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Papal Infallibility
Following the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church has experienced and continues to experience a shaking. In a sense, the Church is in the midst of an earthquake. She is being shaken at Her very roots. Like never before, the Church is being sieged from all sides; even from within. Some people have taken to extremes and have gone off to what many call the "left and right", or "liberal and conservative". On the "liberal" side, they believe that the teachings of the Second Vatican Council have not been implemented, and that they do not go as far as they should. The other extreme, the "conservative" side, believes that the Council was a mistake. It must be revoked, because the Church has gone astray. Most of these people are very sincere in their convictions. Although both sides may not be completely wrong, they are both in error. The Synod Fathers, at the Extraordinary Synod in 1985, stated in their final report, "The message of the Second Vatican Council has already been welcomed with great accord by the whole Church, and it remains the Magna Charta for the future. (11, 0, 7)" The emergence of two "sides" can often cause confusion within and outside of the Church. Many people are caught between the two positions and sincerely do not know what is right. However, this is not the first time the Church has experienced confusion, and I do not believe it will be the last. As long as the world goes round and there are human persons, there will be confusion. Although the Church is led by human persons, Jesus promised the Church that He would be with it until the end of time. Jesus kept this promise and truly has not abandoned His Church. In this paper I will examine what this promise of Jesus to be with His Church is, and how one may understand It. If one believes the promise of Jesus, in a time of confusion, there is no need for alarm. When the Church Is shaken by confusion and doubt, only good can come out of it. Jesus left a "light on the hill" to guide His Church through good times and bad. This light is the successor of St. Peter. Our Lord gave Peter primacy in His Church. This teaching is clear in the Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, and in Sacred Tradition. We read in the Gospel of St. Matthew: Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others; Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. and I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Mt 16.13-20) The writer of the Gospel used a play on the words Peter and rock. 'Peter' in Greek is 'Petros' while 'rock' is 'petra' . This text has always been interpreted by the Church to refer to the primacy of Peter as the head shepherd, guide, and protector of the Church. This primacy is attested to again in the Gospel of St. John where Jesus questions Peter three times, "Simon, son of John, do you love me? (Jn 21.15-17)" There are also other instances in the New Testament where Peter is seen to take his God-given role as chief shepherd and guide of the early Christian community. It seems obvious that Peter knew his authority and acted on it. In the Acts of the Apostles we read about the election of Matthias to replace Judas. During this incident we read, "In those days Peter stood up among the brethren.... (Acts 1.15)" It is also very clear from this passage that not only did Peter know of his place in the Christian community, but he also knew the place of the twelve in that community. In speaking about filling the place of Judas he said, "His office; let another take" (Acts 1:20). Peter is the ardent and impetuous apostle to whom Christ entrusted the care of his flock; and since his is the first in dignity, he is the first to speak" (Chrysostom, Hom. on Acts, 3). The primacy of Peter is a binding force in the Church. It is this force that keeps unity not only among the laity and priests, but also among the bishops. The office of Peter is to the Church as cement is to the bricks in building. In order that the episcopate itself, however, might be one and undivided, he put Peter at the head of the other apostles, and in him he set up a lasting and visible source and foundation of the unity both of faith and of communion (Lumen Gentium, 18). Again, at the day of Pentecost, Peter is the "one" who takes the lead. "Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them..." (Acts 2.14). It is certain that the early Church was convinced of the special place that Peter held in the community. This is witnessed to throughout the New Testament. Between 190 and 210 A.D., St. Clement of Alexandria reaffirmed what Jesus said about Peter, he called him "the chosen, the pre-eminent, the first among the disciples, for whom alone with Himself the Savior paid the tribute" (Jurgens, 436). Around 244, Origin spoke of Peter as the foundation of the Church, "Look at the great foundation, that most solid of rocks, upon whom Christ built the Church" (Jurgens, 489). Up to this point in history, the primacy of Peter was very implicit in the writings of the Church, however, in 251 A.D., St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage explicitly used the word 'primacy' when speaking of Peter. He talked about the unity of the Church in the "one chair," that is Peter. In a letter from Cyprian to Florentius Paupianus of 254 A.D. he writes, There speaks Peter, upon whom the Church would be built, teaching in the name of the Church, showing that even if a stubborn and proud multitude withdraws because it does not wish to obey, yet, the Church does not withdraw from Christ (Jurgens, 587). As the years go by, we can see more clearly the faith of the Church in the office of Peter. It becomes ever clearer that the early Christians believed in the supreme teaching authority of the Bishop of Rome. This teaching was never clearly stated because it was never questioned before, but as history continued and people questioned, bishops clarified this teaching. The belief in the teaching authority of the Bishop of Rome was also taught by Church Councils. The Second Council of Lyons (1274) gave approval to a statement by the Greeks when they were seeking union with the Catholic Church. The Greeks professed that the holy Roman Church has supreme and full primacy and jurisdiction over the whole Catholic Church. This it truly and humbly recognizes as received from the Lord himself in the person of St. Peter, the Prince or head of the Apostles, whose successor in the fullness of power is the Roman Pontiff. And just as the holy Roman Church is bound more than all the others to defend the truth of faith, so, if there arise any questions concerning the faith, they must be decided by its judgment (Schmaus, 204). This statement was made by the Greeks when they were about to unite with Rome. Although the union with Rome failed, the statement of the Greeks clearly shows the Churchs' faith in the successor of St. Peter by what the Church required the Greeks to profess in order to be united with Her. The teaching becomes increasingly clearer. In 1439, the Council of Florence defined that the Roman Pontiff is the true vicar of Christ; the head of the whole Church, the father and teacher of all Christians; and that to him, in the person of St. Peter, was given by our Lord Jesus Christ the full power of feeding, ruling, and governing the whole Church (Schmaus, 204). Also, it has always been the praxis of the Bishop of Rome to convene councils and to dictate teaching and discipline for his diocese and for other dioceses. Other bishops were also known to have sought out the guidance of the Pontiff on how to deal with specific situations in their dioceses. The primacy and infallibility of the Bishop of Rome has been a universal belief and teaching from the early Church on. This teaching was finally clarified and defined explicitly by the First Vatican Council, the third session, in 1870. The Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra, that is, when, acting in the office of shepherd and teacher of all Christians, he defines, by virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, possesses through the divine assistance promised to him in the person of St. Peter, the infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed his Church to be endowed in defining doctrine concerning faith or morals; and such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are therefore irreformable because of their nature, but not because of the agreement of the Church (Baker, 117). For the first time, a council specifically spoke of "infallibility" in terms of the teaching office of the Holy Father. This was a landmark in the teaching on Papal Infallibility. Previously, this truth was believed but never before stated in such a direct and concise manner. This same belief was reaffirmed and expanded by the Second Vatican Council In the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: This teaching concerning the Institution, the permanence, the nature and import of the sacred primacy of the Roman Pontiff and his infallible teaching office, the sacred synod proposes anew to be firmly believed by all the faithful, and proceeding undeviatingly with this same undertaking, it proposes to proclaim publicly and enunciate clearly the doctrine concerning bishops, successors of the Apostles, who together with Peter's successor, the Vicar of Christ and the head of the whole Church, direct the house of the Living God (Lumen Gentium, 18). Examining history we can see that it is possible for faith-filled believers to err on Catholic Faith. St. Thomas Aquinas is known as one of the greatest thinkers in the Church, however he did not believe in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The same is true for St. Catherine of Siena who is a Doctor of the Church. Good people can make errors. This is why Christ left His Church a guide. He left His Church a gift. Infallibility is not for the Holy Father, but for the good of the whole Church . That Christ gave primacy to one of His apostles, namely, Peter, and that he is empowered by Christ to teach the Church without error has been believed by the Church since the Lord founded Her. Although the word "infallibility" only came into use in the Middle Ages, the reality understood by this concept and expressed by this word certainly was present in the apostles' grasp of God's revelation in Jesus (Grisez, 832). Throughout history, there are very few instances of the extraordinary use of this gift. The two examples are: the definition of Pope Pius IX in 1854 of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and the definition by Pope Pius XII in 1950 of Mary's glorious Assumption into heaven, body and soul. The Pope has the gift of infallibility in the areas of faith and morals, but there are certain conditions to this. He must intend to speak infallibly on the subject as supreme teacher of the Church with his full apostolic authority. The teaching on Papal infallibility does not mean that whatever the Pope speaks is without error. This is a false conception that many Catholics and non-Catholics believe to be true. I like the example that Karl Keating uses in his work, Catholicism And Fundamentalism. Karl writes,
On the last page of this paper is a graft I devised to try to glue a better understanding to the teaching office of the successor of St. Peter. All "infallible" teaching of the Pope is to be accepted by every Roman Catholic whether it is of the "ordinary" or "extraordinary" Magisterium. Teaching which is in the area of "non-infallible" actually encompasses those teachings normally called authoritative." (O'Connor, 112). As a Catholic one may have doubts and questions regarding official Church teaching wether it is infallible or non-infallible, however, every Roman Catholic has the obligation to bring his or her will into submission to the teaching given by those whom Christ has given the responsibility to teach and guide his Church. In the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, the Fathers of the Council wrote:
Christ did not give the gift of Peter as authoritative teacher to His Church to hinder it, but to be Her guide as a light house guides a boat in the dark. There is a song by John Denver which speaks of the Holy Father. I think this image of the Pope sums up this whole paper in the one verse, "He is the light in the window." the Holy Father is the "light on the hill" that does not place itself under the basket, but "on the lamp stand for all to see." Works Cited Bibliography |
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