Dear Parishioners,

In my last article I mentioned the Papal infallibility. This is a concept that is misunderstood even by some otherwise faithful Catholics. So, I would like to take a moment to explain this charism of the Holy Father. The Church defined infallibility at the First Vatican Council which reads:

We teach and define that it is a dogma divinely revealed that the Roman pontiff when he speaks ex cathedra, that is when in discharge of the office of pastor and doctor of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, by the Divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, is possessed of that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed that His Church should be endowed in defining doctrine regarding faith or morals, and that therefore such definitions of the Roman pontiff are of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, irreformable.

Basically, when it comes to matters of faith and morals and when teaching with authority (ex cathedra from his chair) the Pope is prevented from erring due to this charism (which is a gift from the Holy Spirit meant to build up the Church). The Pope does not need the consent of any council or other ecclesial body in order to exercise this function.

To many non-Catholics, this may seem far-fetched because not every Pope has been the best theologian or even the best person. Yet, amazingly, there are only a few cases where a pope has possibly contradicted infallibility and they are all about fine points of theology. Even when a Pope has been accused of heresy (after he died), he was more guilty of not positively defending the truth rather than teaching something that was wrong. One example of this is Pope Liberius excommunicating St. Athanasius. However, infallibility does not apply to excommunication. Another example was Pope Boniface being accused of heresy by Pope Clement V. However, that was obviously politically motivated. My point is that if the pope is not infallible, there should be numerous contradictions that can be easily found to prove it and there simply is not.

Another objection to this doctrine is that it is not directly found in scripture or in the Church Fathers. However, as Catholics, we believe that doctrine develops over time. The Pope as the successor of St. Peter has the duty to be the final arbiter when disagreements in the Church arise. The Church cannot be led into error. So, there has to be someone who has a final say in doctrine in order for the Church not to be led into error. That person is the Pope.

That is why it is so important that we pray for a good and holy Pope. Just because he has the charism does not mean he will do his duty or express the truth in the best way possible or act prudently. We have been blessed with many good and holy Popes in this century and God knows that the Church needs them!

God Bless!

Fr. Carter