The primacy of the Bishop of Rome is the term for the highest office in the Church. It consists in carrying out a mission appointed to St. Peter and his successors by Christ. The truth about the primacy is a theoretical plane, dogmatically defined at the I Vatican Council in 1870. It also has a practical dimension, which depends on the individual popes and the particular historical context. A characteristic feature of the pontificate of John Paul II was the implementation of the reforms of the II Vatican Council and the Church’s preparation for the Great Jubilee of the third millennium. John Paul II realized the primacy function in accordance with the tradition of the Church, on the grounds of the biblical image of Peter the Apostle, and continuing the line of his predecessors – John XXIII and Paul VI. The leading element of his pontificate was the openness to the world, to man and his dignity, or sensitivity to the signs of the times. The priority at the level of ecclesial unity was a concern for the community at all levels, including the ecumenical field. John Paul II realized the primacy ministry as Servus servorum Dei, in the ancient formula – priority in love .

W artykule porównane są dwa modele kierowania Kościołem, które w Kościele katolickim co najmniej od Soboru Watykańskiego II stoją wobec siebie w pewnym napięciu. Model „Communio” strukturyzuje cały Kościół wychodząc od Kościoła lokalnego; Model „Iurisdictio” (bądź też hierarchiczny) wychodzi od prymatu jurysdykcyjnego biskupa Rzymu. Wraz z Walterem Kasperem autor artykulu opowiada się za syntezą Iurisdictio oraz Ordo, co pozostaje jeszcze zadaniem do wykonania na trzecie chrześcijańskie tysiąclecie. Tematem Ekskursu jest teoria eklezjologiczna Josepha Ratzingera, w ramach której w odniesieniu do relacji między papieżem a episkopatem można zaobserwować rozwój od podkreślania kolegialności w kierunku świadectwa pojedynczego biskupa.

Joseph Ratzinger discusses papal primacy in the Church, which is a communio based on the relationship between primacy and collegiality. Therefore, he supports jurisdictional primacy executed not in a monarchical way, but collegially, with the Pope as the head of the college of bishops. Joseph Ratzinger discusses the Petrine primacy in the New Testament, which he considers a starting point for a discussion about the succession of Peter’s office, choosing (via media) between papalism and conciliarism. He, therefore, focuses on the personal aspect of primacy connected with a given person. Moreover, the article discusses the relationship between the papacy and doctrinal infallibility. It also poses the question whether after his renunciation Benedict XVI still retains the charisma of doctrinal infallibility (or authentic orthodoxy) and how this refers to the current Pope Francis.