…with regard to your questions. first concerning the
statement of Jesus Christ “Thou art Peter and upon this rock…”: this saying of
Jesus establishes beyond any doubt the primacy of Peter and also the principle
of succession, but is not explicit enough regarding the nature and functioning
of the Church itself. The Catholics have read too much into that statement, and
derived from it certain conclusions which are quite unjustifiable.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a
letter dated 7 September 1938 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an
individual believer; included in a Memorandum from the Research Department of
the Universal House of Justice dated 22 February 1998)
