[Catholicguy]

While not everything the Pope decides is infallible, his authority is supreme.

I was defending the Pope. I share his views - a rare thing these days, it seems

[narses]

HH is quite capable of defending himself, I'm sure. He is clearly a great man, but also clearly not in full control of the Curia. Cardinal Ratzinger did his level best to prevent the modernist if not heretical Bishops from Germany from being elevated, he failed. JPII is trying, in the waning days of his Papacy, to reassert pastoral control. It isn't easy, and having the likes of Kasper in control of major prefectures doesn't make his burden light.

[narses]

And the authority of the Pope is neither unlimited nor supreme. In some matters he has ultimate authority, not in all matters. And in practice (witness the German abortion situation or the wreckovatiion Weakland presided over) his actual authority is even less than it ought to be.