Infallibility of the Pope
Infallibility of the Pope--Meaning and extent
Papel Infallibility does not mean that the Pope cannot make a mistake or commit a sin, or that he can teach without error on any subject which strikes his fancy, or that he is inspired by God.
It does mean that, under certain, very specific conditions, the Pope is preserved from error, namely:
1. When he speaks ex cathedra (literally, "from the chair" or throne of St. Peter), as supreme shepherd and teacher of all Christians, and as the successor of St. Peter;
2. When he defines a doctrine, i.e., when he makes it clear that the doctrine must be believed with a firm, interior assent of faith;
3. When the doctrine defined concerns faith or morals, i.e., when it belongs to the doctrinal teachings or the moral principles of the Catholic religion, as found in Scripture or Tradition;
4. When he speaks thus to the whole Church, intending to bind all its members throughout the world.
The Pope does not claim to speak infallibly unless all of these conditions are simultaneously present.
Papal infallibility in Scripture
The Scriptural proofs of Papal infallibility are, if anything, stronger than those for the infallibility of the Church.
a) The Petrine text, already quoted in the instruction on Papal supremacy, page 165 (THIS IS THE FAITH). Many good non-Catholic commentators acknowledge that Christ here made St. Peter the foundation of His Church. But the Church is to be infallible. That has already been proved. Therefore, Peter must also be infallible. His authority is to be the sure foundation of the Church's inerrancy. It is the foundation that gives stability to a building; not the building that stabilizes the foundation.
Moreover, communion with the Pope is, as we have seen, a condition of membership in the true Church. If he could err when teaching officially, acceptance of error would be necessary for communion with him, and so with the Church--and that would be an altogether absurd position, in view of the fact of the Church's infallibility.
b) "And the Lord said: Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren." (Luke 22:31-32).
Christ here prays for Peter alone in his capacity as head of the Church. His prayer is certainly efficacious. Therefore, Peter and his successors until the End of Time will be preserved from error in matters of faith and morals.
c) We have already considered the words of Christ to Peter in St. John's Gospel, last chapter. "Feed my lambs, etc." (cf. pages 159-160, THIS IS THE FAITH). The complete and supreme pastoral charge, with jurisdiction, given to St. Peter, clearly implies supreme doctrinal authority. But unless this is infallible, it cannot effectively secure that unity of faith intended by Christ.
Evidence of Tradition
There can be no doubt that, from earliest times, the whole Church accepted the fact of the Pope's inerrancy. On pages 164 to 169 (THIS IS THE FAITH) we have considered at length some of the more important texts from early writers bearing testimony to their acceptance of Papal supremacy. That this supremacy extended also to doctrinal matters is perfectly clear from a study of the same texts. The letter of St. Clement to Corinth, the words of St. Ignatius, the conduct of St. Victor in the Easter controversy and the strong admiration of St. Irenaeus all bear witness to the current belief that the True Faith, handed down from the Apostles, was always to be found through appeal to the Bishop of Rome. When heretics were condemned by local or provincial synods, they appealed to Rome, hoping for a reversal of the decision.
From the time of the Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325, there is abundant explicit evidence of the belief of the whole Church in papal infallibility.
St. Augustine, preaching at Carthage on September 23rd, 417, tells how two African Councils, Mileve and Carthage, had sent reports to Rome about the heresy of Pelagius. "Rome has sent back," he tells us, "her rescripts" (a word borrowed from the Imperial chancery, i.e., her interpretations or decisions about the heresy), "the case is finished: would that the error also were done away with."
The Council of Ephesus (431) calls Pope Celestine the "Guardian of the Faith," who teaches doctrine because he is the successor of "Blessed Peter the Apostle, the head of the whole faith, and the head of the Apostles."
The Third Council of Constantinople approved the letter of Pope Agatho (680), which declared "that Peter's Apostolic Church has never departed from the way of truth into any error whatsoever."
The doctrine of papal infallibility was solemnly defined by the First Vatican Council in 1870. This does not mean to say it is a new doctrine; it was merely formally stated at that time to be officially part of the Catholic Faith, which all Catholics must believe in order to be Catholic. In the same way, the Council defined as a dogma the existence of a personal God. These truths had always been believed, but an authoritative reassertion of them was felt to be necessary.
How infallibility is exercised
We said already that the Pope uses his infallibility when the conditions requisite for its exercise are present. He is personally infallible; no other bishop is. But, as a body, united to their head, the Pope, the bishops are infallible when they teach peremptorily [precluding debate or question]. This they can do in two ways:
a) By their ordinary day-to-day united teaching by means of catechisms, ceremonies, traditional liturgical rites, pastoral letters, general condemnations, provincial or plenary councils, the tacit approval of the unanimous teaching of theologians, etc. When the bishops are morally unanimous in teaching a doctrine as of faith or morals, or in reprobating one as heretical they are infallible in their ordinary teaching;
b) By assembling in General or Ecumenical Councils. A General Council is a gathering of the bishops of the whole world, or of so many of them that they represent the whole world.
To be ecumenical a council must be
i) convoked by the Pope;
ii) Presided over by the Pope, either in person or through his Legates;
iii) Ratified by the Pope.
An assembly of bishops without the Pope would not be ecumenical or infallible.
The first General Council of the Church was held at Nicaea in Asia Minor, about 90 miles from Constantinople (modern Istanbul), in what is now Turkey, in the year 325 A.D.; 318 bishops were present; the Pope, Sylvester I, was represented by Hosius, Bishop of Cordova, his Legate; and the Roman Emperor Constantine was also there.
The 20th General Council was held at the Vatican between December 8th, 1869, and July 18th, 1870, when it was adjourned indefinitely.
The 19th General Council was the famous Council of Trent (in the Tyrol) held between 1545 and 1563. It affirmed many Catholic doctrines against heresies of the so-called "Reformers"--the inspiration of Scripture, the nature and value of Tradition, the doctrines of Original Sin, Justification and the Seven Sacraments. Abuses were corrected and disciplinary reforms introduced.
What a privilege it is to belong to an infallible Church with an infallible Head!
"In the Catholic religion," says Professor R. E. Rogers of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a non-Catholic, "there is a certain kind of inner assuredness, an inner conviction of psychological strength," such as is not found in the Jewish or Protestant religions. Thus, "the Catholic Church has been able to maintain a consistent and non-changing cultural belief for more than 1,500 years; whereas the Protestant Church has divided itself into many sects, differing among themselves, not only in superficial things, but in situations of great importance."
Every man desires certitude in regard to the important fundamental questions to which religion alone can supply the answers. In the Catholic Church, and in the Catholic Church alone, will we find certitude in matters of faith and morals. Where there is no certitude, there is no good sense, no barrier against extravagance and no shield against heresy or infidelity. Where there is certitude, there will be unity in truth and truth in unity.
Papel Infallibility does not mean that the Pope cannot make a mistake or commit a sin, or that he can teach without error on any subject which strikes his fancy, or that he is inspired by God.
It does mean that, under certain, very specific conditions, the Pope is preserved from error, namely:
1. When he speaks ex cathedra (literally, "from the chair" or throne of St. Peter), as supreme shepherd and teacher of all Christians, and as the successor of St. Peter;
2. When he defines a doctrine, i.e., when he makes it clear that the doctrine must be believed with a firm, interior assent of faith;
3. When the doctrine defined concerns faith or morals, i.e., when it belongs to the doctrinal teachings or the moral principles of the Catholic religion, as found in Scripture or Tradition;
4. When he speaks thus to the whole Church, intending to bind all its members throughout the world.
The Pope does not claim to speak infallibly unless all of these conditions are simultaneously present.
Papal infallibility in Scripture
The Scriptural proofs of Papal infallibility are, if anything, stronger than those for the infallibility of the Church.
a) The Petrine text, already quoted in the instruction on Papal supremacy, page 165 (THIS IS THE FAITH). Many good non-Catholic commentators acknowledge that Christ here made St. Peter the foundation of His Church. But the Church is to be infallible. That has already been proved. Therefore, Peter must also be infallible. His authority is to be the sure foundation of the Church's inerrancy. It is the foundation that gives stability to a building; not the building that stabilizes the foundation.
Moreover, communion with the Pope is, as we have seen, a condition of membership in the true Church. If he could err when teaching officially, acceptance of error would be necessary for communion with him, and so with the Church--and that would be an altogether absurd position, in view of the fact of the Church's infallibility.
b) "And the Lord said: Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren." (Luke 22:31-32).
Christ here prays for Peter alone in his capacity as head of the Church. His prayer is certainly efficacious. Therefore, Peter and his successors until the End of Time will be preserved from error in matters of faith and morals.
c) We have already considered the words of Christ to Peter in St. John's Gospel, last chapter. "Feed my lambs, etc." (cf. pages 159-160, THIS IS THE FAITH). The complete and supreme pastoral charge, with jurisdiction, given to St. Peter, clearly implies supreme doctrinal authority. But unless this is infallible, it cannot effectively secure that unity of faith intended by Christ.
Evidence of Tradition
There can be no doubt that, from earliest times, the whole Church accepted the fact of the Pope's inerrancy. On pages 164 to 169 (THIS IS THE FAITH) we have considered at length some of the more important texts from early writers bearing testimony to their acceptance of Papal supremacy. That this supremacy extended also to doctrinal matters is perfectly clear from a study of the same texts. The letter of St. Clement to Corinth, the words of St. Ignatius, the conduct of St. Victor in the Easter controversy and the strong admiration of St. Irenaeus all bear witness to the current belief that the True Faith, handed down from the Apostles, was always to be found through appeal to the Bishop of Rome. When heretics were condemned by local or provincial synods, they appealed to Rome, hoping for a reversal of the decision.
From the time of the Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325, there is abundant explicit evidence of the belief of the whole Church in papal infallibility.
St. Augustine, preaching at Carthage on September 23rd, 417, tells how two African Councils, Mileve and Carthage, had sent reports to Rome about the heresy of Pelagius. "Rome has sent back," he tells us, "her rescripts" (a word borrowed from the Imperial chancery, i.e., her interpretations or decisions about the heresy), "the case is finished: would that the error also were done away with."
The Council of Ephesus (431) calls Pope Celestine the "Guardian of the Faith," who teaches doctrine because he is the successor of "Blessed Peter the Apostle, the head of the whole faith, and the head of the Apostles."
The Third Council of Constantinople approved the letter of Pope Agatho (680), which declared "that Peter's Apostolic Church has never departed from the way of truth into any error whatsoever."
The doctrine of papal infallibility was solemnly defined by the First Vatican Council in 1870. This does not mean to say it is a new doctrine; it was merely formally stated at that time to be officially part of the Catholic Faith, which all Catholics must believe in order to be Catholic. In the same way, the Council defined as a dogma the existence of a personal God. These truths had always been believed, but an authoritative reassertion of them was felt to be necessary.
How infallibility is exercised
We said already that the Pope uses his infallibility when the conditions requisite for its exercise are present. He is personally infallible; no other bishop is. But, as a body, united to their head, the Pope, the bishops are infallible when they teach peremptorily [precluding debate or question]. This they can do in two ways:
a) By their ordinary day-to-day united teaching by means of catechisms, ceremonies, traditional liturgical rites, pastoral letters, general condemnations, provincial or plenary councils, the tacit approval of the unanimous teaching of theologians, etc. When the bishops are morally unanimous in teaching a doctrine as of faith or morals, or in reprobating one as heretical they are infallible in their ordinary teaching;
b) By assembling in General or Ecumenical Councils. A General Council is a gathering of the bishops of the whole world, or of so many of them that they represent the whole world.
To be ecumenical a council must be
i) convoked by the Pope;
ii) Presided over by the Pope, either in person or through his Legates;
iii) Ratified by the Pope.
An assembly of bishops without the Pope would not be ecumenical or infallible.
The first General Council of the Church was held at Nicaea in Asia Minor, about 90 miles from Constantinople (modern Istanbul), in what is now Turkey, in the year 325 A.D.; 318 bishops were present; the Pope, Sylvester I, was represented by Hosius, Bishop of Cordova, his Legate; and the Roman Emperor Constantine was also there.
The 20th General Council was held at the Vatican between December 8th, 1869, and July 18th, 1870, when it was adjourned indefinitely.
The 19th General Council was the famous Council of Trent (in the Tyrol) held between 1545 and 1563. It affirmed many Catholic doctrines against heresies of the so-called "Reformers"--the inspiration of Scripture, the nature and value of Tradition, the doctrines of Original Sin, Justification and the Seven Sacraments. Abuses were corrected and disciplinary reforms introduced.
What a privilege it is to belong to an infallible Church with an infallible Head!
"In the Catholic religion," says Professor R. E. Rogers of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a non-Catholic, "there is a certain kind of inner assuredness, an inner conviction of psychological strength," such as is not found in the Jewish or Protestant religions. Thus, "the Catholic Church has been able to maintain a consistent and non-changing cultural belief for more than 1,500 years; whereas the Protestant Church has divided itself into many sects, differing among themselves, not only in superficial things, but in situations of great importance."
Every man desires certitude in regard to the important fundamental questions to which religion alone can supply the answers. In the Catholic Church, and in the Catholic Church alone, will we find certitude in matters of faith and morals. Where there is no certitude, there is no good sense, no barrier against extravagance and no shield against heresy or infidelity. Where there is certitude, there will be unity in truth and truth in unity.
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