Posted on 02/18/2007 3:02:35 PM PST by NYer
Imperfection is certainly not something the Catholic Church is exempt from. We have some real stunners among our past Popes, believe me. Reading about them is enough to make you wonder that there is even one stone left upon stone in Rome!
However, the leadership of the Pope is a little different, because Catholics don't regard him as speaking for himself in those VERY rare situations where he issues a binding statement on doctrine. That is, it has to be something that is supported by the constant doctrine of the Church, or, in the case of some things such as the Immaculate Conception, believed by the faithful since the beginning. All the Pope is really doing in these cases is stating the belief of the Church, not something he has come up with on his own. For example, in the encyclical Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI adhered to the long-standing doctrine of the Church in opposing artificial contraception, because to do otherwise would have been substituting his opinion (or actually, that of a group of "experts") for long-held Catholic moral teaching.
As for his leadership in other ways, no one is obligated to accept what he says as his private opinion, and Catholics are definitely free to disagree with him. But the important thing is that they are never free to disagree with the established doctrine of the Church, but only to examine it and perhaps develop their own insight into it. Hope this clarifies a bit!
Thanks for the explaination. I've always wondered about the meaning of this term in the context of the FR forum.
What do you think I meant when I said, "You believe that God has protected your church from that kind of error, that the men leading your church are prevented from committing it."?
In my study of the origins of Christianity, I have found it a historical fact that there is no older form of Christian Church on earth than Catholicism (and perhaps the Eastern Orthodox Chuch).
If a person disagrees with the Church and leaves in protest as you say, then all of Christianity crumbles. Jesus would be a liar if the Church ever became so corrupt that it would be better to leave her. He said the powers of hell would not prevail against his church.
The earliest of Christians celebrated the Eucharist, believed in the primacy of the bishop of Rome, the sacrament of reconciliation, etc. To leave this Church is to leave the only church that is ONE. The holy spirit would interpret the teachings of scripture in one way, through one faith. It was also the Catholic councils that put together the cannon of the New Testament. If the church is not infallible, then the Bible would not be infallible.
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