Papal Infallibility

Infallibility is often confused with impeccability.  Impeccability is the inability to sin while infallibility (according to Catholic doctrine) is the inability to make an error in matters of faith and morals.  The Pope is infallible.  However, he is only infallible in matters of faith and morals.  Outside faith and morals, the Pope can err.  This, of course, does not mean that the Pope cannot sin. The Pope can indeed sin; therefore, he attends confessions many times.  However, in matters of faith and morals, the Pope is infallible.  In other words, there are no errors in the doctrines and catechisms of the Catholic Church nor in the Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church despite the sins of the Pope and bishops.

The doctrine of infallibility is not a new one and goes back to Early Christianity.  According to Catholic Answers on infallibility: Christ instructed the Church to preach everything he taught (Matt. 28:19-20) and promised the protection of the Holy Spirit to "guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13).  That mandate and that promise guarantee the Church will never fall away from his teachings (Matt. 16:18, 1 Tim. 3:15), even if individual Catholics might.

It is the infallible Holy Spirit who uses fallible man to teach infallibly. The Holy Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit can speak through His bishops and priests (the bold is my emphasis). 

Mark 13:11   “But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditatefn what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

Catholic Answers gives a more thorough explanation on infallibility in their website: 

Papal Infallibility

There are only two doctrines that the Pope has spoken in ex cathedra (from the chair of Peter); therefore, these two are declared "infallible."  The first to be declared in ex cathedra was the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX in 1854.  The second was the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Pope Pius XII in 1950.  

 

God's Choice

St. Peter was chosen as the leader of the Apostles.  His role as leader is well documented not only in Sacred Scripture but also in the writings of the Church Fathers.  In the Holy Bible, where the list of Apostles are found, Peter is always named first even when the list are not in the same order (See Matthew 10:2-4, Luke 6:13-16, and Acts 1:3).  It was Peter and only Peter who received the key of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 16:19).  Christ gave Peter the key, which symbolized "authority."  It was also Peter and only Peter whom Christ entrusted to take care of his entire flock (John 21:14-17). 

Personally, if it were up to me, I would have chosen St. John because he was the only Apostle there at the foot of the cross.  I certainly would not have chosen Peter who denied Christ three times. Yet, it was Christ who chose the denier to be His representative. This was God's choice.  My choice is not the choice of God.  And sometimes, even our will is not God's will.  

God chooses the weak, the most humblest, the poor, the handicap, and even the worst sinner to be His disciples.  Of all the nations of the earth, God chose Israel as His chosen people.  The people of Israel were slaves, and slaves were the poorest of the poor.  But from this group of slaves, God turned them into the great nation of Israel.  Only God is capable of such a feat.....to turn a group of slaves into the nation of Israel. 

God chose Moses who had a speech impediment  (Exodus 4:10) and made him a spokesperson for Israel and to lead His people out from slavery in Egypt. Only God can take a person who is very slow in speech and turn him into a spokesperson.  If it were up to me, I would have chosen someone who was eloquent in speech.  But my choice is not God's choice. 

God chose David, a young shepherd boy with no military skills, to defeat Goliath who was a giant soldier with military skills.  Again, only God can take a shepherd boy and turn him into a warrior and a king, which is what He did. 

God chose Abraham and his barren wife Sarah.  Abraham was very old and had no children.  Yet, God made Abraham the father of many nations, and transformed Sarah's dead womb into vitalness so that she was able to bear Isaac. 

God chose a woman to conquer Israel's enemy (Judith 13:12-16:20) and even chose a pagan, Cyrus a Persian King, to lead Israel (Isaiah 45:1).  God's plan for His people is not subject to the vagaries of man's choices.  In fact, often the opposite is true.  God leads people to obedience to Him and works through people to accomplish His purposes. 

Christ had many disciples or followers.  However, out of those many disciples, He only chose 12 Apostles.  Most likely, those 12 were the worst among the entire group. 

Then there was the Apostle Paul, who was a Pharisee and persecutor of Christians.  He became one of God's chosen ones.  God converted Paul's heart that he no longer became a persecutor of Christ and His Church.  Only God has the power to turn a sinner into a saint.   

God chooses the weak, the poor, the most humblest, the handicap, and the worst sinner so that He could manifest His power through their weakness.  If a strong person were chosen, people can easily say that it was the strength of that strong person who defeated Goliath rather than the strength of God.  If an eloquent speaker was chosen as a spokesperson instead of a stutterer, people could easily dismiss the power of God and say that it was because the person was so articulate that he is able to be an excellent spokesperson.  

Our choices are not the same as God's choice.  And our will may also not be the same as God's will for us.  Some of us may believe that we are following God's will when in fact we are simply following our own will.  Therefore, it is always important to pray and discern God's will for us.   

The Primacy of Peter

In my last post, I showed that Peter was chosen to be the leader of the Apostles.  Among His many disciples, Christ chose 12 men.  And among the twelve, He chose St. Peter to be the leader.  It was on the man "Peter" whom Christ would build His Church on. 

Matthew 16:18  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 

Our Christian brothers would often say that it is not on Peter that Christ would build His Church because the Greek name for "Peter" is not the same as the Greek name for "rock."  The fallacy of this argument is that Christ never spoke Greek.  He spoke Aramaic.  The Aramaic name for "Peter" is Cephas which is the same Aramaic name for "Rock."  So, essentially Jesus was saying, "You are Cephas, and on this cephas, I will build my Church...." By giving him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, Christ was giving him "authority".  It was also St. Peter and only St. Peter whom Christ entrusted him to take care of his entire flock (John 21:15-17).  

Sacred Tradition as well as the writings of the Church Fathers confirmed that the Apostle Peter was in Rome at the time of his death.  The scriptural evidence showing Peter in Rome was 1 Peter 5:13.  The word Babylon was a code name for Rome.  Peter wrote this epistle before he was crucified upside down. 

After Peter's death, the person who became the next Bishop of Rome was St. Linus.  The Catholic Church is able to trace her lineage through the line of succession.  Some of our Christian brothers argue that the Apostles did not carry any line of succession.  Christ's ministry did not cease with the death of the Apostles.  It continued on in their successors for it was impossible for only a few men to spread the Gospels to the entire world.  Evidence of a line of succession is also found in the Acts of the Apostles.  In order for Judas' ministry to continue, another person had to be chosen to take his place.  This was the line of succession that continues on today.  The Catholic Church is able to trace her lineage to the Apostle Peter.  The Eastern Orthodox Church can also trace her lineage to an Apostle of Christ, but is through Peter whom Christ build His Church on.  In other words, all other churches built by an Apostle through Christ must be in union with The Church of Rome.  The Eastern Catholics, for example, are in communion with the Pope despite that they practice the same liturgies as the Eastern Orthodox Church.    

Acts 1:15-21  In those days, Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, "Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.  He was one of our number and shared in our ministry."  With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.  Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.  "For," said Peter, "it is written in the Book of Psalms: "May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it, and, "Many another take his place of leadership.  Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time, the Lord Jesus was living among us.

     

The Apostle Peter

In the Holy Bible, St. Peter was viewed as the leader of the Apostles.  Signs of his leadership are the following: 

1.  Christ's selection of the twelve Apostles from among His many disciples is recorded in all the Gospels except John and also in the Acts of the Apostles (Matthew 10:2-3, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:14-6, and Acts 1:13).  In these four places the names of the twelve are given, but not in the same order.  Peter is at the head of all four lists, although he was not the first follower, nor the oldest.   Judas Isacariot is invariably mentioned last. 

2.  When Peter acknowledge Christ as the Son of God, our Lord declared that such knowledge was a revelation from God, and on account of his open confession of the truth, Christ promised to build His Church upon him, the Rock, and to entrust to him His entire household.  This was the symbolism of the keys (Matthew 16:18-19).  The keys symbolized "authority." 

3.  St. Peter is regarded by Jesus as the Chief Shepherd after Himself (John 21:15-17) over the universal Church when Christ told him to take care of his entire flock.

4.  Christ told Peter to pay the tribute for himself and Peter, indicating that Peter is Christ's representative on earth (Matthew 17:24-27).

5.  Although St. John was the first to reach the tomb of Jesus, he did not enter.  Instead, he waited for Peter and Peter entered the tomb first.  The fact that St. John waited for Peter showed that he recognized Peter as the leader who should enter the tomb of Christ first (Luke 24:12 and John 20:6). 

6.  It was Peter who called and took the lead in calling a replacement for Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:22). 

7.  Throughout the Bible, Peter was the spokesman for the Apostles and after Pentecost, he was the first to preach the Gospel (Acts 2:14-26). 

8.  Peter was the first one to baptize the Gentiles (Acts 10:9-48). 

9.  Peter was the first one to recognize heresy and excommunicate Simon Magus (Acts 8:14-24). 

10.  Peter was the one who performed the first miracle (Acts 3:6-12). 

These are only a sample showing Peter's leadership.  There are many more in the Bible. The most important one is the fact that Christ gave Peter and only Peter the keys and entrusted him into taking care of His entire household.