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Papal Infallibility was defined as a dogma of the Faith,
in the year 1870, during the First Vatican Council.
While most people have heard of this dogma, few
understand its true meaning and limitations. It is not
uncommon to find non-Catholics who believe the dogma
extends to the moral actions of a pope, in such a way,
that he is said to be incapable of sin (impeccability).
Most Catholics realize that the scope of infallibility
is limited to papal teachings on matters of faith
and morals, but they often err by extending it beyond
its boundaries; understanding infallibility as if it
were a habitual active charism that prevents a pope from
erring when he speaks on the subject of faith or
morals. This misunderstanding on the part of Catholics
in recent decades has resulted in two opposite errors.
On the one hand, we have those who erroneously believe
that whatever a pope says, regardless of how novel it is
and how far it deviates from Tradition, must be accepted
as an infallible truth, since “the pope is infallible”.
On the other hand, there are some who see apparent
errors in the documents of Vatican II and believe that
Papal Infallibility would prevent a true pope from
ratifying such documents. In both cases, the error
is a result of extending Papal Infallibility beyond the
limits determined by the Church.
Before proceeding, it should be noted that the purpose
of this article is not to assert that Catholics are only
bound to accept what has been infallibly defined by a
pope or ecumenical council. The late Msgr. Joseph
Clifford Fenton referred to this error, which was
condemned by Pius IX (1), as minimism. Catholics
must give assent to all that the Church teaches, either
by virtue of a solemn pronouncement or by the teaching
of the ordinary and universal Magisterium. Yet at the
same time, Catholics are not bound to give assent to
novelties and apparent errors, even if such novelties or
apparent errors come from a pope who is not exercising
his infallibility. In the chaos that has followed the
Second Vatican Council, it is necessary that the
faithful have a correct understanding Papal
Infallibility, as well as its limitations, lest the
understandably confused or scandalized Catholic be led
into error in one direction or the other.
The Charism:
Infallibility is a negative charism (gratia
gratis data) that prevents the possibility of
error. It is not to be confused with inspiration,
which is a positive divine influence that
moves and controls a human agent in what he says or
writes; nor is it to be confused with Revelation,
which is the communication of some truth by God through
means which are beyond the ordinary course of nature.
Infallibility pertains to the safeguarding and
explanation of truths already revealed by God.
Since infallibility is only a negative charism, it does
not inspire a pope to teach what is true or even defend
revealed truths, nor does it “make the pope’s will the
ultimate standard of truth and goodness” (2), but simply
prevents him from teaching error under certain limited
conditions. During an address given at the First
Vatican Council, Bishop Grasser, who was referred to as
“the most prominent theologian at the Council”, said the
following:
“In no sense is pontifical infallibility absolute,
because absolute infallibility belongs to God alone, Who
is the first and essential truth and Who is never able
to deceive or be deceived. All other infallibility, as
communicated for a specific purpose, has its limits and
its conditions under which it is considered to be
present. The same is valid in reference to the
infallibility of the Roman Pontiff. For this
infallibility is bound by certain limits and
conditions...”
The conditions for Papal Infallibility were subsequently
defined by the First Vatican Council as follows:
“We teach and define as a divinely revealed dogma that
when the Roman pontiff speaks ex cathedra, that is,
when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and
teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme
apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning
faith or morals to be held by the whole Church, he
possesses, by the divine assistance promised to him in
blessed Peter, that infallibility which the divine
Redeemer willed his Church to enjoy in defining doctrine
concerning faith or morals”.
Here we see that the divine assistance is present only
when a pope, (a) using his supreme apostolic authority
(b) defines a doctrine, (c) concerning faith and morals,
(d) to be held by the universal Church. If any of these
conditions are lacking, infallibility is not engaged and
error is possible.
The Scope and Object
The scope of papal infallibility is the same as any
other organ of infallibility of the Church (such as an
ecumenical council): it is limited to doctrinal
definitions or final definitive statements concerning
faith or morals. Theologians distinguish between
primary and secondary objects of infallibility. The
primary object consists of the truths that have been
formally revealed by God, being contained within the two
sources of revelation, namely, Scripture and Tradition,
and extends to both positive and negative decisions of a
definitive nature. Positive decisions include such
things as dogmatic decrees of a council, ex cathedra
statements from a pope, and official creeds of the
Church. Negative decisions consist of “the
determination and rejection of such errors as are
opposed to the teaching of Revelation”. (3)
The secondary object of infallibility includes
those matters which, although not formally revealed, are
connected with and intimately related to the revealed
deposit, such as theological conclusions
(inferences deduced from two premises, one of which is
revealed and the other verified by reason) and
dogmatic facts (contingent historical facts). These
are so closely related to revealed truths that they are
said to be virtually contained within the revealed
deposit. With varying degrees of certitude, theologians
also list universal disciplines and the canonizations of
saints within this category. Secondary objects “come
within the purview of infallibility, not by their very
nature, but rather by reason of the revealed truth to
which they are annexed. As a result, infallibility
embraces them only secondarily. It follows that when the
Church passes judgment on matters of this sort, it is
infallible only insofar as they are connected with
revelation”. (4)
It is de fide that the Church speaks infallibly
when issuing a definitive and binding declaration on
revealed truths (the primary object); but before the
First Vatican Council could rule with certainty on
whether or not the Church can make an infallible
pronouncement on secondary objects, the Council was
halted, by the Franco-Prussian War and the subsequent
invasion of Rome, and never reconvened. Thus, the
teaching that the Church can rule infallibly on
secondary objects is not de fide (of the faith),
but only considered Sententia certa
(theologically certain). (5)
To conclude this point, infallibility applies to
doctrines concerning faith and morals that have been
revealed by God (de fide), and matters that are
intimately related to the revealed deposit (Sententia
certa).
Universally Binding Definitions:
The next condition for Papal Infallibility is the
clear intent to define a doctrine to be held by the
whole Church. If a pope merely teaches a doctrine, yet
does not intend to issue a definitive decision, this
condition is not satisfied, and therefore error is
possible. One example of a pope teaching error is John
XXII (d. 1334), who taught that the souls of the
faithful departed would only possess the Beatific Vision
after the Last Judgment. He taught this error in a book
published prior to his election, and also taught it
publicly after being elected pope. The following account
is taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia:
“In the last years of John's pontificate there arose a
dogmatic conflict about the Beatific Vision, which was
brought on by himself…. Before his elevation to the Holy
See, he had written a work on this question, in which he
stated that the souls of the blessed departed do not see
God until after the Last Judgment. After becoming pope,
he advanced the same teaching in his sermons. In this he
met with strong opposition, many theologians, who
adhered to the usual opinion that the blessed departed
did see God before the Resurrection of the Body and the
Last Judgment, even calling his view heretical. A great
commotion was aroused in the University of Paris when
the General of the Minorites and a Dominican tried to
disseminate there the pope's view. … Before his death he
withdrew his former opinion, and declared his belief
that souls separated from their bodies enjoyed in heaven
the Beatific Vision”.
After the death of John XXII, his successor, Pope
Benedict XII, defined infallibly that the souls of the
faithful departed, after being purified in purgatory
when necessary, do indeed possess the Beatific Vision
prior to the Last Judgment. (6) This example proves
without question that a pope can err when he teaches a
doctrine without the intent of giving a definitive
decision.
There is no specific formula necessary for an ex
cathedra statement, nor is any type of solemnity
required. What is necessary is the clear
intention of giving a definitive and universally binding
decision. This condition of infallibility applies to
the pope whether acting alone, or within the context of
an ecumenical council. What this means is that it is
within the realm of possibility for a papal encyclical,
or a document issued by a general council of the Church
that has been ratified by a pope, to contain error, as
long as the error in question is not within a doctrinal
definition. Infallibility does not necessarily cover an
entire document, but only the specific definitions, or
definitive decisions, contained within it. The following
is taken from the pre-Vatican II manual of dogmatic
theology, by Msgr. Van Noort:
“The Church's rulers are infallible not in any and every
exercise of their teaching power; but only when, using
all the fullness of their authority, they clearly intend
to bind everyone to absolute assent or, as common
parlance puts it, when they ‘define’ something in
matters pertaining to the Christian religion. That is
why all theologians distinguish in the dogmatic decrees
of the councils or of the popes between those things set
forth therein by way of definition and those used simply
by way of illustration or argumentation. For the
intention of binding all affects only the definition…
And if in some particular instances the intention of
giving a definitive decision were not made sufficiently
clear, then no one would be held by virtue of such
definitions, to give the assent of faith: a doubtful law
is no law at all”. (7)
Notice that even within dogmatic decrees issued by a
council or pope, only the definitions contained within
them are protected by infallibility. Furthermore, it is
necessary that the intention of giving a definitive
decision be made sufficiently clear. Applying this to
Vatican II, which was “merely a pastoral council” that
“defined no dogma at all”, as Cardinal Ratzinger
admitted (8), it is clear that if any of the documents
contain error, it would not be contrary to the
infallibility of the Church as a whole, nor to Papal
Infallibility specifically, since infallibility as
such only applies to definitions and definitive
decisions.
Since Vatican II specifically avoided defining any
doctrines, the only teachings of Vatican II that would
be protected by infallibility are those that were
defined prior to the Council, as Bishop Butler of
England admitted two years after the close of Vatican
II. He wrote “not all teachings emanating from a pope
or Ecumenical Council are infallible. There is no single
proposition of Vatican II - except where it is citing
previous infallible definitions - which is in itself
infallible." (9)
In the current crisis shaking the Church, we must
consider, not merely what is normal, or what is to be
expected, but what is possible. What could God
in His justice permit, as a punishment for sin, without
contradicting a dogma or violating any of His promises?
That is what Catholics must consider while attempting to
navigate through the post-Conciliar wasteland.
Supreme Apostolic Authority:
The final condition necessary for Papal Infallibility is
that the pope teach using his supreme apostolic
authority. Two things are to be considered regarding
this condition: (a) The pope must be acting in his
official capacity as pope; and (b) he must be using his
supreme authority at its maximum power. Regarding the
first point, Msgr. Van Noort explains:
“[I]f the pope speaks merely as a private individual, or
as a private theologian, or as a temporal sovereign, or
precisely as ordinary of the diocese of Rome, or
precisely as metropolitan of the province of Rome, he
should not be looked on as acting infallibly. … What is
required for an infallible declaration, therefore, is
that the pope be acting precisely as pope; that is, as
the supreme shepherd and teacher of all Christians so
that his decision looks to the universal Church and is
given for the sake of the universal Church” (10)
With respect to the second point, namely, using his
authority to its maximum power, the same pre-Vatican II
dogmatic manual teaches the following:
“A man who acts in an official capacity does not always
make use of his full power, of the whole weight of the
authority which he possesses by his very position. …
Thus the pope, even acting as pope, can teach the
universal Church without making use of his supreme
authority at its maximum power. Now the Vatican Council
defined merely this point: the pope is infallible if he
uses his doctrinal authority at its maximum power, by
handing down a binding and definitive decision: such
a decision, for example, by which he quite clearly
intends to bind all Catholics to an absolutely firm and
irrevocable assent. ”. (11)
So even if a pope, acting as pope, teaches or praises a
particular doctrine, or recommends that it alone be
taught in Catholic schools, this, in and of itself,
would not be considered an infallible decree, unless
there was a clear intent to hand down a definitive
decision.
Conclusion:
In order for a teaching to be protected by
infallibility, each and every condition must be
satisfied. If a single one is lacking, infallibility is
not engaged. In our day, when there is so much
doctrinal confusion coming from those in authority, it
is essential to realize that the charism of
infallibility, as such, is limited to doctrinal
definitions or definitive decisions. Just as it is
possible for a pope to err when he is not defining a
doctrine, for the same reason it is possible for a
general council to err when it does not intend to issue
a dogmatic definition – and this applies especially to
Vatican II, the only council in the history of the
Church that, as Cardinal Ratzinger admitted, “defined no
dogma at all, and deliberately chose to remain on
a modest level, as a merely pastoral council". (12) If
it is determined that the documents of Vatican II
contain errors, it will not be a violation of the
infallibility of the Church, since “the merely pastoral
council” specifically “avoided issuing solemn dogmatic
definitions backed by the Church's infallible teaching
authority” (13), as Paul VI himself admitted.
We will close with the following from the dogmatic
manual of Msgr. Van Noort:
“The Church surely makes no mistakes when it determines
the force and extent of its infallibility, for the
greatest harm would result if the Church, by stretching
infallibility beyond its limits, could force everyone to
give unqualified assent to a matter about which it is
liable to be mistaken”. (14)
Footnotes
1)
Syllabus, #22
2)
Van Noort, Dogmatic Theology (DT), pg 290, published in
1959
3)
Fundamental of Catholic Dogma, pg 299.
4)
Van Noort, D. T. pg 110
5)
According to Van Noort canonization of saints is only
considered a “common opinion” (Ibid. pg 117)
6)
Benedictus Deus
7)
Van Noort, D. T. Pg 104
8)
“The truth is that this particular Council defined no
dogma at all, and deliberately chose to remain on a
modest level, as a merely pastoral council." (Cardinal
Ratzinger, Address to Chilean Bishops, July 13, 1988)
9)
The Tablet, 11/26/1967
10)
Van Noort, D. T. Pg. 292
11)
Ibid, pg 293
12)
Cardinal Ratzinger, Address to the Chilean Bishops.
13)
Paul VI, General Audience, 1/12/1966
14)
Van Noort, D. T. pg 112