Because we know that it does. We don't have to second-guess the Holy Spirit working through the Pope, unlike our brothers who rely on their own intellect to decide for themselves what is Christian beliefs, not knowing for sure if their interpretation is God's meaning.
Regards
JK: Because we know that it does. We don't have to second-guess the Holy Spirit working through the Pope, unlike our brothers who rely on their own intellect to decide for themselves what is Christian beliefs, not knowing for sure if their interpretation is God's meaning.
Well, actually, the Catholic Church encourages us to read and to question and to read the questions that have been asked before and the thoughts of the various Church fathers on things. Say, you wonder why we believe in the Trinity (it's not directly visible in the scriptures) and you do not read the early Church ponderings on this, you could then become a Unitarian.
I've read up on the Bible and some Church fathers -- many debating points here and there and guess what -- the Church is right on the matters. Why is it right? Because God leads His Church. Yes, individuals can make mistakes -- if God explains to me His entire majesty, I would NOT be able to comprehend all of it -- thanks to God I may understand a teensy-weensy bit. Take that as the "bible only" groups comprehension. But God's teaching THROUGH HIS SON and through the thousands of souls in The Church is that much infallible.
Individual interpretation, even those inspired by the Holy Spirit can help us only so far -- due to our own (and not God's) limitations. He could control us and use us just a megaphones with us not comprehending anything but He doesn't -- for some reason, He respects His creation -- I don't know why, but He does.
IMO, this is not sound practice. If your church has had heretical popes in its history, who is to say your current pope couln't be heretical? I am not saying he is at all. I am simply asking why do you blindly trust any man simply because of the title bestowed upon him when history records those bearing the same title have been blatantly out of line with scriptural teaching?