:18-19, Jesus says to Peter:

"You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

That’s a transfer of authority—not just to Peter as a man, but to the office Peter holds. This is why Catholics see the pope not as a king or a celebrity priest, but as the keeper of the keys, entrusted with guarding and passing on the faith.

This authority is further confirmed in John 21:15-17, when Jesus tells Peter:

"Feed my lambs… Tend my sheep… Feed my sheep."

Peter is given the responsibility of shepherding the entire flock—which is why every pope after him takes on that same role.

Unity Requires a Visible Anchor

If you’ve ever seen what happens in churches without a central authority, you know why this matters. Human beings love to split hairs, and pretty soon, those hairs turn into full-blown divisions. The pope exists as a visible point of unity, the one who can say, “This is what the Church teaches, and this is not.”

That doesn’t mean every personal opinion a pope has is infallible (more on that in a second). But it does mean that when the pope teaches officially on faith and morals, he has the protection of the Holy Spirit to keep the Church from falling into error.

What About the Bad Popes?

Here’s where things get messy—because history doesn’t lie. There have been some truly awful popes:

• Pope Alexander VI (famous for his lavish corruption and scandalous personal life)
• Pope Benedict IX (literally sold the papacy—twice)
• Pope Stephen VI (held a posthumous trial for his predecessor, exhuming the corpse to stand trial)

The Church doesn’t deny these stories—but here’s the key: a pope’s personal sins don’t undo the authority of the office itself. The pope is the successor of Peter not because he’s the holiest man alive, but because the office exists to serve the Church, regardless of who temporarily holds it.

And the Good Popes?

For every corrupt pope, there are many who lived lives of extraordinary holiness and service:

• Pope Gregory the Great (reformed Church governance, championed the poor)
• Pope Leo the Great (defended the faith against heresy and literally stared down Attila the Hun)
• Pope John Paul II (helped topple communism, championed human dignity, inspired generations of young Catholics)

The Office Is Bigger Than the Man

At the end of the day, Catholics don’t believe the pope is sinless—they believe that the Holy Spirit protects the office itself from officially teaching error on faith and morals. That’s infallibility in a nutshell: not a guarantee that the pope is always wise, kind, or good, but a divine safeguard that ensures the Church stays anchored to truth.

TL;DR: Catholics need a pope because Christ established the role to guard the faith and unify the Church. Some popes lived that calling heroically; others spectacularly failed. But the office itself—the rock Christ promised—stands firm.

Because the Church isn’t built on Peter’s perfection. It’s built on God’s promise.