Very curious about this

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Do Catholics have to believe and obey everything the Pope says? Like I understand that Catholics must believe and obey every encyclical and every pronouncement of the Pope ( even if it’s not infallible). BUT, what about this scenario. If a young Catholic student was speaking I’m person with the Pope, and the Pope would tell him that he wants him to study in a subject he doesn’t like, would He be obliged to obey even that? Or if the Pope would tell someone In person what kind of car to buy. So my question is, do Catholics have to believe and obey the Pope under all circumstances?
 
someperson555 said:
Do Catholics have to believe and obey everything the Pope says? Like I understand that Catholics must believe and obey every encyclical and every pronouncement of the Pope ( even if it’s not infallible). BUT, what about this scenario. If a young Catholic student was speaking I’m person with the Pope, and the Pope would tell him that he wants him to study in a subject he doesn’t like, would He be obliged to obey even that? Or if the Pope would tell someone In person what kind of car to buy. So my question is, do Catholics have to believe and obey the Pope under all circumstances?
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No, the authority of the pope rests in the office of the papacy. So only when he’s speaking in that capacity, and speaking “ex cathedra”, a term used to mean “from the chair of Peter”, solemnly and formally pronouncing on a matter of faith or morals, are Catholics bound to consent to the teaching.
 
someperson555 said:
Do Catholics have to believe and obey everything the Pope says? Like I understand that Catholics must believe and obey every encyclical and every pronouncement of the Pope ( even if it’s not infallible). BUT, what about this scenario. If a young Catholic student was speaking I’m person with the Pope, and the Pope would tell him that he wants him to study in a subject he doesn’t like, would He be obliged to obey even that? Or if the Pope would tell someone In person what kind of car to buy. So my question is, do Catholics have to believe and obey the Pope under all circumstances?
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You are thinking of something called “ultramontanism,” or at least an extreme form of it. It is not part of Catholic Faith that everything the pope says is automatically infallible.

As for obedience, it is required within a certain degree, but for the pope to force a normal lay person to study biology is not part of that scope. He could, however, create a law for the whole Church which says, for instance, all Catholics must abstain from meat on the first Friday of every month, under pain of sin. This would be a religious exercise for application to the whole Church, not an arbitrarily assigned duty to some individual “out of nowhere.”

Get it?
 
someperson555 said:
Do Catholics have to believe and obey everything the Pope says?
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Of course not. The Bishop of Rome and the other bishops are just men, although they deserve our highest respect.
Like I understand that Catholics must believe and obey every encyclical and every pronouncement of the Pope (even if it’s not infallible).
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Where are you getting that from? That is not something that the Church teaches.
 
someperson555 said:
Do Catholics have to believe and obey everything the Pope says? Like I understand that Catholics must believe and obey every encyclical and every pronouncement of the Pope ( even if it’s not infallible). BUT, what about this scenario. If a young Catholic student was speaking I’m person with the Pope, and the Pope would tell him that he wants him to study in a subject he doesn’t like, would He be obliged to obey even that? Or if the Pope would tell someone In person what kind of car to buy. So my question is, do Catholics have to believe and obey the Pope under all circumstances?
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No. The pope and the church teaches infallibility only in the area of faith and morals. I suggest you study exactly what infallibility means, simply that the church and the pope will not teach error in those two areas. Some very good Catholic apologetics have written more extensively on the subject and their writings present a very clear and honest view of the concept of infallibility.

I urge you to study, read, and find the answer for yourself. It will mean a great deal more than what others tell you.

Shalom and good luck.
 
I Can’t speak for the Majority or even the Minority ,
I Do my own thing , it works fantastically for me
 
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, as we should correctly and respectfully address him, is a highly educated, highly experienced elder.

Now if I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with Holy Father, Pope Francis, and a certain subject was recommended to me, I would be quite foolish not to consider it.

As for type of car, Italian?
 
Roseeurekacross said:
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, as we should correctly and respectfully address him, is a highly educated, highly experienced elder.

Now if I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with Holy Father, Pope Francis, and a certain subject was recommended to me, I would be quite foolish not to consider it.
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Yes, but you would be considering it voluntarily based on your personal respect for this Pope as a wise elder. You wouldn’t be required or obligated to study the subject by Church law because the Pope told you to study it.
 
someperson555 said:
Do Catholics have to believe and obey everything the Pope says? Like I understand that Catholics must believe and obey every encyclical and every pronouncement of the Pope ( even if it’s not infallible). BUT, what about this scenario. If a young Catholic student was speaking I’m person with the Pope, and the Pope would tell him that he wants him to study in a subject he doesn’t like, would He be obliged to obey even that? Or if the Pope would tell someone In person what kind of car to buy. So my question is, do Catholics have to believe and obey the Pope under all circumstances?
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The answer is no.

A good example is what Pope Benedict said in the book he wrote called Jesus of Nazareth.

“It goes without saying that this book is in no way an exercise of the magisterium, but is solely an expression of my personal search “for the face of the Lord”. Everyone is free, then, to contradict me. I would only ask my readers for that initial goodwill without which there can be no understanding”.
 
someperson555 said:
Do Catholics have to believe and obey everything the Pope says? Like I understand that Catholics must believe and obey every encyclical and every pronouncement of the Pope ( even if it’s not infallible). BUT, what about this scenario. If a young Catholic student was speaking I’m person with the Pope, and the Pope would tell him that he wants him to study in a subject he doesn’t like, would He be obliged to obey even that? Or if the Pope would tell someone In person what kind of car to buy. So my question is, do Catholics have to believe and obey the Pope under all circumstances?
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No, in that case theperson would not be obliged to study a particular subject that he was not interested in. We are not obliged to buy a specific car to buy either.
In the case of politics we are also not obliged in matters that are purely partisan. We should listen to the Pope and take into consideration the reasoning about what he has to say but unless it is a matter of morals or faith tehn we are not obliged.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Yes, but you would be considering it voluntarily based on your personal respect for this Pope as a wise elder. You wouldn’t be required or obligated to study the subject by Church law because the Pope told you to study it.
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What would you do if lucky enough to be speaking with our Holy Father, Pope Francis , and he suggested a course for you based on something he had identified?

Would you say excuse me Holy Father but I detest that area, or would you say Holy Father , I will consider it, thank you.

And the car?
 
I would most definitely play any lottery numbers he gave me! 🙂
 
Roseeurekacross said:
What would you do if lucky enough to be speaking with our Holy Father, Pope Francis , and he suggested a course for you based on something he had identified?

Would you say excuse me Holy Father but I detest that area, or would you say Holy Father , I will consider it, thank you.
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I myself would consider it very seriously. I remember when the actress Dolores Hart introduced herself to the Pope (I think it was Pope John XXIII) saying “I’m the actress playing St. Clare” in a current movie, and he said “No, you ARE St. Clare” which helped motivate her towards entering a convent, which she had been considering.

But I suspect some Catholics, especially those who seem to be at odds with our current Pope, might not take his advice. They would perhaps be unwise but would not be committing a sin by not taking it.

I further note it is not inconceivable that we could have a Pope who was not prudent or wise and advised people to do things that might not work out so well. I’m thinking of Popes in centuries past who got involved in political issues way beyond what they do today. When John F. Kennedy was running for President, many people did not want to vote for a Catholic President on the basis that they assumed a Catholic President would basically be taking orders from Rome on how to do his job. I doubt the Pope then reigning provided such orders to Kennedy but if he had, Kennedy would not have been bound to follow them.

As for the car, I have a strong personal preference in cars so best to just not bring this up with the Pope just in case he recommends a Fiat or something I don’t want to get 🙂
 
Thank you for the responses. So then let me ask another question. Are Catholics allowed to disagree with certain encyclicals, or at least parts of them? Let me give another example. One conservative Pope says “socialism is bad” in an encyclical. Can a Catholic who is a socialist disagree with him on that and still receive Communion? Another example is let’s say a liberal Pope believes in climate change, so he exhorts Catholics to fight against it in an encyclical. Can a Catholic likewise disagree and still be I’m good standing with the church?
 
someperson555 said:
Thank you for the responses. So then let me ask another question. Are Catholics allowed to disagree with certain encyclicals, or at least parts of them? Let me give another example. One conservative Pope says “socialism is bad” in an encyclical. Can a Catholic who is a socialist disagree with him on that and still receive Communion? Another example is let’s say a liberal Pope believes in climate change, so he exhorts Catholics to fight against it in an encyclical. Can a Catholic likewise disagree and still be I’m good standing with the church?
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I think this question has already been answered by several of the excellent posts above…
 
someperson555 said:
Are Catholics allowed to disagree with certain encyclicals, **or at least parts of them? **
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The short answer to your question is yes. However, anything that a Pope feels important enough to mention in an encyclical should be given serious consideration. Christians are bound to accept the Deposit of Faith, not any bishop’s personal opinions.
 
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