 The First Vatican Council defined papal primacy as an essential institution of the Church that can never be relinquished.In the Catholic Church, the word "Magisterium" refers to the teaching authority of the church.This authority is understood to be embodied in the episcopacy, which is the aggregation of the current bishops of the church, led by the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), who has authority over the bishops, individually and as a body, as well as over each and every Catholic directly.That apostolic primacy which the Roman Pontiff possesses as successor of Peter, the prince of the apostles, includes also the supreme power of teaching.