Has any pope ever tried to alter the church's teachings

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DeusExMachina

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I know they obviously weren’t successful, but which pope (if any) has ever attempted this and what were the results? Did they “lose” their infallibility?

PS I’m not trolling, just curious
 
I know that we’ve had a number of Popes who’s personal character was substandard, but I don’t know of any who actively sought to change Church Dogma.
 
No-one on earth has the authority to change Church Doctrines which were instituted by Christ.

AFAIK no Pope has ever attempted to change doctrine.

You will never hear that the Catholic Church now permits divorce or SSM or abortion: yesterday, tomorrow and after our Lord returns it will remain the same in perpetuity.

We have had some Popes who behaved less than saintly but none have corrupted the “deposit of Faith” for over 2000 years and that is due solely to the protection of the Holy Spirit. We believe and trust in Christ’s promise that he would prevent his Church from teaching false doctrine. The gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Doctrines differ from Disciplines which can and have changed over the years. Popes can only change/lift/institute certain disciplinary measures, such as fasting, celibacy, etc. or place a ban on certain lines of theological exposition for an indefinite time, but they can NEVER change or eliminate an established doctrine as pertains to faith or morals (i.e. they cannot declare that Mary was not without sin; they cannot declare that anything that has been considered to be a sin in and of itself to be no longer sinful, etc.)

As new problems arise, however, I believe they can elaborate on moral issues (for instance, climate change may now be considered a moral issue.)
 
Keep in mind the Popes never formulate doctrines and dogmas independently.

The Magisterium is exercised by the Pope and the bishops in union with him. The entire Magisterium including the other bishops are infallible but only when they are formulating Teachings on Morals and Faith and that is due to the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Infallibility is a charism whereby the Holy Spirit protects the Magisterium from teaching error on matters of faith and morals. The Church exercises this charism when she teaches definitively, whether in a solemn manner (i.e., through the extraordinary Magisterium) or through the ordinary and universal Magisterium.

The Pope exercises the charism of “infallibility” in the following way:

A) He must proclaim to be speaking from the Seat of Peter; AND
B) Only when he is Teaching about Faith and Morals to christians.
 
DeusExMachina said:
I know they obviously weren’t successful, but which pope (if any) has ever attempted this and what were the results? Did they “lose” their infallibility?
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Every word that a pope speaks is not infallible. Any Catholic knows this. It’s only when the pope speaks ex cathedra on a serious matter of faith or morals. Authorities disagree on exactly how many ‘infallible’ proclamations have been made, but there are at least two generally agreed on: the Assumption and Immaculate Conception of Mary. Both of these were traditional beliefs of the Church, but they had not been formally proclaimed. One came before the proclamation of infallibility, one after. Many scholars think there were a few others before infallibility was proclaimed at Vatican I, but there’s not general agreement on which ones.

So if Pope Francis says comes along and says global warming is a bad thing, Catholics should listen to him because of his position in the Church, but they are free to disagree with him. He can also say he thinks Argentina will win the World Cup, but that doesn’t mean they will. It’s simply his opinion.

Could a pope alone change a long-standing doctrine? I suppose theoretically, but in practice that wouldn’t fly. Doctrines aren’t changed–depending on what you mean by “changed.” Doctrines can be refined, explained in different ways, expanded upon, etc. etc. but they are not thrown out; nor are ‘new’ ones proclaimed.
 
DeusExMachina said:
I know they obviously weren’t successful, but which pope (if any) has ever attempted this and what were the results? Did they “lose” their infallibility?

PS I’m not trolling, just curious
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Bergoglio’s doing it as we type.

From extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, the Athiests are now being given a free pass through into the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Church’s teachings don’t get more opposed than that.
 
EamonnMichael said:
Bergoglio’s doing it as we type.

From extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, the Athiests are now being given a free pass through into the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Church’s teachings don’t get more opposed than that.
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Nonsense.

The fact that atheists and those who do not know the Truth of the Catholic faith can be saved via “invincible ignorance” has always been doctrine. Pope Francis is not saying anything new. How many come under this doctrine is a moot point, not many I’d suggest.

Ultimately, we are all at God’s mercy, Catholics, non-Catholics, other faiths and those of no faith.
 
SAVINGRACE said:
Nonsense.

The fact that atheists and those who do not know the Truth of the Catholic faith can be saved via “invincible ignorance” has always been doctrine. Pope Francis is not saying anything new. How many come under this doctrine is a moot point, not many I’d suggest.

Ultimately, we are all at God’s mercy, Catholics, non-Catholics, other faiths and those of no faith.
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Serious question in that case - why Catholicism?
 
EamonnMichael said:
Serious question in that case - why Catholicism?
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Because Catholicism contains the fullness of Truth. Others may contain no Truth, some Truth or half of the Truth, only Catholicism contains the fullness of Truth.

Most atheists have no idea about the True role or the actual Teachings of the Church they form opinions based on a perceived or incorrect understanding of the Doctrines. Some may think differently if they knew others would still choose to remain ignorant as indeed some Catholics who know but choose repeatedly and publicly in some cases to ignore or deliberately twist the Teachings.

Invincible ignorance caters for those who through no fault of their own were not taught about the Truth of the faith i.e. those who died before Christ, those who died on lands undiscovered by christians throughout history, those who have never heard of Christ or his Church etc. Millions of people.

The real answer to the question “can a non-Catholic enter Heaven?” is “yes because God makes the ultimate decision on who enters Heaven, not man. And his mercy is infinite Amen”. Mind you if I were a non-Catholic (which I was 5 years ago) I would not be taking that risk, I don’t even consider it to be a “calculated risk” not when we are talking about eternity. I am so lucky I was open enough to listen to our Lady and took the time to research and study church history which brought me home.

Considering we have access to the Church which contains the knowledge and can guide us and light the way to the correct path, there is a higher responsibility placed on Catholics.
 
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