What is Papal
Infallibility?
When you look at the Vatican flag, you will notice that the two
symbols of the papacy are clearly evident in front of the white background.
On top is the papal tiara. It was never used for liturgy but was
worn in civic ceremonies by the pope. It is shaped like a beehive and
contains three crowns symbolizing the authority of Christ the Priest, Prophet,
and King. (Pope Paul VI retired the papal tiara after Vatican II.)
Below the papal tiara is the more prominent image: the two keys. One is
gold to represent the pope’s authority that comes from heaven, and one is
silver to represent the pope’s authority over the faithful on earth.
While the “keys” are certainly metaphors for spiritual and ecclesiastical
authority, they are not something the Catholic Church invented to justify
having a human leader. On the contrary, the keys are given by Christ
Himself — and not to all the apostles, but to Simon Peter alone (Mt
16:19). Just as the Church is to exist until the end of time, St. Peter’s
primacy was not to end at his death but rather to extend to all his successors
until the glorious return of Christ. This is the basis of the Church’s
teaching of Papal Infallibility.
There are a lot of misunderstandings about Papal Infallibility.
A common misunderstanding about Papal Infallibility is that it
means a pope is unable to sin, that is, that the pope is impeccable.
Well, all you need to do is look at an account of some of the lives of
Renaissance popes and you will realize that popes do, indeed, sin (and
sometimes gravely). So, if Papal Infallibility does
not mean that popes are perfect, what does it mean?
Papal Infallibility denotes that when a pope teaches solemnly ex
cathedra — “from the chair” — on matters pertaining to faith and
morals, he is protected by the Holy Spirit from teaching error (CCC 891).
The source of this teaching is not human but divine. In the first reading
(Is 22:19-23), we hear about the “Key of the House of David.” This “key”
refers to the power that will be given to the Son of David, to the Christ
(Messiah) Himself. But in the gospel reading, we hear how Jesus Christ
deliberately decides to give the “Keys of the Kingdom” (a metaphor for divine
authority) to Simon Peter. Yes, the Keys of the Kingdom belong rightfully
to Christ, but He freely chooses to give them to His vicars on earth — the
popes, the successors of St. Peter.
Having had “bad popes” does not mean that Papal Infallibility
has been proven wrong or that it is merely a human invention. Rather, we
see Christ’s power through the papacy — even in sinful popes and
sinful church leaders — because if the Catholic Church was merely a human
institution, it would have failed centuries ago. But it has
remained. Governments and nations have risen and fallen, but the Church
still stands and continues to grow! God’s power is greater than human
weakness. Christ promises us that the gates of hell will not prevail
against His Church. He does not say the gates of hell will not touch His
Church, but only that they will not prevail against His Church
(Mt 16:18). As Catholic Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ remains
faithful to His promise, that He has not abandoned His Church — He never has
and He never will. He has raised up great saints to lead His holy Church
like Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope St. Gregory the Great, and Pope St. John Paul
II (truly a “Great” of our times) to name a few. These popes, in their
lives and in their teachings, lead us to affirm with St. Peter that Jesus is
truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, and the gates of hell will not
prevail against His holy Church.
No comments:
Post a Comment