“whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

This Sunday’s Gospel Reading is very misunderstood. Many Christians only look at the last verse and try to interpret the passage to mean we should bring our troubles to each other and pray together. While this is true, we should gather together and pray, there is a deeper teaching. This teaching is in regards to the nature of the Church.
 
What is the Church that our Lord is referring to? Is the Church simply two or more gathered in His name? “If a man hear not the Church, let him be to thee as a heathen and publican. What is this Church? Men, to whom Jesus Christ said: ‘He that heareth you, heareth Me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me.’ (Luke 10:16). Men, from whose lips comes to the world the truth, without which there is no salvation; men, who alone on earth have power to reconcile the sinner with his God, save him from the hell he has deserved, and open to him the gates of heaven. Can we be surprised, after this, that our Saviour – who would have these men to be His instruments, and as it were, the communication between Himself and mankind – should treat as a heathen, as one that has never received Baptism, him that refuses to acknowledge their authority? There is no revealed truth, except through their teaching; there is no salvation, except through the Sacraments which they administer; there is no hoping in Christ Jesus, except where there is submission to the spiritual laws which they promulgate.” [1]
 
Jesus gives instruction on how people ought to admonish the sinner. This should be done one-on-one first. If this is not successful, the a few people are brought in to admonish the sinner. However, when those stages fail there needs to be a person or group that decides. This group is the Apostles, the first Bishops. For a second time Jesus speaks of “binding and loosening”. 

Where do we hear this the first time? We hear this permission of binding and loosing specifically to Peter when he becomes the head of the Church.
 
Who is Jesus giving power to “bind and loose” to? The Gospel reading shows Jesus now extending the power to bind and loose to the rest of the Apostles. The role of the bishops first is to put the Eucharist at the center of the life of the Church. “The bishop and priests sanctify the Church by their prayer and work, by their ministry of the Word and of the sacraments. They sanctify her by their example, ‘not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock.’ (1 Pet 5:3) Thus, ‘together with the flock entrusted to them, they may attain to eternal life.’ [2] ” [3]
 
Why did Jesus give the power to bind and loose to the other Apostles? Jesus gives this power to the rest of the Apostles because they were to become the Bishops of the Church. He gives them the same power as Peter to show that they are all brothers, however, Peter, as the chief Apostle and the first to receive this power, has supreme authority. Our Lord gave His authority to Peter and the Apostles. The Holy Father, Bishops and the teaching authority they have been given is called the Magisterium. The Magisterium is “the Church's teaching authority, vested in the bishops, as successors of the Apostles, under the Roman Pontiff, as successor of St. Peter. Also vested in the Pope, as Vicar of Christ and visible head of the Catholic Church.” [4]
 
Can any of the Bishops bind and loose anything then? No. As mentioned earlier, the supreme authority when binding and loosening in regards to issues of faith and morals must adhere to the supreme Bishop of Rome, the Pope. “Bishops depend on Rome for the actualization of their authority, whether as individuals with respect to the people under their immediate care or as a college with responsibility to the whole Church of God. Not so with the Pope.” [5] So while a group of Bishops can make rules and laws, it must depend ultimately on the Pope. This was the same as it has always been even in the time of Peter. (Acts 15:1-12) In fact, the Pope has the authority to dictate how much or how little another Bishop has. “Consequently union with the Vicar of Christ determines whether and how much authority the bishops actually exercise.” [6]
 
How can the Pope have this much authority? “The Pope’s power of primacy over all, both pastors and faithful, remains whole and intact. In virtue of his office, that is, as Vicar of Christ and pastor of the whole Church, the Roman Pontiff has full, supreme, and universal power over the Church. And he is always free to exercise this power.” [7] However, the Pope still confers with the bishops and acts to defend the bishops.
 
When there are special needs regarding faith and morals or any matter that requires the Church’s attention, councils may be formed to help give judgment on the matter to the Bishops. “The bishops, as vicars and legates of Christ, govern the particular Churches assigned to them by their counsels, exhortations, and example, but over and above that also by the authority and sacred power” [8]
 
What is a Church Council? A Church Council is an “authorized gatherings of bishops for the purpose of discussing ecclesiastical problems with a view to passing decrees on matters under discussion.” [9] Ecclesiastical means the Church as an institutional structure or its members. Church Councils can be with just a few Bishops from a particular region, area, or even country. The Gospel reading this Sunday gives the power of binding and loosening to the Bishops when they are gathered together in council and in prayer, “Amen, amen I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.” (Matthew 18:19).
 
What is the difference between a Church Council and an Ecumenical Council? An Ecumenical Council is when all the Bishops from around the world are invited to come together to defend, explain, and bring those who have fallen away back into the Catholic Church. Ecumenical means “universal” and brings to share the one faith that is bonded by the whole world. “The college of bishops exercises power over the universal Church in a solemn manner in an ecumenical council.” [10] It is not an Ecumenical Council unless it is “confirmed or at least recognized as such by Peter’s successor.” [11] In the Roman Catholic Church there have been twenty-one Ecumenical Councils. [12]
 
Why should we follow the Bishops? "Those, indeed, who belong to God and to Jesus Christ - they are with the bishop. Do not err, my brethren: if anyone follow a schismatic; he will not inherit the kingdom of God." [13] Jesus warns that the ultimate governance when dealing with faith and morals is the Church that He established. The Apostles, through the laying on of hands, handed down the power to bind and loose through the Bishops through the ages. To follow the authority of the Bishops in union with the Holy Father is to follow the authority of Christ. As Saint Irenaeus wrote, “It is necessary to obey those who are the presbyters in the Church, those who as we have shown, have succession from the Apostles; those who have received, with the succession of the episcopate, the sure charisma of truth according to the good pleasure of the Father. But the rest, who have no part in the primitive succession and assemble wheresoever they will, must be held in suspicion.” [14] 

[1] Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.; The Liturgical Year, Vol. 5, pg.273-74
[2] LG 26.3
[3] Catechism of the Catholic Church - CCC 893
[4] Fr. John Hardon S.J., Modern Catholic Dictionary
[5] The Catholic Catechism pg. 223
[6] The Catholic Catechism pg. 223
[7]Ibid., III, 22
[8] CCC 894
[9] Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 135
[10] CCC 884
[11] LG 22
[12] Modern Catholic Dictionary pgs. 178-179
[13] St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Philadelphians, A.D. 110, [3,2]
[14] St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, A.D. 180, [4,26,2]