Article III
THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPE
The infallibility of the Church’s magisterium, viewed as a whole, has already been demonstrated (see nos. 79-99). Granted that fact, the primacy of the pope, since it comprises both teaching and ruling authority, must also include the prerogative of infallibility. If the Church’s magisterium cannot err, and if the pope by himself possesses the full power of that magisterium, it follows inevitably that the pope in exercising that magisterium is preserved from error. In other words, he is infallible. Still, the matter is so serious it must be discussed ex professo.
I. The Catholic Dogma
The Catholic dogma is expressed in the following words of the Vatican Council:
And so, faithfully holding on to that tradition recognized from the very beginning of the Christian religion … with the approval of the sacred council, we teach and define as a dogma revealed by God: that the Roman pontiff when speaking ex cathedra, that is, when exercising his office of supreme shepherd and teacher of all Christians, defines, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, that some doctrine on faith or morals must be held by the universal Church, he possesses, thanks to the divine assistance promised to him in the person of St. Peter, that infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer willed His Church to be endowed in defining doctrines on faith or morals; and consequently that definitions by the same pontiff are by their very nature, and not because of the consent of the Church, irreformable. – DB 1839.
II. Explanation of the Dogma
- The meaning of papal infallibility. The notion of infallibility was explained earlier in this book (see nos. 77 and 79). Many non-Catholics, however, still have distorted notions about this matter. It may be helpful, therefore, to clear aside some misconceptions by stating the following points:
(a) The pope was declared infallible in his teaching activity, not in his other activities. It would, then, be pure wantonness to confuse the notion of infallibility with impeccability.
(1) How infallibility may have an indirect bearing on the Church’s ruling power was explained above (see nos. 91 and 93).
(b) The prerogative of infallibility does not make the pope’s will the ultimate standard of truth or goodness.
(c) Infallibility is not omniscience.
(d) Finally, infallibility does not imply inspiration. An infallible decree does not possess the same sort of dignity as Sacred Scripture.
2. The efficient cause of papal infallibility is God’s assistance. That assistance was promised to the Roman pontiff in the person of St. Peter. Keep in mind, however, that the popes in preparing an infallible decree do not neglect normal means of inquiry, re-search, discussion, or deliberation:
The Roman Pontiffs on their part, according as the condition of the times and circumstances dictated, sometimes calling together ecumenical councils or sounding out the mind of the Church throughout the world, sometimes through regional councils, or sometimes by using other helps which divine Providence supplied, have, with the help of God, defined as to be held such matters as they had found consonant with the Holy Scripture and with the apostolic tradition. – DB 1836; TCT 216.
- The person endowed with the prerogative of infallibility is the currently-reigning Roman pontiff. That is why the Gallican theory could not possibly be squared with the Vatican Council definition. The Gallicans make a distinction between the see and its occupant. Thus the individual popes could err, but God would prevent “error from taking deep root” in the Roman see or Roman Church. In other words, God would see to it that an error committed by one pope would be swiftly repaired either by the same pope or at least by his successor. Obviously this opinion is not reconcilable with the statement of the council that “the Roman pontiff,” is infallible when speaking ex cathedra; nor with the necessary conclusion of the same council: "and consequently definitions made by the same pontiff are of themselves, and not because of the consent of the Church, irreformable."
The Gallicans wrongly appeal to Leo the Great’s epigram, “Sees are one thing, those who sit upon them another” (Epistula 106. 6). By that saying, Leo simply meant that the rights of a see do not depend upon the holiness of its occupant, “For even though those who occupy sees may differ at times in their merits, still the rights of the sees remain” (Epistula 119. 3).
Notice, however, that only the pope himself personally enjoys infallibility; not other people to whom he may delegate some share in his teaching authority. For example, even though the Roman congregations are organs of the papacy, they are not the pope himself.
The reason for the restriction is this: the pope cannot cause the divine assistance, promised to himself personally, to come to the aid of other people. It should be clear, then, what is meant by saying that infallibility is a personal prerogative. It is personal insofar as it belongs to each individual pope and cannot be delegated to other people; it is not personal in the sense that it belongs to the pope as a private person, that is, in virtue of his personal qualifications.