What is the secret of the authority of the Church? 
The Church founded by Jesus Christ, 20 centuries of experience 
 
I tell you that you are Peter and on this stone, I will build my Church and the power of hell will not prevail against it 
 

 
Jesus Christ built the Church to save humanity, not to condemn it. 
 
In the picture above, which we have seen many times, is the Vatican, built on the remains of St. Peter, first Pope personally chosen by Jesus Christ: "I tell you that you are Peter and on this stone I will build my Church and the power of hell will not prevail against it "(Mt 16.18). 
 
What is the secret of the authority of the Church?: to constantly look at its founder – Jesus Christ –, knowing his prehistory-the Hebrew people-, taking into account the first Christians and the very twenty centuries of life, full of successes and errors and, finally,... thinking about future generations.
 
The heritage of accumulated wisdom 
 
Christian faith and morals, gathered in the Catechism, have the consistency of many centuries of study and methodical research of very brilliant minds in areas such as "dead languages," biblical exegesis, theology, and philosophy. Not forgetting, their valuable contributions in all areas of human knowledge made by men of the Church, from mathematics to astronomy through all manifestations of art.
 
Also, the Church has accumulated an incalculable experience for its active presence and protagonist in the great events of the history of mankind since the beginning of the Christian era, which makes it the protagonist, spectator, and judge of the successes and historical errors of the human act and of itself. Its multi secular pastoral experience makes her the best friend of human weakness. Jesus Christ built the Church to save humanity, not to condemn it 
 
Accumulating more than twenty centuries of knowledge is a privilege that only the Catholic Church can afford. The Church has the experience of the mistakes of humanity and own mistakes. 
 
The vision of the Divine Institution 
 
Even the most prestigious institutions are not able to accumulate the patrimony of the historical consciousness itself. Only the Church can look out and see itself from the "eyes of God," with a look of divine institution. 
 
Why can it afford to go against the current of prevailing fashion ideologies? Because of its lasting and stable (eternal) character. The Church does not govern for some time, but from past generations and to current and future generations.
 
The Pope and the Church government are not only ahead of the Vatican State, but a "Head of Humanity" of past, present and future times. 
 
When the Church in an Encyclical says "no to abortion," it is proving that it does not govern "in the short term" to have the applause of the predominant culture of the time, but with a vision of the future in service of humanity that seems to want to commit suicide. The same goes for the firm defense of marriage and family. Those who promote "gender culture" have the days numbered but, the Church does not have the days-nor the centuries-counted and sees the problems from a much higher level and farther in the past and the future, allowing her to have the mercy of telling the truth to the world, as much as it hurts. 
 
The decisions of the Church do not depend on a political electoral period, or the interests of the majority in the board of proprietors of an entity, nor the dominant culture in the media of social communication. The Church tells the truth "against the wind and the tide" of the storms of every historical moment, knowing that the attacks and insults it suffers to continue exposing the truth, unfortunately, are proof that it is defending a good present and future for men. The Church, rather than acting, must be the light of the world simply by exposing the truth of Jesus Christ. 
 
In this context, it is understood what a friend told me: that "for the diplomacy of the Church, prudence is already audacity". It is therefore not surprising that the diplomatic representations of each country are considered "ambassador dean" to the representative of the Vatican. 
 
For all this, the Church is the only institution that, with full right and without boasting, can define itself as "One, Holy, Universal, and Apostolic." 
 
When Christians see the Basilica of St. Peter, we feel proud of our Church, hurt by the mistakes we have made and responsible for the salvation of humanity. The image of this beautiful building can remind us of a sheepfold, a sheep pen, open to all flocks and sheep.