Victor R. Claveau,MJ
Catholics believe that the New Testament reveals an order or hierarchy to the organization of the Church. In other words, the New Testament recognizes that there are two degrees of ministerial participation in the priesthood of Christ: the episcopacy and the presbyterate. We also have ordained deacons who help and serve the priests and bishops. Catholic doctrine teaches that the degrees of priestly participation (episcopate and presbyterate) and the degree of service (diaconate), are all three, conferred by a sacramental act called ‘ordination,’ that is, by the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
As the Catechism states, the conferral of the sacrament of holy orders produces three ranks of clergy: bishops, priests (in the New Testament ‘presbyters,’ from which the English word ‘priest’ is derived), and deacons.
Saint Paul defines the New Testament people chosen to constitute the order of the leadership of the Church. In his letter to Saint Timothy Saint Paul tells him, ‘…what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.’[1] Saint Paul goes on to describe who the ‘faithful men’ are who are to carry on the principle functions of the Church. The first category of ‘faithful men’ is episcopoi, bishops.[2] The second category of ‘faithful men’ is presbyteroi, the presbyters, priests, or elders.[3] The third category of ‘faithful men’ is diaconoi, deacons.[4]
It is clear from Saint Paul’s writings that he and the Apostolic Church were aware that order in the Church was conferred by the imposition of hands.[5] And, Saint Paul reminds Saint Timothy that the imposition of hands on another is not to be taken lightly.[6]
The charism of papal infallibility, defined by the First Vatican Council[7] on July 18, 1870, is one of the most nuanced and widely misunderstood dogmas of all the transcendental teachings of the Catholic Church. Fundamentalists and “Sola Scriptura” Christians often mistake the theological term infallibility for impeccability. What is the distinction between these concepts? Is the gift of infallibility limited to the Roman Pontiff himself? How can Catholics be certain that all successors of Peter have inherited the Petrine authority? While on the seat of Peter, can the pope make a mistake? Can he sin? What does it mean for a pope to speak ex cathedra?
Infallibility vs. Impeccability
The etymology of the term infallible is derived from the Medieval Latin infallibilitas, and that, from infallibilis, meaning “not liable to error.” According to the Roman Catholic Church, it is defined as: Immunity from fallacy or liability to error in expounding matters of faith or morals by virtue of the promise made by Christ to the Church: papal infallibility.
In matters of the Church, Vatican II gave the following explanation of infallibility:
“Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they can nevertheless proclaim Christ’s doctrine infallibly. This is so, even when they are dispersed around the world, provided that while maintaining the bond of unity among themselves and with Peter’s successor, and while teaching authentically on a matter of faith or morals, they concur in a single viewpoint as the one which must be held conclusively. This authority is even more clearly verified when, gathered together in an ecumenical council, they are teachers and judges of faith and morals for the universal Church. Their definitions must then be adhered to with the submission of faith” (Lumen Gentium 25).
Thus, there is no formal (or implied) Church edict which states that the pope and his bishops are sinless, inerrant, or otherwise incapable of human foibles. Neither is the charismatic gift of infallibility limited solely to the papal office, but it extends to its bishops, as we have seen in the aforementioned excerpt from Lumen Gentium; however, only collectively and not singularly can they enjoy the privilege of this unified proclamation of dogma with the approval of the Holy Father, and on such an occasion when the pope speaks ex cathedra (from the chair), or he articulates “irreformable” teachings on faith and morals in the official capacity of the universal shepherd of the Church, the bishops may then promulgate his dogmatic proclamations, and these are binding upon all Christians who have been baptized in the Trinitarian formula.[8] Furthermore, the dogma of infallibility was not created in recent times but it was in existence from the incipiency of the Church and it only has been clarified or defined as time has passed.
Therefore, when the Pope teaches by virtue of his supreme authority on a matter of faith and morals to the whole Christian Church, he is preserved from error by the Holy Spirit. The act of his teaching is “infallible” and the teaching which he articulates is “irreformable”.
Saint Paul declared the Church of the living God to be “the pillar and bulwark of the truth.”[9] Jesus Christ Himself declared, “Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”[10] “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”[11] “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”[12] “And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you.”[13]“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”[14] “You are the salt of the earth;…You are the light of the world.”[15]“He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”[16] “I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.”[17]
From this, it is evidenced that Jesus established a perfect unity between himself and his Apostles, whom he commanded to teach to the world the Truth that saves. He promised to them his unerring legacy in this teaching, and that he would remain with them until the end of time, via the all-encompassing power of truth, the charism of apostolic succession, and papal infallibility. Infallibility is a gift of grace from God, through the Holy Spirit, to the Magisterium of the original Church of Jesus Christ.
Surrounding the most crucial beliefs of the Catholic faith, I expound on the enigma of papal infallibility by ending with some thoughts and ideas on how one can believe that such a rarity could possibly exist. Is there any proof? Perhaps.
At least one good example is the case of Pope Sixtus V, Felice Peretti, 1585 – 1590, of humble birth but strong-willed and resolute, unanimously elected, who, although he was a meritorious pope in many respects—having established camaraderie with Sts. Philip Neri and Ignatius of Loyola, stemmed the tide of lawlessness which had broken out towards the end of the reign of his predecessor Gregory XIII, gained control over an unruly college of cardinals, replenished the Vatican treasury (which was empty at his accession) by economizing everywhere, founded a hospice for the poor, erected a Vatican library and many other far-reaching reforms—but he was not a reliable Latin scholar.
Nonetheless, he took upon himself the task of revision and publication of the Latin Vulgate (the original translation of the Septuagint Bible by Saint Jerome). He had entrusted the task to a Cardinals’ committee, but it was taking too long for his liking and he plunged into it himself. The result was a Bible full of errors. It aroused a storm of protest by traditionalists and scholars alike. The bull was issued on his translation and the new Vulgate was printed. On the evening prior to the signing of the formal documents for its release, he died suddenly of natural causes—a man of robust health. Saint Robert Bellarmine immediately re-translated the Vulgate correctly, the error-laden edition was withdrawn from circulation, and it was re-issued properly.[18]
Many suspect that this was the work of the Holy Spirit. Was the timing of Sixtus’ death providential? Is this an example of how the Holy Spirit exerts protection from error over the one true Church?
Let us go to the Book of Acts, when the Holy Spirit sends Peter a vision, instructing him on the proper handling of clean vs. unclean foods. Peter was humanly inclined to instruct the Gentiles to observe Jewish law after their conversion, but he was wrong. The Holy Spirit intervened, preventing Peter from ruling in error.
Certainly, Peter had sinned when he denied Christ and also when he refused to eat with Gentiles. Is there Biblical evidence that sin negates authority? Clearly, it is possible that there can exist papal infallibility without impeccability.
Now then, what is the Catholic teaching of impeccability and how does it intersect to cause confusion amongst non-Catholics regarding the dogma of papal infallibility?
Rex Non Potest Peccare (The King Can Do No Wrong)
Impeccability is the absence of sin. Impeccability of Christ is defined in theological terms by Servant of God John A. Hardon, S.J. in his book entitled Modern Catholic Dictionary, as “the absolute impossibility of Christ committing any sin.” It is a defined dogma of faith that Jesus Christ in His humanity was sinless. He did not inherit original sin, nor did He commit venial or mortal sin;[19] and it was precisely proclaimed in the Third Council of Constantinople that “Christ has two volitions or wills, and two natural operations, without division or change, without partition or commingling. And the two natural wills are not opposed as the godless heretics have said; but the human will is compliant, and not opposing or contrary; as a matter of fact it is even obedient to his divine and omnipotent will.”
Bearing this in mind, the term impeccability, albeit in an attenuated sense, has been extended to Mary, Mother of God, the Beati (the Blesseds), the saints, and the Holy Souls in Purgatory; however, there needs to be an unquestioning understanding that there is a critical differentiation between God’s impeccability and that of Mary’s, the saints, the Beati, and the holy souls.
Jesus could not have sinned because He is God and sin is inconsistent with God’s Nature. It is therefore impossible for God to sin. Mary did not sin (although sinfulness is intrinsic to her human nature) because she was “full of grace” as a result of The Immaculate Conception, and also by the divine privilege of never having experienced “the motions of concupiscence”, as defined in The Catholic Encyclopedia (The Blessed Virgin Mary). That said, believing in the Marian grace of impeccability, in the sense that Mary possessed an inability to sin, as did God, is farcical and idolatrous; whereas, Mary, in truth, as a natural human being, had the ability to sin but did not will to do so; she cooperated with her God-given grace to remain pure, and she chose to love God wholly, with every single fiber of her being.
And what is papal infallibility and what is it not? Papal infallibility guarantees freedom from error when the pope speaks ex cathedra[20] (from the seat of Peter) on matters of faith and morals, which are binding upon the people. All dogmas have been previously divinely revealed; the Church does not arbitrarily create new truths. Infallibility is not impeccability, nor is it inspiration. Infallibility does not guarantee the personal holiness or salvation of the pontiff. And finally, the gift of infallibility never depends on the merits or demerits of the individual pope or even the fallible arguments which support the teachings. Only the teaching itself is protected by Christ’s promise.
The first 31 popes were martyrs for the Faith as were the 60th pope, St. Silverius and the 76th pope, St. Martin. Of the first 60 popes, 58 were declared Saints.
[1] 2 Tim 2:2.
[2] 1 Tim 3:1-2; Ti 1:7-9.
[3] Ti 1:6.
[4] 1 Tim 4:6, 13, 16; 3:8-9.
[5] 2 Tim 1:6; 1 Tim 4:14.
[6] 1 Tim 5:22.
[7] Defined during Session 4 of the First Dogmatic Constitution of the Church of Christ, Chapter 4: On the infallible teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff and the definition of papal infallibility.
[8] “I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
[9] 1 Timothy 3:15.
[10] Matthew 28:18-20.
[11] John 20:21.
[12] Mark 16:15-16.
[13] John 14: 16-17.
[14]Ibid. 16-13.
[15] Matthew 5:13-14.
[16] Luke 10:16.
[17] Ibid. 21:15.
[18] The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: The Gilmary Society, 1912) pp. 33 – 34.
[19] Council of Florence, H. Denzinger, Enchiridion symbolorum, ed. A. Schönmetzer, 3rd ed. Freiburg 1963] 1347.
[20] Ex Cathedra. Literally “from the throne,” this Latin expression is used to designate papal pronouncements of the greatest solemnity and authority. Teachings pronounced ex cathedra are understood to be infallible. According to Vatican I, there are four conditions that must be met for a statement to be infallible: (1) The pope speaks not as a private citizen or theologian, but as the supreme pastor of all Christians;(2) in virtue of his apostolic authority as the successor of Saint Peter; (3) in matters pertaining to faith or morals; (4) proposing something to be held by the universal church.