[phatus maximus]

Respectfully...please help me understand when the Pope is NOT speaking on Faith and Morals...It would seem that anytime he speaks to what the faithful are to believe he is speaking to Faith or Morals...therefore he has to be"infalliable" virtually all the time. I am not asking to be incindiary but rather to understand this concept...thanks.

[lastchance]

Phatus. http://www.rtforum.org/lt/lt43.html

This link is to a rather long article about Papal Infallibility. It does take a bit to wade through but may give you some insight to the definition. The article is structured to conclude that the Papal Encyclical Humanae Vitae meets the criteria for being considered infallible. An issue that is still debated by theologians within the Catholic Church.

God Bless.

[Campion]

please help me understand when the Pope is NOT speaking on Faith and Morals...It would seem that anytime he speaks to what the faithful are to believe he is speaking to Faith or Morals...therefore he has to be"infalliable" virtually all the time.

There are four requirements for an infallible teaching:

1. The Pope must be exercising his supreme authority as earthly head of the Church. (Usually, he teaches as a private doctor or as the bishop of Rome.)
2. The teaching must be addressed to the whole church.
3. It must seek to definitively (not speculatively) teach some doctrine
4. And that doctrine must concern faith and morals.

Conditions 1 and 2 are met rarely; condition 3 is met almost never.