So what if it was debated?
It was established in the First Vatican Council of 1869–1870, (from the church that never changes and is the same one Jesus established. /s)
“So what if it was debated?”
Exactly, so what?
“It was established in the First Vatican Council of 1869–1870,”
No. It was defined. There’s a difference.
“(from the church that never changes and is the same one Jesus established. /s)”
The Faith never changes. The Church makes changes to itself when necessary - as we see in scripture. Creation of the diaconate, for instance.
If it was considered debatable in the 13th century, it must not have been established.
If “the blues brothers” movie has taught me anything, it’s that Catholics and Protestants can find common moral planes to cooperate and resist tyranny.
Of course popes aren’t infallible on any level. But he must be the leader of the catholic faith without question, so he has to be right by definition. This was needed in the aftermath of the protestant reformation be cause the pope could no longer claim political leadership of the civilized world. It was to beef up his credentials when Rome lost political control so the catholic faithful would not question his authority as had become routine for developing democracies. Catholicism can’t survive as a democracy. So he needed to be perceived by the rank and file as not subject to their griping.