The Idea of Infallibility.

• Author: Puterbaugh, Dolores T.

IN 1870, the First Vatican Council ended with the official pronouncement that, effective immediately, if the Pope spoke ex cathedra, meaning citing his role as successor of Peter, the first bishop of Rome, on matters of faith, it was to be held as true and must be accepted by all members of the Catholic Church. Such statements were held as infallible. Infallibility was not a new idea; it had floated around theological circles for centuries and was commonly agreed upon at high levels of the Church hierarchy. The First Vatican Council decision codified this in a narrowly defined way. The Pope in a particular function was infallible. What they actually mean is that the Holy Spirit is infallible and in those contexts is at work through the Pope. The assertion of papal infallibility is rooted in the belief that Jesus the Nazarene, whom Catholics believe is the Christ, would not allow the Church He founded to be corrupted in its teachings by the vagaries of human weakness.

So, while the humans in the Church are as flawed and apt to sin as any other persons, the integrity of the teachings of the institution are to be held, by believers, guided by God. To reiterate then, to Catholics the spirit of God is behind the infallibility, not whomever happens to be in the job at the moment. The leverage of infallibility only has been used once in the past 152 years. It is not a universal; the Pope could be mistaken about lots of things, or make recommendations that we ought to take with prayerful consideration but not be bound to follow.

For example, if the Pope, not speaking ex cathedra, announces it would be a good idea for the whole Church--all billion-plus of us--to give up ice cream for Lent, expect panels of cardinals to debate it in terms of whether this is binding, for bishops to explore whether this includes frozen yogurt and gelato, and for a lot of people to roll their eyes and shrug; it is easier for them than giving up beer so, what the heck? Others voluntarily would decide to give up ice cream forever, to show their dedication. Still others would go out and buy more ice cream, on purpose, because the Pope can do what he wants for Lent but leave them out of it; penance is supposed to be personal, after all, and need not include their pistachio-chocolatechunk ice cream. Despite its rarity, the dogmatic assertion of infallibility continues to be the cause of schisms, the butt of jokes, and a general raiser-of-hackles for lots of people. The mere...