Papal Infallibility

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In the Catholic Church , the Pope's infallibility (infallibility, Latin infallibilitas ) is a quality which - according to the teaching of the First Vatican Council (1870) under Pope Pius IX. - The Roman bishop (Pope) is entitled to when he proclaims a question of faith or morals as finally decided in his office as “teacher of all Christians” ( ex cathedra ) .

The Second Vatican Council in 1964 also declared infallibility to the whole of the faithful: "The whole of the faithful who have the anointing of the Holy One cannot err in their faith."

The Pope as successor to the Apostle Peter and Bishop of Rome at the helm of the church

history

Pope Pius IX and the bishops at the 1st Vatican Council (lithograph from 1870)

From the beginning, the debate about papal infallibility determined the First Vatican Council, which met from December 8, 1869, and divided the Council Fathers into two camps. The opponents included almost the entire German-Austrian episcopate and part of the French college of bishops. The majority of the Council succeeded in excluding the opponents of the dogma of infallibility from the most important commission for this question, the Commission Deputatio Fidei. In order not to have to vote against the document, around 60 bishops left the city before the final vote on July 18, 1870.

The discussion about papal infallibility did not end with the vote, however, but it was now dogma , the absolute binding nature of which one had to adhere to. The Old Catholics , who did not want to recognize the dogma, split off . After this session the council was supposed to continue, but the Pope had granted a leave of absence until November 11, 1870, which all but 100 bishops made use of. The De Sede Episcopali vacante scheme (on the Sedis vacancy ) was negotiated in two general congregations .

The Jesuit Josef Kleutgen, who teaches at the Gregorian , played a key role in the work on creating the text . The canon lawyer Cardinal Mertel recommended the precise formulation of the case in connection with the drafting of the text and added: "It is not acceptable that everything that popes have done and said is considered dogma."

Basics and definitions

The basis of theologically founded infallibility is not man here, but God , who gives a man infallibility for certain reasons. According to this opinion, an almighty God can make a person infallible. According to Roman Catholic faith, Christ promised his church that the Holy Spirit would teach and sustain it in the truth ( Jn 16:13  EU ), and in it established the office of bishop and priest for the service of unity in truth ( Mt 16 , 18  EU ). Therefore, certain decisions of a council or of the Pope as successor to the Apostle Peter are considered infallible. The Catholic Church believes that since the biblical texts written by people are at the same time the infallible word of God, that God continues to enable people in certain officially verifiable cases (bishops, pope) to make infallible statements. On the other hand, an unaffiliated, infallible charisma of the Catholic Church is unknown. For this reason alone, according to the Catholic view, the establishment of new denominations cannot be error-free.

The ecclesiastical, spiritual infallibility relates only to doctrinal decisions proclaimed as final (irrevocable) in questions of faith or morals. She became Pastor Aeternus with the dogmatic constitution at the First Vatican Council on July 18, 1870 under Pope Pius IX. proclaimed itself as an (infallible) belief. The definition is:

“For the glory of God, our Savior, for the exaltation of the Catholic religion, for the salvation of the Christian peoples, we finally teach and declare as a belief revealed by God, in faithful connection to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith, with the consent of the Holy Council: If the Roman Pope speaks with the highest power of teaching (ex cathedra) , that is: if he finally decides in his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians in the highest apostolic authority that a doctrine about faith or morals is to be retained by the whole Church, then he has because of the divine assistance promised to him in St. Peter, that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer wanted his church to be endowed in making final decisions in doctrine of the faith and morals. These final decisions of the Roman Pope are, therefore, of their own accord and not due to the consent of the Church, irreversible. If someone - which God forbid - should take out to contradict our final decision, he would be excluded. "

Only if a belief is declared to be a dogma in all its form ( ex cathedra ) , it is considered binding and error-free. However, only those beliefs can be declared to be “to be held fast” to dogma that are not in contradiction to the Bible and the apostolic tradition as they are believed in the Catholic Church ( sensus fidei ) . The intention of papal infallibility is that the Pope has the “last word” in a dispute within the Church. The dogma of infallibility must not be interpreted as a license for arbitrary inventions.

Only the dogmatic statement which is introduced with the formula definimus et declaramus (or comparable formulations) is considered infallible ; there is no obligation to believe the theological and historical justifications and further explanations within the document in which a dogma is defined.

In 1854, before the Council definition, there was already a proclamation that fulfilled its conditions, namely that of the "Immaculate Conception of Mary" . The Roman Catholic Church participates in the dogma insofar as it dispels doubts about faith , according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church of 1992, § 889:

"In order to keep the church in the purity of the faith handed down by the apostles, Christ, who is the truth, wanted his church to share in his own infallibility."

Since the First Vatican Council was broken off with the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in July 1870, the provisions on infallibility remained incomplete. Regarding the question of the infallibility of the church as a whole and its relationship to the infallibility of the Pope, as well as the need for the church to receive an outspoken dogma , there are no equally detailed provisions as there are for papal infallibility.

In Lumen Gentium, the Second Vatican Council repeated the doctrine of infallibility and integrated it into the doctrine of the college of bishops (nos. 18 and 25) and of the inerrancy of all believers (nr. 12). However, according to the Catholic understanding, the college of bishops is constituted only with and under the Pope, so that a bishop outside of communion with the Pope can only exercise incomplete authority.

Application of dogma

Compared to the controversy caused by the proclamation of the dogma in 1870, its practical importance is very little. Only once did a Pope, Pius XII. , has since made use of it when he announced the physical ascension of Mary in 1950 with the letter Munificentissimus Deus . Of the previous doctrinal acts of the popes, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary ( Pius IX. , 1854) and almost always the bull Benedictus Deus about the immediate blissful vision of the saints ( Benedict XII. , 1336) are always considered infallible.

The successor of Pius XII. , John XXIII. , even stated at the beginning of his term in office that he did not intend to make further use of the dogma. Rumor has it that the candidate for the next dogmatization of an article of faith was the Coredemptrix formula, which Mary is supposed to declare as a “ co-redeemer ” alongside Christ . However, Pope Benedict XVI spoke up . in his time as cardinal against such a dogma. In addition, such dogmatizations as the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Mary into Heaven are considered by many to be inopportune today, especially since they do not correspond to the original meaning of dogmatic definitions to bring about a binding decision in a currently highly controversial question of faith. However, Pope Paul VI proclaimed . on the occasion of the council in 1964 the Virgin Mary became the Mater Ecclesiae , the “mother of the Church”. In the opinion of Pope John Paul II , the final chapter of Lumen Gentium , which was decided at the same time, contains all essential statements about Mary, so that further dogmas that only have a more “decorative effect” are no longer to be expected.

Formations and theological discussion

Infallibility was also viewed critically within the Church and led, for example, to the separation between the Old Catholics and the Roman Catholics. For others, the definition of the First Vatican Council did not go far enough. In addition to the definition of the council, infallibility is sometimes ascribed to other legal bodies of the Roman Catholic Church. In any case, however, the elements of the definition above are considered indispensable for infallibility. Thus the doctrine presented as infallible must be (co-) proclaimed by the Pope and in the proclamation of the doctrine it must be made sufficiently clear to the infallibility of the doctrinal decision.

The Pope in general

According to the above definition of infallibility, decisions of the Pope on questions of faith are only considered infallible if he speaks ex cathedra . This means that he must designate his statement as final and binding . In addition, it is sometimes mistakenly believed that he is infallible whenever he exercises his teaching office, for example in sermons, apostolic circulars, or encyclicals . In the history of the Church there are a number of times irritating doctrines from popes who were later judged to be errors by other popes or councils. In Liberius , for example, there were ambiguous positions on Arianism , in Honorius I a "suspicious" proposal on monotheletism , in Nicholas I a baptismal formula that was considered insufficient and in John XXII. the rejection of the visio beatifica of the deceased before the resurrection of the flesh (cf. Benedictus Deus ). These doctrinal opinions were also presented in letters or as sermons and thus within the framework of the ordinary teaching post, but never with the right to decide on the matter. However, the number of unsafe cases is extremely low.

The Galileo Galilei case , which is often cited as “proof” of papal error, affects the papal office only indirectly, since the very complex matter was assessed by a subordinate body. In addition, the theological point of contention concerned the interpretation of the Bible , but not the level of scientific knowledge. In its own opinion, the papacy is not responsible for this, since scientific knowledge is never part of divine revelation.

But the Pope is not granted any definite infallibility even in exercising his ordinary teaching post. Nevertheless, a principle of trust applies beyond the narrow range of explicit definitions. What the Church teaches uninterruptedly in broad continuity, the believer can essentially rely on. Regarding the controversial encyclical Humanae vitae , a growing number of moral theological experts say that those who follow this papal affirmation of the traditional image of marriage do not sin. However, the ecclesiastical teaching office has not yet issued any explicit definitions of moral doctrine. It is generally assumed that the bishops or the Pope, in the exercise of the ordinary magisterium, proclaim the true doctrine of Christ. At best, this does not apply to known heretics . The Pope is also not free from sin, which is why he makes confession like other believers .

At a meeting in the diocese of Aosta on July 25, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI expressed himself . on infallibility with the words: "... but I would also like to say that the Pope is not an oracle and - as we know - is infallible only in the rarest cases."

Bishops

Occasionally, individual bishops or specific bishops' assemblies are awarded infallibility. However, in church history, opinions were taught by both individual bishops and colleges of bishops that were later rejected by the church as heresy. An example are the resolutions of the Council of Ephesus of Ephesus in 449 (“the robber synod ”), which were rejected and rejected by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 . For this reason, individual bishops and synods of bishops are not granted infallibility. The bishops in general and in their collegial body are admittedly infallible (and this infallibility is theoretically different from that of the Pope), but this only applies to the actual college of bishops, which contains the Pope as head (exercised in the councils and in general Ordinary teaching post, see below), not for the “college of bishops” without a pope, from which the bishop of Rome was thus arbitrarily excluded. Even the college of bishops cannot claim infallibility against the opinion of the Pope.

Councils

According to Catholic teaching, councils are infallible when they designate a teaching as final and binding and when the Pope approves the respective document. However, the infallibility does not apply to all Council texts, but only to the passages that are sufficiently marked as infallible. It is interesting that the Pope can dogmatize beliefs without the consent of a council (with the help of his own infallibility), but the council only in unity with the Pope (with the help of the infallibility of the college of bishops); thus the consent of a council to a dogma is not required. Of course, as a rule it can be assumed that the Pope will act in harmony with the college of bishops in his area too; Thus the two papal dogmas of 1854 and 1950 were preceded by a formal consultation of the college of bishops (by encyclical ), and these doctrinal acts enjoyed the approval of the great majority of the bishops.

Council texts in general are not considered to be infallible definitions. Furthermore, given the large number of published Council texts, it is considered presumptuous to regard all texts as infallible. The dogmatization of extensive treatises would lead to uncertainty of belief rather than to a more precise definition of belief, especially if the respective text allows more than one interpretation. Therefore, in many Council documents (for example in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ of the First Vatican Council) it was precisely specified which paragraphs are infallible. In addition, the beliefs that are proclaimed to be dogmatically binding are formulated particularly succinctly in order to reduce the scope for interpretation. In any case, the rejection of false statements of faith associated with anathema are considered infallible .

The great majority of the doctrinal material handed down with the characteristic of infallibility comes from councils.

The Second Vatican Council refrained from proclaiming new beliefs and classifying them as dogmatic, final or binding. Formulations such as “we solemnly declare”, “we teach definitively” are missing. Pope John XXIII expressed this by calling the council as pastoral (as opposed to definitive ). Since the Council Fathers, on the other hand, were aware of the relevant theological arguments and formal questions on infallibility, it is assumed that they deliberately refrained from dogmatizing individual statements. Nevertheless, the essential statements of Vatican II apply as binding teaching of the church, which moreover dealt with its own structure and task in detail for the first time at this council.

General and regular teaching post

The "totality of the bishops is infallible if they [...] present a doctrine of faith or morals scattered across the globe as a truth to be retained by all believers." In any case, this requires a practical unanimity that includes the Pope. The difficulty of being able to determine such a teaching act leads to a less significant importance of this kind of infallible teaching today, especially since (compared to the early Church, for example) the clarification of disputes through councils and papal dogmas is far advanced. (The Catholic Encyclopedia commented: "Hence, for practical purposes and in so far as the special question of infallibility is concerned, we may neglect the so called magisterium ordinarium .") But more recently the question of the ordination of women priests has been decided by the Pope officially established the existence of such an infallible doctrine ( Ordinatio sacerdotalis ; previously there was evidence of the factuality of this tradition, inter alia, in Inter insigniores ).

General belief and tradition

In general, the Catholic Church assumes that all the faith revealed by God in Jesus Christ (also called depositum fidei ) has existed since the early Church (conclusion of Revelation), insofar as it is necessary for the Church. It also assumes that the revelation, complete at the end of apostolic times, was falsified by error for a limited time and place, but was generally reliably passed on by church tradition. A distinction must be made between the essential content of faith and the time-bound forms of expression. The criterion of the distinction is entrusted to the ecclesiastical magisterium, Pope and bishops, but not to individual bishops or theologians. Consequences of belief, even if their understanding is capable of development, must not essentially contradict what has been believed by the church “always and everywhere”. This means that the belief in question is also true regardless of a dogmatization, that only the church had not given a final judgment on it.

Occasionally the inerrancy of divine revelation, in the ecclesiastical tradition of the word of God itself, is confused or equated with papal infallibility. Here, however, the papal infallibility relates to the papal judgment as to which contents of faith correspond to divine revelation, but which statements are falsifications. The papacy has deliberately left almost all controversial issues of the theological schools open so far, even in the case of the Assumption of Mary into heaven (defined in 1950) the question of whether the mother of Jesus died before she was taken to heaven body and soul. This restraint in the use of office urges us not to understand the papacy “downwards” from the claim to infallibility, but “upwards” from its daily mission in the life of the Church.

criticism

The Catholic church historian Hubert Wolf subjects the dogma to historical consideration and quotes the dogmatist Johannes Evangelist von Kuhn with the question “Is it possible to consider something untrue until July 18 [1870] and from then on to be true?” He illustrates the problem facing Pope Honorius I , who was condemned as a heretic by the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (680/681).

In March 2016, the theologian Hans Küng called for a review of the infallibility dogma in an open letter to Pope Francis . He sees the "infallibility ideology" "blocked all reforms since the Second Vatican Council that would have required a revision of earlier dogmatic determinations". A real renewal of the church is only possible through a free, serious discussion of infallibility. Issues such as the understanding between the denominations, the mutual recognition of offices and the Lord's Supper , questions of divorce , ordination of women and celibacy as well as the “catastrophic shortage of priests ” could not be solved otherwise. In his answer, Pope welcomed Kung's attempt to enable a free discussion of the infallibility claim that had been in force since 1870.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ General Church Assembly in the Vatican, 4th Session (1870): Doctrinal Decision on the Church of Christ, Chapter 4. The infallible magisterium of the Roman Pope .
  2. ↑ Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium No. 12. [1]
  3. ↑ This is Leo XIII. at the helm of God's Church. After a painting by the painter Friedrich Stummel in the pilgrimage church of Kevelaer . The Catholic Missions, Freiburg im Breisgau, September 1903.
  4. ↑ see for example: Berlin lay address (1869)
  5. ↑ Hubert Wolf : The nuns of Sant'Ambrogio. A true story. CH Beck, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-406-64522-8 .
  6. ↑ See belief 388 on pages 234 and 235 in: Josef Neuner SJ, Heinrich Roos SJ: The faith of the church in the documents of the doctrinal proclamation. Fourth improved edition, published by Karl Rahner SJ Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1954, imprimatur June 27, 1949.
  7. ^ Hubert Jedin: Small Council History. Herder, Freiburg 1978, pp. 124-126.
  8. ↑ Pepper, Curtis Bill: Once a week the Pope confesses: Life in the Vatican. Der Spiegel, September 16, 1968.
  9. ↑ The Pope is not an oracle ... In: kath.net - Katholische Nachrichten. August 24, 2005, accessed February 11, 2013 .
  10. ^ Hubert Jedin: Small Council History. Herder, Freiburg 1978, pp. 27-28.
  11. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church. Compendium. Pattloch, Munich 2005, p. 78 (No. 185).
  12. ↑ So blessed John Henry Newman , see: Adrian Lüchinger: Papal Infallibility with Henry Edward Manning and John Henry Newman. Academic Press Friborg 2001, p. 261.
    Note: Some of these, e.g. B. Canon 9 on the Eucharist, Council of Trent, forbid a certain ecclesiastical law that was in force at the time of dogmatization and which is often still valid today, to be regarded as non-binding. This then does not mean in each case that the lawgiver, that is, the church, cannot repeal the law again; nor does it mean that whoever fails to observe the law is a heretic as well as a sinner.
  13. ↑ Ludwig Ott: Grundriß der Dogmatik .
  14. ↑ Entry: Infallibility.
  15. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church. Compendium. Pattloch, Munich 2005, p. 27 (No. 9).
  16. ↑ Hubert Wolf: Crypt. Suppressed Traditions of Church History. CH Beck, Munich 2015, p. 75 ff.
  17. ↑ The error of infallibility , Hans Küng in Süddeutsche Zeitung
  18. ↑ domradio on the Pope's answer

literature

  • Hans Küng : Infallible? An unfinished business. Extended new edition. Piper, Munich a. a. 1989, ISBN 3-492-11016-9 ( Piper 1016 series ), (extended reissue of Infallible? A request ).
  • August Bernhard Hasler: How the Pope became infallible. Power and impotence of dogma . With a foreword by Hans Küng. 2nd Edition. Piper, Munich a. a. 1980, ISBN 3-492-02450-5 .
  • Georgios Metallinos : About the “infallibility” of the Pope. Story of a dogma. Edition Hagia Sophia, Wachtendonk 2011, ISBN 978-3-937129-72-3 .
  • Hubert Wolf : The infallible. Pius IX and the invention of Catholicism in the 19th century . CH Beck, Munich 2020, ISBN 978-3-406-75575-0 .

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