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Sola scriptura is the only logical answer if there is no authority on Earth that comes from God to dictate what each line means. The Catholic Church claims this authority, of course, but it obviously has not well used this authority through the centuries. What we see is a gradual decay from stage one, up to King Popes paying money for their Papal seats, and culminating today with impotent Popes who can barely even rule their own Papal Kingdom, let alone able to influence the socialist countries wherein they claim dominance. This Catholic Church has not shown itself infallible, and it has merely added on to the Bible constant doctrines that have led to the point that we now have Mary and a billion Saints who must mediate the way between us and God. They’ve been reduced to a bunch of pomp, funny hats, nice gold, but absolutely no power, but yet they expect us to worship in their churches and deify their Popes?

The Church, being Christ's own Church established in Matthew 16, is indeed infallible. Are its members and leaders infallible? Nope, just people. Contrary to popular protestant believe, the pope is not deified and the pope as a person is not infallible. Rather, in order to prevent the faithful from being led astray God ensures that certain decisions in matters of faith and morals made by the pope are correct and divinely guided. If your interested in reading more on papal infallibility, check out http://www.catholicbible101.com/papalinfallibility.htm.

Another sticking point, the saints. Just as you can ask friends to pray for you, you can ask the saints to pray for you as well. This does not constitute speaking with the dead as banned in the bible for several reasons. One, Luke 20:36, NIV. "And they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection." Those that die in God's friendship aren't dead, they can't die. They're more alive than you and me.

Another, Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10, NIV. "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun… Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." Those who are already dead (the unfaithful) will have no working or planning or knowledge or wisdom. But by stating that the unfaithful will not have those things, it seems pretty strongly suggested that those who are alive, the faithful, WILL have those things.

Finally, the Church (and Christianity in general) is facing a lot of trouble from secular powers, but didn't Jesus say that the faithful will be persecuted for His sake? That the powers that be are trying to reduce the influence of the Church is right in line with what Jesus told us would happen.