What do "bind and loose" mean in Matthew 16:19?
The short answer
Christ gave Peter, and the apostles united with him, authority to reconcile sinners with the Church. To bind is to exclude from communion, which means exclusion from communion with God; to loose is to receive back into communion, which God also does. Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God.
The Catechism explains:
- In his public life Jesus not only forgave sins but restored forgiven sinners to the community of God's people from which sin had separated them; eating with sinners was a striking sign of both God's forgiveness and their return (CCC 1443).
- In giving the apostles his power to forgive, the Lord also gave them authority to reconcile sinners with the Church, expressed in his words to Peter: "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:19). This office was also given to the college of apostles united with its head (CCC 1444).
- To bind and loose means: whomever you exclude from your communion will be excluded from communion with God; whomever you receive anew into your communion, God will welcome back into his. Reconciliation with the Church cannot be separated from reconciliation with God (CCC 1445).