Did Jesus found the Catholic Church

Thank you for your response I will first take a look at Matthew 16:18 to clear up your misconceptions about the verse. " And I tell you, (talking to simon peter) you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it". Now the greek word for Peter is "Petros" which literally means "rock", so Jesus is literally saying I name you rock and upon this rock I will Build My Church, Jesus is not the rock Peter is. This in no way refers to the blueprint of christian belief, firstly no fathers of the church saw it this way because our Lord goes on to say in verse 19; "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". This is certainly shows that Christ gives His authority to Peter and that authority is over His Church. What could he bind and loose if he didn't have authority. You also say the Church is His flock which is correct it is, but who does Jesus put in charge over his flock? John 21:15-17 tells us "When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?""Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."Jesus said, "Feed my flock". Jesus puts Peter over his flock to feed and take care of them. Rebuttal 1: You say in no way is Jesus founding a specific Church and that all the churches were separately ran in each city. Well the New Testament makes it very clear that is not the case. In Acts 15 we read about a dispute in the Church as to whether one needed to be circumcised to be saved. Well the question was brought to the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem for a definitive answer " 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question". Then we see Peter standing up to make the final authoritative statement. " After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." (Acts 15:7-11) All the churches when they had disputes submitted to the authority and the teachings of the hierarchy established by Christ, Of which Peter was the leader. Con you also state that the Church of Rome didn't become the "Catholic Church" until the roman empire made it their state religion but this is also untrue. As St. Ignatius of Antioch says in the 2nd century: "Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." St. Ignatius wrote this in 110 A.D hundreds of years before your proposed timeline. Further you say that Peter was never the bishop of Rome but St. Irenaeus tells us in the 2nd century that in fact Peter was there Laying The Foundations. ""Matthew also issued among the Hebrews a written Gospel in their own language, while Peter and Paul were evangelizing in Rome and laying the foundation of the Church" (Against Heresies, 3, 1:1 [A.D. 189]). " Peter being the head of the apostles and as we've already seen had final say, would only go to Rome to be in authority there. Who is going to be in charge over Peter? no one he was most certainly bishop upon arrival. A bad founding is a hardly a sign of a perfect founder? do you deny Christ was perfect? I think you need to look over that. Rebuttal 2: Firstly Matt 23:9 does not say don't call your priest father, it says call no man father. At best we can say Jesus is commanding his followers to not call religious leaders father. If that is the case that we should call no man father, WHY oh Why does Jesus say this in Luke 16:24 "So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire." Did Jesus forget what he said? or is he saying that no man can be called father if they deny the initial fatherhood of God, you decide. Next you say that the priesthood and the authority of the pope bishops and priest is not legitimate but then when have to consider this. In John 20:22 Jesus breathes on the Apostles and says this "If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." How could the apostles forgive anyone's sins unless they heard the sins of the person? Are they just supposed to make random guesses at the sins they have committed? No, Jesus again shows the AUTHORITY of the apostles which is His authority and has been given to them for the benefit of the Church. Lastly I will address the point of the succession of that authority. In Acts 1 the first thing we see is the Apostles getting together to decide who will take the place of Judas as apostle. How could this man be now given the authority of the apostles since Jesus didn't give it to him like he did the others? This only makes sense if the authority is passed to anyone the apostles ordain with this power. otherwise how could Matthias be given the title of apostle. Also we see in the Old Covenant that God gave priestly authority to the levites to preside over and teach the people of Israel. If God could pass down the authority from generation to generation in those day He most certainly can do it Today. Conclusion: Well if you've read this far I give you props, that's a lot of reading. My main point is this. The Church of Acts, with The Apostles over the people and with the laying of hands on the presbytery (1 Timothy 4:14) is the same Church as the Catholic Church. Our Friend St. Ignatius makes it Very Clear in 110 A.D that wherever Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church. We cannot throw out the Church Fathers because we are looking at what was the history of the Early Christian Church. What did it teach and what was it saying about the apostles and the role of the leaders. As odd as it may seem I've only pointed out a fraction of the evidence. I've answered and refuted all your objections with the Bible and historical documents. We are forced to conclude that Jesus founded the Catholic Church. Sources : http://www.catholic.com... http://www.catholic.com... http://www.newadvent.org... The Bible Thanks alot for the Debate