“2. The Pope is not king.”
Actually, the pope is the last absolute monarch in Europe.
If he tells the Swiss Guard to cut off your head, they will do it.
But only in Vatican city, of course.
You must run very fast, grasshopper.
Hogwash. Childish hogwash.
The Pope’s infallibility is limited to matters of doctrine:
- The Pope must teach as supreme doctor (teacher) of the whole world.
- The Pope must be defining a doctrine of faith or morals.
- You can recognize a statement of infallibility if it begins with something like: We declare, We define, or We pronounce
If it is missing any of these, then the Pope is not speaking “ex cathedra” and his statement is not infallible. The Pope doesn’t get to do whatever he wants to do.
The Swiss Guard would probably pull out his cell phone and call for reinforcements while he arrested the decapitation-advocate for impersonating a pope.