of all the powerful kings and leaders of
the world none commands more authority
than that of the Pope said to be
infallible Catholics believe that
everything he says is without error and
that he has the ability to change
anything he wants within the church
there's just one problem none of that is
actually true while the Catholic Church
does teach a doctrine called papal
infallibility it hardly means that the
Pope is never wrong and it certainly
does not mean that he can change
anything he wants so what does the
doctrine actually say and when does it
apply this is Catholicism and focus
[Music]
right off the bat one of the biggest
misconceptions about the doctrine of
infallibility is simply a matter of
language many people don't know what
infallible means and too often conflate
the word with impeccable these are
completely different words while the two
words both point to some form of
perfection and inability to do something
wrong the object of their perfection is
quite different to be infallible means
that one is free from error usually
referring to one's intellect or
decision-making while impeccable means
that one is free from sin a function of
acting morally a quick look to history
shows that popes are anything but free
from sin while there have certainly been
some holy ones along the way there have
been some absolutely atrocious ones as
well google Benedict the ninth and
you'll see what I mean in the teaching
of papal infallibility the church is in
no way saying that the Pope is any
better or worse as a human being than
anyone else in fact the church does not
speak of the Pope in himself as someone
who is infallible but rather that his
office the Petrin ministry is a special
one guided by the Holy Spirit
what is perfect or without error is not
the man but the office that he holds in
this way the doctrine of papal
infallibility does not suppose that
everything a pope says or teaches is
without error just as history has shown
us that popes have been sinners it also
reveals that popes have been very wrong
about a number of things so what does
the church mean when it speaks of papal
infallibility according to the first
Vatican Council the Council of Bishops
that defined it when the Roman pontiff
speaks ex cathedra that is when in the
exercise of his office as shepherd and
teacher of all Christians in virtue of
his supreme apostolic authority he
defines a doctrine concerning faith or
morals to be held by the whole church he
possesses by the divine assistance
promised to him in blessed Peter that
infallibility which the divine Redeemer
willed his church to enjoy in defining
doctrine concerning faith or morals
therefore such definitions of the Roman
pontiff are themselves and not by the
consent of the church ear reformable
in other words while the Pope does in
fact enjoy infallibility in his teaching
some conditions apply let's unpack what
the doctrine says to see what it
first papal infallibility applies only
when speaking from his apostolic
authority as Shepherd well the person
holding the office of the papacy is
always the Pope not everything he says
or does exercises that office if Pope
Francis were to post some random opinion
he had on Facebook or give an informal
interview we would recognize that he is
speaking as the man Jorge bergoglio
rather than from his office as the
supreme pontiff and his teaching would
have little or no authority a perfect
example of this is the book Jesus of
Nazareth
written by Pope Benedict the sixteenth
while acting as Pope the book is signed
Joseph Ratzinger
and his introduction makes the
distinction clear he is writing not as
the leader of the church but as a
personal search for the face of the Lord
in such a situation because he is not
exercising his full authority but
speaking privately infallibility does
not apply this can also be the case even
within the public ministry of the Pope
while speaking as the leader of the
church the Pope may give homilies write
papal encyclicals or even mandate new
rules authoritative ly as faithful
Catholics we must take each of these
statements seriously as it is the
teaching of the Pope but unless he has
explicitly declared that he is teaching
from his supreme apostolic Authority
intending the statement to be infallible
then it is simply the normal teaching
authority of the Pope and thus not
infallible of course just because a Pope
makes it clear that he is exercising
such authority does not necessarily mean
that he actually has a right to
according to the doctrine in order for
it to be considered infallible his words
must refer to a doctrine concerning
faith or morals
if the Pope tried to speak with his
whole apostolic authority to say that
despite 2,000 years of history just
kidding Jesus wasn't God this would not
be infallible why because the supreme
apostolic Authority does not give him
the right to add or subtract to revealed
truths or dogmatic statements rather
what he can comment on are the disputed
questions of doctrine that relates
specifically to faith or morals more
than anything the Pope's role is to
respond to the questions of his present
time applying the unchanging faith to a
changing world in these practical issues
directly related to the lives of the
faithful and not contradicted by
previous dogma and only in these
situations may his teaching be seen
infallibly taught finally the teaching
must be meant universally that is to be
held by the whole church the Pope is in
his rights as the teaching authority to
specify certain rules for certain
situations as pastoral concerns permit
some teachings may apply to some while
not to others if this is the case it
might be true and necessary but it
cannot be infallible only that which is
meant to be universally applied and
permanent for all people can be
considered infallible if all three of
these criteria are met the doctrine
states that the teaching is to be
considered IRRI formal meaning that it
stands regardless of the opinion or
acceptance of others and cannot be
changed because as it says the Pope acts
by the divine assistance promised to him
and blessed Peter that infallibility
which the divine Redeemer willed his
church to enjoy in other words this
doctrine is the case not because the
bishops made it up as a power grab but
because Jesus willed it in the Gospel of
Matthew and the Pope is to have the
supreme apostolic authority that the
church has always claimed he enjoys from
Christ then he must be able to exercise
it without constraints if these criteria
are met it must mean something but for
many in our democratically minded world
this is seen as an immensely dangerous
doctrine surely as fallen as Humanity is
this is something that must be
constantly abused for personal gain
right in reality in the hundred and
fifty years of papal Authority since the
issuing of this doctrine papal
statements have been declared infallible
total of once in 1950 Pope Pius the 12th
defined the assumption the Blessed
Virgin Mary as an article of faith and
that is literally the only time a pope
aware of the doctrine has actually
exercised it there have been a few
historical accounts prior to the
definition being promulgated that fit
the criteria and have retro actively
been given infallible status but in
terms of statements made with the intent
of speaking infallibly there's only one
so does the fact that it hasn't been
abused justify its existence of course
not just because nothing has gone wrong
yet doesn't make something good but it
does serve to show how misconceptions
can lead to fear that blows the issue
out of proportion while many see the
doctrine as bizarre dangerous or even
antithetical to the Christian faith the
reality is that properly understood
doesn't actually say anything new it
does not claim the Pope to be without
sin
it does not suggest that the Pope is
always correct and it does not give the
Pope any more authority than he's had
for centuries what it does say is that
in extremely rare and qualified
situations acting within the church for
the sake of the church the Holy Spirit
inspires the decision and preserves it
from error not unlike what was the case
in the formation of Scripture or in
defining Christological truths in early
ecumenical councils if we can believe
that the Holy Spirit preserved the early
church leaders from error in certain
cases before that what we have in our
Canon and what we say about Jesus is the
infallible will of God then why couldn't
it be possible for God to grant the
leader of his church on earth today the
same assurance in guiding the church for
me what God is doing in the Pope is
nothing more than what he has always
done thanks for watching this episode of
Catholicism in focus if you find that
your mind has been stretched and you're
looking for more in-depth answers to
questions of faith be sure to check out
the whole Catholicism in focus series
here at breaking in the habit of course
thanks to all patreon patrons that make
this mission possible