Victor R. Claveau, MJ
The voice of Tradition, as in the case of the Primacy, grows clearer with the progress of the centuries.
The following quotations are used to prove that infallibility was exercised by the Pope in condemning heresies, in excommunicating heretics, and in defining doctrines of faith and morals, through the centuries:
1st Century
Pope St. Clement of his own volition sent an Epistle to the Corinthians, and by his pontifical power settled the trouble in the Church at Corinth.
2nd Century
Origen says: “When the chief authority for feeding the sheep was given to Peter, and upon him as on the earth the Church was founded” (Lit, V in Epist. ad Rom).
St. Irenaeus (130-202) declares that “Under this Clement no small sedition took place among the brethren at Corinth, and the Church at Rome sent a most sufficient letter to the Corinthians, establishing then in peace, and renewing their faith, and announcing the tradition it had already received from the apostles.
Towards the end of the second century, St. Irenaeus praises the See of Rome as “the greatest Church,” and says that the faithful everywhere “must resort to it” or “must agree with it.”[1]
3rd Century
About the beginning of the third century, Pope Zephyrinus condemns the Montanists,[2] who henceforward are regarded as outcasts from the Church.
St. Cyprian says: The Roman See is “the mother and root of the Catholic Church”; to communicate with the lawful pope is to hold the unity of the Catholic Church.
4th Century
In the fourth century, Pope Julius remonstrated (342) with the Eusebians: “Why were we not written to concerning the Church of Alexandria? or, are you ignorant that this has been the custom first to write to us, and then what is just to be decreed from this place….For what we have received from the Blessed Apostle Peter, that I make known to you.”[3]
St. Ambrose says: “Where Peter is, there is the Church” (Ps 11:30).
St. Jerome writes to Pope Damasus: “I, following none at first but Christ, am linked in communion with thy blessedness, that is, with the Chair of Peter, upon that rock I know the Church is built” (Epist., XV, ed. Damas, tom. I. 38).
5th Century
In the fifth century, the bishops at the Council of Chalcedon (451) in the words already quoted said, “Peter has spoken through Leo.” They subscribed to his definition of faith, saying “This is the faith of the Fathers; we all follow it.”[4] From this century onward the doctrine was universally acknowledged in the practical life of the Church. It was accepted at the third Council of Constantinople (680-681), and all but defined in express terms by the Council of Florence (1438-1445), which declared “that the Roman Pontiff is the successor of St. Peter,…and the true Vicar of Christ, the head of the whole Church, the father and teacher of all Christians, and that to him, in Blessed Peter, Our Lord Jesus Christ gave full power to feed, to rule, and to govern the entire Church.”
After hearing the Letter of Pope Leo I, the Fathers of the Council of Chalcedon accepted the statement: “So do we believe…Peter has spoken through Leo” (Harduin, II, 306).
The Fathers of Ephesus declared that they are compelled to condemn the heresy of Nestorius “by the sacred canons and by the letter of our holy father and co-minister, Celestine, the Bishop of Rome” (Harduin, I, 1471).
St. Augustine testifies that, after Pope Innocent I had communicated the condemnation of the heretical Pelegian teachings, “Rome’s reply has come; the case is closed” (Serm 81, c. 10.; Patrologia Latina 38, 734).
Again, speaking of the same heresy, he insists that “all doubt has been removed by the letter of Pope Innocent of blessed memory” (C. Duas, Epist. Pelag., II, 3, 5; Patrologia Latina XLIV, 574).
6th Century
Pope Pelagius II in a letter to the schismatic bishops of Istria: “Consider dearly beloved, that the truth cannot be corrupted, nor can the faith of Peter be changed or adulterated. For since the devil tries to deceive all the disciples, the Lord testifies that He has prayed for Peter alone, and has willed that the others be confirmed by him.”
Peter—Acts 15:7-11: “After much discussion, Peter took the floor and said to them: “Brothers, you know well enough that from the early days God selected me from your number to be the one from whose lips the Gentiles would hear the message of the Gospel and believe. God, who reads the hearts of men, showed his approval by granting the Holy Spirit to them just as he did to us, He made no distinction between them and us, but purified their hearts by means of faith also. Why, then do you put God to the test by trying to place on the shoulders of these converts a yoke which neither we or our fathers were able to bear? Our belief is rather that we are saved by the favor of the Lord Jesus and so are they”
Barnabas and Paul—Acts 15:12: “At that the whole assembly fell silent. They listened to Barnabas and Paul as the two described all the signs and wonders God had worked among the Gentiles through them.”
James—Acts 15:13-21: “When they concluded their presentation, James spoke up:` Brothers, `listen to me. Symeon (Simon Peter) has told you how God first concerned himself with taking from among the Gentiles a people to bear his name. The words of prophets agree with this, where it says in scripture. `Hereafter I will return and rebuild the fallen hut of David: from its ruins I will rebuild it and set it up again, so that all the rest of mankind and all the nations that bear my name may seek out the Lord. Thus says the Lord who accomplishes these things known to him from old.’ It is my judgment, therefore, that we ought not to cause God’s Gentile converts and difficulties. We should merely write to them to abstain from anything contaminated by idols, from illicit sexual union, from meat of strangled animals, and from eating blood. After all, for generations now Moses has been proclaimed in every town and has been read aloud in the synagogues on every sabbath.”
Problem is resolved:
Acts 15:22:: “It was resolved by the apostles and the presbyters in agreement with the whole Jerusalem church… (NAB)
Decree is promulgated:
Acts 15:23-27: …chosen were leading men of the community …to deliver this letter …The apostles and presbyters, your brothers, send greetings …(NAB)
The authority of the Holy Spirit is appealed:
Acts 15:28: It is the decision of the Holy Spirit, and ours too … (NAB)
Paradosis or tradition falls into two categories. The difference can be seen in Acts 15. Besides the issue of following the Mosaic Law for gentile converts which meant primarily circumcision, the Council of Jerusalem also decreed that converts had “to abstain from anything contaminated by idols, from illicit sexual union, from the meat of strangled animals, and from eating blood” (Acts 15:20).
There are clearly distinguished paradosis or traditions which are considered irrevocable, unchangeable, even to our day, e.g., circumcision is not a requirement for new Christians. On the other hand, today we would not be concerned with things “contaminated by idols,” how an animal is killed for meat, or whether blood is in our food. These appear to be different traditions from the former–changeable and not binding in the same way as non-circumcision.
The Roman Catholic Church also follows this biblical model in her approach to paradosis/traditions.
Hence, there are paradosis/traditions which are unchangeable, capital letter “T”, “Traditions”. These are the defined faith or moral teachings based on the Bible but revealed by the Holy Spirit as an authority in the Church (Acts 15:28). An example from the history of the Roman Catholic Church of Tradition (with a capital letter “T”) is the teaching on purgatory. This teaching of the Church can never change.
There appear to be paradosis/traditions which are changeable, small letter “t”, “traditions.” These are the “rules of the organization, rules of the club,” these change as people, culture, faith and understanding develop. An example from the history of the Roman Catholic Church of tradition (with a lower case letter “t”) is the teaching on the prohibition on eating meat on Fridays. This practice of mandatory abstinence as penance in the Church has changed.
Acts 15 Model: General or Ecumenical Councils of the Church Universal.
Following the example of the Apostolic Church in the persons of the Apostles in the book of Acts, especially chapter 15, the Roman Catholic Church is motivated by a number of scriptures.
The Roman Catholic Church takes seriously the need to know the truth and to refute error.
John15:26: “When the Paraclete comes, the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father -and whom I myself will send from the Father – he will bear witness on my behalf.” (NAB)
John 16:12: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. When he comes, however, being the Spirit of Truth he will guide you to all truth.” (NAB)
Acts 1:8: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down on you; then you are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, yes, even to the ends of the earth.” (NAB)
2 Pet 2:1: “In times past there were false prophets among God’s people, and among you also there will be false teachers who will smuggle in pernicious heresies. …Their condemnation has not lain idle all this time; their destruction is not asleep.” (NAB)
Tit 1:9 “In his (episcopon) teaching he must hold fast to the authentic message, so that he will be able both to encourage men to follow sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it. There are many irresponsible teachers …men who are empty talkers and deceivers. These must be silenced.” (NAB)
Gal 1:6-9: “I am amazed that you are so soon deserting him who called you in accord with his gracious design in Christ, and are going over to another gospel. But there is no other. Some who wish to alter the gospel of Christ must have confused you. For even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel not in accord with the one we delivered to you, let a curse be upon him! I repeat what I have just said: if anyone preaches a gospel to you other than the one you received, let a curse be upon him!” (NAB)
The Catholic Church also understands the need to interpret correctly the truth of all of the Bible. The Bible warns us that there will be incorrect interpretation without authority. All interpretations of a scripture cannot be equally true (it is contrary to the nature of truth); some interpretations of the same scripture are mutually incompatible (e.g., Mt 16:16; Jo 6). Hence there must be an authority to whom truth and error can be appealed.
2 Pet 3:16: “There are certain passages in them (Paul’s letters) hard to understand. The ignorant and the unstable distort them (just as they do the rest of Scripture) to their own ruin.” (NAB)
The Catholic Church accepts the authority both of Divine Revelation and of the Holy Spirit. Deviation from the truth must be cursed and condemned.
Rom 13:1: “Let everyone obey the authorities that are over him, for there is no authority except from God, and all authority that exists is established by God. As a consequence, the man who opposes authority rebels against the ordinance of God; those who resist this shall draw condemnation down upon themselves.” (NAB)
2 Thess 2:8: “This lawless one will appear as part of the workings of Satan, accompanied by all the powers and signs and wonders at the disposal of falsehood–by every seduction the wicked can devise for those destined to ruin because they have not opened their hearts to the truth in order to be saved. Therefore God is sending upon them a perverse spirit which leads them to give credence to falsehood, so that all that have not believed the truth but have delighted in evildoing will be condemned.” (NAB)
The Church exercised her teaching authority (under the guidance of the Holy Spirit) and called trustworthy men together in universal (ecumenical) council for renewal and reformation, and when truths were abandoned and error (heresy) was being taught (Titus 1:9). The truth was expressed and defined; error and false teachers condemned (“anathema sit”, “let them [him, it] be anathema, condemned, damned”).
The history of the ecumenical councils attests to the fidelity of the Roman Catholic Church to the teaching and direction of both the authority of Scripture and the authority of the Holy Spirit.
Let us refer to the CCC concerning the the teaching office of the Church:
888 Bishops, with priests as co‑workers, have as their first task “to preach the Gospel of God to all men,” in keeping with the Lord’s command. They are “heralds of faith, who draw new disciples to Christ; they are authentic teachers” of the apostolic faith “endowed with the authority of Christ.”
889 In order to preserve the Church in the purity of the faith handed on by the apostles, Christ who is the Truth willed to confer on her a share in his own infallibility. By a “supernatural sense of faith” the People of God, under the guidance of the Church’s living Magisterium, “unfailingly adheres to this faith.”
890 The mission of the Magisterium is linked to the definitive nature of the covenant established by God with his people in Christ. It is this Magisterium’s task to preserve God’s people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error. Thus, the pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed at seeing to it that the People of God abides in the truth that liberates. To fulfill this service, Christ endowed the Church’s shepherds with the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals. The exercise of this charism takes several forms:
891 “The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful ‑ who confirms his brethren in the faith he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals…. The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops when, together with Peter’s successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium,” above all in an Ecumenical Council.[418] When the Church through its supreme Magisterium proposes a doctrine “for belief as being divinely revealed,” and as the teaching of Christ, the definitions “must be adhered to with the obedience of faith.” This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself.
892 Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the apostles, teaching in communion with the successor of Peter, and, in a particular way, to the bishop of Rome, pastor of the whole Church, when, without arriving at an infallible definition and without pronouncing in a “definitive manner,” they propose in the exercise of the ordinary Magisterium a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of faith and morals. To this ordinary teaching the faithful “are to adhere to it with religious assent” which, though distinct from the assent of faith, is nonetheless an extension of it.
An Apologetical Note: Why believe the Church?
Why should we believe the Church’s teaching authority? We certainly don’t believe because we consider a particular pope holy, smart, well-educated and so forth. Those qualities are irrelevant. It is precisely and only because Jesus, who proved he was a messenger sent from God, commissioned his apostles to teach and promised that he would protect their teaching: “He who hears you, hears me” (Luke 10:16; cf. Matthew 18:17). What is more, he meant this help for all ages: “Behold I am with you all days, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).
[1]Adv. Haeres., III. 3. In either interpretation the words refer to a higher doctrinal authority.
[2]Their founder, Montanus, claimed to be a prophet sent by God to supplement the moral teaching of Christ.
[3]Athanasius: Apologia contra Arianos, n. 33.
[4]Hardiun, t. 2, p. 656. See Newman, op. cit., for fuller list of authorities.