OK, so this Old Testament passage doesn't teach the pope can be the head of two churches. The Haydock Catholic commentary doesn't even mention the pope.
Maybe 3rd times the charm.......Where does the Catholic Church teach this is impossible?
The Scripture I referenced merely shows that pastors and prophets (the pope and hierarchy) can teach heresies and when they do, we are not to listen to them. It is a very good allegory for today's crisis: "
For the prophet and the priest (pope? and hierarchy)
are defiled: and in my house (the Church)
I have found their wickedness, saith the Lord.....Hearken not (don't listen to him)
to the words of the prophets that prophesy to you, and deceive you". When Christ dubs Peter "The Rock" because of his profession of faith and states that He would build His Church on him, how does having a Peter who simultaneously heads up, is a member of, and professes the faith of a false church maintain his position as "The Rock"? This Scripture passage shows that a pope of the Catholic Church couldn't possibly be "The Rock" of the Catholic Church if he also headed up and professed the faith of a false church.
He maintains his position as "The Rock" because that position was assigned specifically to him by Christ, which means no matter what he does in any respect or disrespect to that assignment, he is "The Rock" via the command of God the Son.
Christ did not give him that position conditionally or on any type of temporary basis - such a thing is not even implied anywhere in Scripture.
He's "The Rock" because God made *him* "The Rock", from that moment on, outside of his death or abdication, there is nothing on earth that can ever change that by virtue of the command of God - so when the pope decides he wants to head two churches, though he sins terribly, he still remains the pope, head of Christ's Church on earth, by virtue of the directive from God, meanwhile, he starts and heads up his own church at the same time - woe unto him is what we all say:
"Woe to the pastors, that destroy and tear the sheep of my pasture, saith the Lord."