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To: ndkos

"If the Pope makes mistakes in matters of faith and morals when he speaks as head of the Church than he is not infallable, Vatican I was not a valid ecumenical council, and Christ is a liar."

This is another statement by you that makes no sense. Do you think popes cannot make mistakes? Of course they can--and they do, very often. A pope is only divinely protected from error when he speaks EX CATHEDRA on faith and morals--which is very rare. A Pope must intend what he says for the universal Church, and as far as I know, this Pope has never so spoken, except in encyclicals--and even here, he is infallible only when he repeats a universally held teaching of the Church. Novel ideas are never protected in any way. Here is how Vatican I defined the matter:

"For the Holy Spirit was not promised to the successors of Peter that by His revelation they might disclose new doctrine, but that by His help they might guard the revelation transmitted through the apostles and the deposit of faith."

In other words, when the Pope introduces new ideas--he is not infallible and what he says may very well be mistaken. Such doctrines therefore cannot be binding. The charism of infallibility is given only to GUARD what has already been transmitted, passed down from the apostles--in other words, by means of Sacred Tradition, something this Pope shows little interest in protecting.


336 posted on 02/23/2005 6:05:48 PM PST by ultima ratio
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To: ultima ratio

Hasnt Papal Infallibility been used once since Vatican I: Dogma of the Assumption?


337 posted on 02/23/2005 6:21:28 PM PST by CouncilofTrent (Quo Primum...)
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