Is the Catholic Church the true Church?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Is the Catholic Church the true Church?". Your opponent's style: Protestant

The Catholic Church is the one Church that Jesus established

You're assuming "the Church Jesus established" is a settled historical fact, not a theological claim. If Jesus founded one visible institution, why did it fracture into hundreds of denominations within centuries? What makes Catholicism the true one and not, say, Eastern Orthodoxy?

We can trace apostolic succession to Simon, or Peter, who Jesus built His Church on

Apostolic succession is a claim, not evidence. Eastern Orthodox bishops claim the same unbroken line from the apostles yet reject papal supremacy. If the chain proves catholicism, why doesn't it prove Orthodoxy instead?

The Eastern Orthodox Church can trace their succesion to the apostles. Those in the Eastern Orthodox church even agree that Catholics trace papal succession to Peter; the difference is what that means. Catholics look at Matthew 16 and see Jesus giving the keys of His church to Peter, first and uniquely.

You're cherry-picking Matthew 16 while ignoring that Peter himself rejected being called the "rock" in 1 Peter 5:1, where he calls himself a "fellow elder," not a supreme head. If Jesus meant to establish papal monarchy, why does Paul publicly rebuke Peter in Galatians 2 as an equal, not a subordinate? What makes your interpretation of one verse outweigh the actual practice of the apostolic church?

1 Peter 5:1 does not contradict the idea that Peter is the supreme head of Jesus' church. Calling himself a "fellow elder" in demonstration of humility, which he encourages other priests to practice. 1 Peter 5 will go into further detail describing the humility we should all have. The Pope is a servant to the servants of God, so just because Peter is showing humility, that is not a denial of primacy or authority. Peter is showing that he is a humble shepherd to the church of Jesus, not a bureaucrat. Furthermore, bishops are "elders"; the only difference is that, unlike other elders, they enjoy the fullness of the sacrament of ordination. Regarding Paul, Paul refers to himself as a deacon or servant in 1 Corinthians 3:5 and 2 Corinthians 11:23, and calls himself the "very least of all the saints" in Ephesians 3:8, yet we do not conclude that Paul had no apostolic authority. Humility does not equal a lack of authority. What dictates authority is Jesus appointing one apostle as the "rock" that His church would be built upon. Regarding Galatians 2, the Catholic Church does not teach that the pope is infallible in everything he says and does - only when teaching on matters of faith and morals. Peter is still a man capable of sinning like the rest of us; he is not Jesus. Paul was condemning Peter for avoiding Gentile Christians to avoid their criticism. This is behavioral hypocrisy, not a doctrinal pronouncement. Peter was not teaching that Gentiles needed circumcision for salvation. He acted cowardly, as he did when he denied Jesus three times. One could even argue that Galatians strengthened the case for Petrine primacy. Paul made a second visit to Jerusalem because God sent him there by revelation to check his teaching before those who were of repute, primarily Peter. Why would Paul feel the need to validate his Gospel with Peter if Peter was just merely an elder among equals with no authority? Peter's cowardice in Antioch reveals his humanity. A king who acts dishonorably is still a king. A father who makes a poor decision is still a father.

You're conflating humility with office brilliantly, but you've just dismantled your own argument. If papal primacy survives Peter's cowardice and doctrinal flip-flopping, then primacy isn't validated by Peter's authority, it's validated by institutional continuity. That means the office, not the man, matters. But then why does Rome claim doctrinal infallibility flows from Peter specifically when you've just admitted Peter himself was fallible on doctrine? Either his authority guarantees truth or it doesn't.