| Papal Infallibility |
Article Index for Papal |
Website Links For Papal |
Information AboutPapal Infallibility |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT PAPAL INFALLIBILITY | |
| catholic theology and doctrine | |
| holy see | |
|
This doctrine was , Sacred Tradition , and the Sacred Magisterium . The infallible teachings of the pope are part of the Sacred Magisterium, which also consists of Ecumenical Councils and the "ordinary and universal magisterium". In Catholic theology, papal infallibility is one of the channels of the Infallibility Of The Church . The infallible teachings of the pope must be based on, or at least not contradict, Sacred Tradition or Sacred Scripture. Papal infallibility ''does not'' signify that the pope is Impeccable , i.e., that he is specially exempt from liability to Sin . According to ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Catholicism'': "In reality, the pope seldom uses his power of infallibility......rather than being some mystical power of the pope, infallibility means the church allows the office of the pope to be the ruling agent in deciding what will be accepted as formal beliefs in the church."p. 47. Since the 1870 solemn declaration of Papal Infallibility by Vatican I, this power has been used only once: in 1950 when Pius XII defined the Assumption Of Mary as being an article of faith for Roman Catholics. CONDITIONS FOR PAPAL INFALLIBILITY Statements by a pope that exercise papal infallibility are referred to as ''solemn papal definitions'' or ''ex Cathedra'' teachings. These should not be confused with teachings that are infallible because of a solemn definition by an ecumenical council, or with teachings that are infallible in virtue of being taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium . For details on these other kinds of infallible teachings, see Infallibility Of The Church . According to the teaching of the First Vatican Council and Catholic tradition, the conditions required for ''ex cathedra'' teaching are as follows: :1. "the Roman Pontiff" :2. "speaks ex cathedra" ("that is, when in the discharge of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, and by virtue of his supreme apostolic authority….") :3. "he defines" :4. "that a doctrine concerning faith or morals" :5. "must be held by the whole Church" (''Pastor Aeternus'', chap. 4) For a teaching by a pope or ecumenical council to be recognized as infallible, the teaching must make it clear that the Church is to consider it ''definitive'' and ''binding''. There is not any specific phrasing required for this, but it is usually indicated by one or both of the following: (1) a verbal formula indicating that this teaching is definitive (such as "We declare, decree and define..."), or (2) an accompanying have defined, let him know that he has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith." An infallible teaching by a pope or ecumenical council can contradict previous Church teachings, as long as they were not themselves taught infallibly. In this case, the previous fallible teachings are immediately made void. Of course, an infallible teaching cannot contradict a previous infallible teaching, including the infallible teachings of the Holy Bible or Holy Tradition . Also, due to the ''sensus fidelium'', an infallible teaching cannot be subsequently contradicted by the Catholic Church, even if that subsequent teaching is in itself fallible. It is the opinion of the majority of Catholic theologians that the canonizations of a pope enter within the limits of infallible teaching. Therefore, it is considered certain by this majority of theologians, that such persons canonized are definitely in heaven with God. However, this opinion of infallibility of canonizations has never been definitively taught by the Magisterium. Other theologians, even those of earlier times, refer to this majority opinion, as a "pious opinion, but merely an opinion". Before the height of Middle Ages, saints were created not by the Bishop Of Rome , but by the bishops of the local dioceses, confirming or rejecting the acclamation of the people calling for declaration of sanctity of a particular Christian person who passed away "in the odor of sanctity". In Catholic teaching, diocesan bishops do not in themselves possess the charism of infallibility (but do so when gathered in ecumenical council), leaving these early Church canonizations without certainty of infallibility. EX CATHEDRA In Catholic theology, the Latin phrase ''ex cathedra'', literally meaning "from the chair", refers to a teaching by the pope that is considered to be made with the intention of invoking infallibility. The "chair" referred to is not a literal chair, but refers metaphorically to the pope's position, or office, as the official teacher of Catholic doctrine: the chair was the symbol of the teacher in the ancient world, and bishops to this day have a ''cathedra'', a seat or throne, as a symbol of their teaching and governing authority. The pope is said to occupy the "chair of Peter," as Catholics hold that among the apostles Peter had a special role as the preserver of unity, so the pope as successor of Peter holds the role of spokesman for the whole church among the bishops, the successors as a group of the apostles. (Also see Holy See and Sede Vacante : both terms evoke this seat or throne.) SUPPORT FOR INFALLIBILITY IN SCRIPTURE Some Catholics trace the history of this doctrine back to Scripture. Within Catholic theology, a number of Scriptural passages can be brought together to argue for the Primacy Of The Roman Pontiff and the theological dogma of his infallibility, including:
THE PRIMACY OF THE ROMAN PONTIFF Religions evolve their theologies over time, and Catholicism is no exception: its theology did not spring instantly and fully formed within the bosom of the Earliest Church . "The doctrine of the Primacy of the Roman Bishops, like other Church teachings and institutions, has gone through a development. Thus the establishment of the Primacy recorded in the Gospels has gradually been more clearly recognised and its implications developed. Clear indications of the consciousness of the Primacy of the Roman bishops, and of the recognition of the Primacy by the other churches appear at the end of the 1st century" (Ott, ''Fund.'', Bk. IV, Pt. 2, Ch. 2, §6). St. Clement Of Alexandria , c. 99 , stated in a letter to the Corinthians : "Indeed you will give joy and gladness to us, if having become obedient to what we have written through the Holy Spirit, you will ''cut out the unlawful application of your zeal'' according to the exhortation which we have made in this epistle concerning peace and union" (Denziger §41, emphasis added). St. Clement wrote on the primacy of Peter c. 200 : "...the blessed Peter, the chosen, the pre-eminent, the first among the disciples, for whom alone with Himself the Savior paid the tribute..." (Jurgens §436). The existence of an ecclesiastical hierarchy is emphazised by St. Stephan I, 251 , in a letter to the bishop of Antioch: "Therefore did not that famous defender of the Gospel know that there ought to be one bishop in the Catholic Church [of the city of Rome ? It did not lie hidden from him..." (Denziger §45). St. Julius I, in 341 wrote to the Antiochenes : "Or do you not know that it is the custom to write to us first, and ''that here what is just is decided''?" (Denziger §57a, emphasis added). It is apparent, then, that an understanding among the Apostles was written down in what became the Scriptures, and rapidly became the living custom of the Church. From there, a clearer theology could unfold. St. Siricius wrote to Himerius in 385 : "To your inquiry we do not deny a legal reply, because we, upon whom greater zeal for the Christian religion is incumbent than upon the whole body, out of consideration for our office do not have the liberty to dissimulate, nor to remain silent. We carry the weight of all who are burdened; nay rather the blessed apostle PETER bears these in us, who, as we trust, protects us in all matters of his administration, and guards his heirs" (Denziger §87, emphasis in original). Many of the Church Fathers spoke of ecumenical councils and the Bishop of Rome as possessing a reliable authority to teach the content of Scripture and tradition. THEOLOGICAL HISTORY The Middle Ages In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance the doctrine of papal infallibility first developed. The first theologian to systematically discuss the infallibility of ecumenical councils was Theodore Abu Qurra in the 9th century. Several medieval theologians discussed the infallibility of the pope when defining matters of faith and morals, including Thomas Aquinas and John Peter Olivi . In 1330, the Carmelite bishop Guido Terreni described the pope’s use of the charism of infallibility in terms very similar to those that would be used at Vatican I. Dogmatic definition of 1870 In the conclusion of the fourth chapter of its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church ''Pastor Aeternus'', solemnly promulgated by Pope Pius IX, the First Vatican Council in 1870 declared the following:
|
|
|