Papal Infallibility Picture The Holy Spirit descending on Pope Gregory I Misconceptions? Non-Catholics often confuse the pope’s gift of ‘infallibility’ with ‘impeccability’. They think the Catholic Church is claiming her Popes are sinless or that the Pope is claiming inspiration from God for every pronouncement he makes. This is not the case. In fact, infallibility is attached to his office, not his person. It is a protective gift, not a creative one introducing new revelation. Peter Kreeft observes that the Church should not be mistaken for a political body because it is an organic body and no organic body can be a democracy. It must have a head. Christ gave the Church a head. What is the gift of infallibility? The dogma of infallibility was formally proclaimed at the First Vatican Council in 1870. There are several requirements for a dogmatic, papal infallible pronouncement: (1) The pronouncement must be made by the lawful successor to Peter. (2) The subject matter must be in the area of faith and morals. (3) The pope must be speaking ex cathedra, that is from the very seat and office of Peter. In this way he must be specifically intending to proclaim a doctrine, binding the entire Church to its assent. If one or more of these elements is missing, there is no infallible pronouncement. Most examples of papal errors emerge when critics ignore the necessity of these three points. (Madrid, pp. 135-136, Pope Fiction) Biblical Basis and Tradition The infallibility of the pope is certainly a doctrine that has been more clearly understood over time, but is not one that was invented in 1870. It is clear in Scripture that Christ promised the protection of the Holy Spirit, saying, I will ask the Father and he will give you another Paraclete—to be with you always; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, since it neither sees him nor recognizes him because he remains with you and will be within you . . . . the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send will remind you of all that I have told you (John 14: 16-17, 26). When the Spirit of truth comes He will guide you to all truth . . . (John 16:14). Peter shares the gift of infallibility (a negative gift in the sense it keeps him from teaching error on matters of faith and morals) with the other apostles and their successors, the bishops. The pope (an Italian word meaning father) and the bishops together are the magisterium of the Church, that is, the teaching authority. As Jesus said, He who listens to you, listens to me (Luke 10:16); all that you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven (Mt. 18:18). When bishops of the world meet together summoned by the papacy, they meet in ecumenical council, which if held at the Vatican is referred to as a Vatican council. They are usually called infrequently only at times of pivotal or critical moments in the life of the Church. The Council of Jerusalem about 50 A.D. discussed in Acts15 was a precursor of later councils. After that Council made its decision to not require Gentile Christians to be circumcised as desired by the Judaizers, it wrote to the Church that . .it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden . . . The first formal ecumenical council was that of Nicaea in 325 A.D., which condemned the Arian heresy and declared that Christ was consubstantial with the Father. The Nestorian and Pelagian heresies were condemned at Ephesus in 431 A.D. and Mary was formally given the title Mother of God. Thus Councils are called to decide matters of doctrine and discipline for the whole Church. It was St. Paul who described the Church as the pillar and foundation of truth in 1 Timothy 3:15. The Second Vatican Council’s Constitution of the Church puts it this way: Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they can nevertheless proclaim Christ’s doctrine infallibly. This is so, even when they are dispersed around the world, provided that while maintaining the bond of unity among themselves and with Peter’s successor, and while teaching authentically on a matter of faith or morals, they concur in a single viewpoint as the one which must be held conclusively.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 17:33:35 +0000
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