|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 6
This was how the question stood until 1870. But it stands in that
position no longer; for the Church has now spoken--_Roma locuta est,
causa finita_. Hence, no Catholic can now deny or call into question
the great prerogative of the Vicar of Christ, without suffering
shipwreck of the faith. At the Vatican Council, Pope Pius IX. and the
Archbishops and Bishops of the entire Catholic world were gathered
together in Rome, and after earnest prayer and prolonged discussion,
they declared that the prerogative of infallibility, which is the very
source of Catholic unity, and the very secret of Catholic strength,
resides in the individual Pope who happens, at the time, to occupy the
Papal chair, and that when he speaks _ex cathedr�_, his definitions
are infallibly true, and consonant with Catholic revelation, even
before they have been accepted by the hierarchy throughout the world.
But here it must be borne in mind that the Pope speaks _ex cathedr�_,
that is to say, infallibly, only when he speaks:--
1. As the Universal Teacher.
2. In the name and with the authority of the Apostles.
3. On a point of Faith or Morals.
4. With the purpose of binding every member of the Church to
accept and believe his decision.
Thus it is clearly seen that from the year 1870 the dogma of _Papal_,
in contra-distinction to _ecclesiastical_ infallibility, has been
defined and raised to an article of faith, the denial of which is
heresy.
The doctrine is at once new and yet not new. It is new in the sense
that up to the time of the Vatican Council it had never been actually
drawn out of the premises that contained it, and set forth before the
faithful in a formal definition. On the other hand, it is not new, but
as old as Christianity, in the sense that it was always contained
implicitly in the deposit of faith. Any body of truth that is living
grows, and unfolds and becomes more clearly understood and more
thoroughly grasped, as time wears on. The entire books of Euclid are
after all but the outcome of a few axioms and accepted definitions.
These axioms help us to build up certain propositions. And one
proposition, when established, leads to another, till at last we seem
to have unearthed statements entirely new and original. Yet, they are
certainly not really new, for had they not been all along contained
implicitly in the few initial facts, it is quite clear they could
never have been evolved from them. _Nemo dat, quod non habet._
Hence Papal Infallibility is not so much a new truth, or an "addition
to the Faith," as some heretics would foolishly try to persuade us,
as a clearer expression and a more exact and detailed presentation of
what was taught from the beginning.
It is here that the well-known historian, D�llinger, who rejected the
definition, proved himself to be not only a proud rebel but also a
very poor logician. Until 1870, he was a practising Catholic, and,
therefore, like every other Catholic, he, of course, admitted that the
Pope and the Bishops, speaking collectively, were divinely supported
and safeguarded from error, when they enunciated to the world any
doctrine touching faith or morals. Yet, when the Pope and the Bishops,
assembled at the Vatican, did so speak collectively, and did
conjointly issue the decree of Papal Infallibility, he proceeded to
eat his own words, refused to abide by their decision, and was
deservedly turned out of the Church of God: being excommunicated by
the Archbishop of Munich on the 17th of April, 1871, in virtue of the
instructions given by Our Divine Lord Himself, _viz._: "If he will not
hear the Church (cast him out, _i.e._), let him be to thee as the
heathen and publican" (Matt. xviii. 17). He, and the few misguided men
that followed him in his rebellion, and called themselves Old
Catholics, had been quite ready to believe that the Pope, with the
Bishops, when speaking as one body, were Infallible. In fact, if they
had not believed that, they never could have been Catholics at any
time. But they did not seem to realise the sufficiently obvious fact
that, whether they will it or not, and whether they advert to it or
not, it is utterly impossible now to deny the Infallibility of the
Pope personally and alone, without at the same time denying the
Infallibility of the "Pope and the Bishops collectively," for the
simple reason that it is precisely the "Pope and the Bishops
collectively" who have solemnly and in open session declared that the
Pope enjoys the prerogative of Infallibility in his own individual
person. Since the Vatican Council, one is forced by the strict
requirements of sound reason to believe, either that the Pope is
Infallible, or else that there is no Infallibility in the Church at
all, and that there never had been.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|