The Popes

Infallibility

Papal Infallibility

• There are some errors people have about Papal Infallibility: – Catholics have to believe whatever the Pope says. – If the Pope says it is raining, even if it isn’t, Catholics

have to believe it. – The Pope gets to make up the faith and add to it

whatever he wants. – The Pope is never wrong or the Pope is always right. – The Pope does not sin. – The Pope is not infallible because he sins.

Papal Infallibility

• Those views on the previous slide might be easy to say that those views are wrong, but it is still difficult to say why they are wrong.

• In this PowerPoint we will examine: – What Infallibility means – The contradiction in claiming there is no infallibility – A history of the Popes (focusing on the bad ones to

demonstrate Papal Infallibility) – Peter as a model of the history of the Papacy

Papal Infallibility

• As Catholics we believe that when the Pope speaks ex cathedra, as the supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful, that is when he speaks as the spokesperson for the whole Church, the Holy Spirit keeps him from error. – The first example is in Acts Chapter 2. – Luke tells us that they were all speaking and then

only tells us what Peter said. – Luke presents Peter as the spokesperson for the

whole Church.

Papal Infallibility

• Take the statement, “There is no Infallibility.” – This statement would be an infallible statement in

the Catholic understanding of infallibility • The person is claiming that no where in the Body of

Christ, the Church, is infallibility to be found, everyone is in error or sin or just doesn’t know

• The person is speaking for the whole Body of Christ and claiming that this statement is true for the whole Body of Christ.

• Thus, no infallibility would be an infallible statement. – But this is a contradiction and no contradiction is true.

Papal Infallibility

• As Catholics we believe that Infallibility is found in Christ who has united himself to us and shares his life with us.

• He is the Truth so infallibility shows up in these ways – The sense of the faithful – The Pope as Pastor of the whole Church – An Ecumenical Council – The Bishops who teach in union with the Pope

Overview of the Popes

• In this PowerPoint I want to show how Papal Infallibility works but ONLY using the bad Popes. – There are a lot of them

• But in each case their badness, their errors, their wrong choices, will stand as a witness to their not teaching their error as the faith of the whole Church.

The Popes • Victor I (189-199)--First

African Pope--he excommunicated Palestinian Christians over the celebration of Easter.

• Irenaeus counseled him to lift the excommunication because practice (when to celebrate Easter) is not the same as Faith (Jesus is Risen).

• Victor lifted the excommunication.

The Popes • Marcellinus (296-304)--

During the Diocletian persecutions he handed over copies of Sacred Scripture and offered incense to pagan gods.

• He was later martyred and this story discredited, but the rumor is there because Rome was not as persecuted as harshly as in the East and in Africa

The Popes • Liberius (352-366)--he

was the First Pope not to be called a Saint.

• He approved of the excommunication of St. Athanasius and signed a document (under pressure) claiming Jesus is “like the Father.”

• When he got back to Rome he renounced his decision to sign the document.

The Popes • Vigilius (537-555) was guilty

of an error in his understanding of the faith.

• He was the first Pope to be excommunicated because of his vacillating over the teaching of the Council of Chalcedon.

• He never taught against the Council, he simply tried to accommodate it and the monophysite teachings

The Popes

• Sabinianus (604-606)--A famine broke out and he sold grain to the hungry for profit.

The Popes

• Honorius I (625-638) • He was the first and

only Pope to be condemned by a council for his adherence to Monothelistism.

• He had once again tried to accommodate the heresy by looking for unitive language.

The Popes • Formosus (891-896) When

he was a Bishop he was the Bishop of 2 Dioceses at the same time (not bad but wrong).

• He was twice defrocked as bishop for immorality (bad and wrong).

• As Pope he carried the scandal with him, but not the sin.

The Popes • Stephen VI (896-897)

he dug up the body of Formosus and put him on trial. – the Cadaver Synod

• Formosus was found innocent but still had his three fingers of his right hand cut off so he couldn’t bless anyone.

• Stephen then had the body of Formosus thrown in the river.

• Another person recovered the body and reburied it.

The Popes

• Sergius III (904-911)--he ordered the murder of the Pope who was his predecessor.

• When he became Pope he ordered the death of the antipope Christopher

• Then he reaffirmed the Cadaver Synod.

The Popes

• John XII (955-964)--he was the youngest Pope to be elected, 18 years old

• He was the third Pope to change his name (Octavian).

• He was accused by one Cardinal of turning the Vatican into a brothel.

• He died in bed with a women who was married to a different man.

The Popes

• John XIX (1024-1032)--he was the second of three laymen in a row to be elected to the Papacy.

• He bribed his way into the Papacy.

The Popes

• Urban II (1088-1099)--he was the first Pope to call a Crusade to liberate the Holy Land. – Whether or not this

is bad, the effects have been terrible

• He also established the Roman Curia. – Not bad just

thought you should know

The Popes

• Lucius III (1144-1145)--he established procedure for the Inquisition.

The Popes

• Innocent III (1198-1216) • Some Saints said he

would be in Purgatory until the second coming

• He was the only Pope to call two crusades to the Holy Land.

• He did give approval of the Franciscans and Dominicans.

The Popes

• Gregory IX (1227-1241) • He begins the Papal

Inquisition.

The Popes • Innocent IV (1243-1254) • He approved of the use of

torture by the Inquisition (3 forms). – 1--garrucha--hung by the wrists,

heavy weights attached to the feet, hoisted by a pulley and then dropped with a jerk.

– 2--toca--tied down and a cloth stuffed in the mouth which gradually conducted water into the throat simulating drowning.

– 3--potro--bound with cords which were gradually tightened.

• Confessions received under torture had to be verified the next day and a person could only be tortured once, so multiple sessions were “suspended” rather than ended.

The Popes

• Boniface VIII (1294-1303)

• He was the first Pope to call a holy year (1300).

• He commissioned so many statues of himself that he was accused of encouraging idolatry.

The Popes • Clement V (1305-1314)--he

was the first Avignon Pope • He suppressed the Knights

Templar. – Special Note: Dan Brown in The Da Vinci

Code, said that the Pope burned the last Knight Templar and then threw the body in the Tiber River.

– The fact that the French burned the last of the Knights Templar in Northern France seems to have escaped Mr. Brown.

– Not to mention the fact that if Clement threw the body of the Last Templar in the Tiber River then he is the envy of every outfielder in baseball history. To throw a body from southern France into a river in Rome, wow, what an arm!

The Popes

• John XXII (1316-1334) • He was the second of

the Avignon Popes • He was accused of

heresy because a letter he wrote implied that saints in heaven do not see God until after the final judgment.

The Popes

• It is about John XXII that the phrase “Papal Infallibility” is used for the first time.

• It was used against him being the true Pope: – He could not be a true pope because he was not

teaching the consistent teaching of the Church – Papal infallibility is used to limit a pope’s teachings,

not to expand his power. – No one, especially not the Pope, can add to the life of

Christ Jesus.

The Popes

• Benedict XII (1334-1342) • The third of the Avignon

Popes • He corrected the

statement made by John XXII. – Popes can have theological

difference but must teach the same faith.

The Popes • Clement VI (1342-1352) • He lived more like a worldly

prince the way he threw banquets and parties.

• He also gave Church offices to family and friends.

• During the Bubonic Plague he defended the Jews against charges that they were responsible for the Plague. – One very good thing

The Avignon Papacy From 1305-1377 the Bishop of Rome lived in Avignon France The Papacy was seen as being a tool of or controlled by the King of France The whole time of the Avignon Papacy was called the Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy

The Popes • Urban VI (1378-1389) • He was the last non-cardinal

to be elected Pope. • He was simply flat out rude. • He was so rude and

unstable that the Cardinals who elected him went on to elect another man to be the Pope thus starting the Great Western Schism.

• He had five of the Cardinals who criticized him tortured and executed.

The Popes

• Boniface IX (1389-1404) • He sold Church Offices

to the highest bidders • He increased church

taxes exorbitantly • And he sold

indulgences.

The Popes

• Callistus III (1455-1458) • He was the first of two

Spanish Popes • He practiced blatant

nepotism • He revived harsh anti-

Jewish laws and banned all social communication between Christians and Jews.

The Popes • Sixtus IV (1471-1484) • He was the Pope who built

the Sistine Chapel. • He is also the Pope who

started the Spanish Inquisition

• He appointed Torquemada as grand inquisitor.

• He depleted the Vatican funds fighting wars

• He sold indulgences to cover the loss of funds.

The Popes

• Innocent VIII (1484-1492) • He ordered the

Inquisition in Germany to punish witches.

• He created new Church Offices and sold them to the highest bidder.

• He died asking the Cardinals to elect someone better than him.

The Popes • Alexander VI (1492-1503) • He was the second and last

Spanish Pope. • He rivals John XII for being the

worst Pope in History. • He was the worldliest of the

Popes and the most notorious. • Nepotism and unbridled

sensuality were his hallmarks of his Pontificate.

• He lived an openly promiscuous life, fathering several children both before and after becoming Pope.

The Popes

• Julius II (1503-1513) • He was the patron of

Michelangelo and other artists

• He was the warrior Pope

• He sold indulgences to such an extent that he actually set the stage for the reformation.

The Popes

• Leo X (1513-1521) • He missed the

opportunity to reform the Church after the Fifth Lateran Council

• He sold indulgences • He ignited the

reformation by excommunicating Martin Luther.

The Popes • Paul IV (1555-1559) • He was anti-Protestant

and anti-Semitic • He forced Jews to live in a

special quarter in Rome • He forced them to wear

distinctive headgear • He personally supported

the Inquisition and created the Index of Forbidden Books.

The Popes

• Clement XIV (1769-1774) • Bad because he caved in

under political pressure • His suppression of the

Jesuits had disastrous effects on the missions.

The Popes

• Leo XII (1823-1829) • He reinforced the Index of

Forbidden Books • He confined Jews to

ghettos in Rome. • Business transactions

between Jews and Christians were forbidden

The Popes • Gregory XVI (1831-1846) • He was the last Pope

elected who was not a bishop.

• He banned railroads in the Papal States

• He condemned Italian nationalism

• He crushed a rebellion in the Papal States using Austrian troops.

• He did denounced slavery and the slave trade.

Popes--Peter Continues his Ministry

• Peter denied Jesus and proclaimed his love for Jesus. Peter started the allowing of Gentiles into the Church and separated himself from them in Antioch. Peter was sometimes right, often wrong, sometimes daring, sometimes a fool. The history of the Popes is the continuation of Peter acting as the spokesperson for the whole Church. The Spirit continues to work through Peter to proclaim the Truth of God’s self-revelation to us. Listen, Peter speaks.

Summary of the Popes

• Throughout Papal history, the unfaithfulness and poor witness and personal sin of many of the Popes have brought about scandal. But they never change the very teaching that makes them look like hypocrites, unfaithful, poor witnesses or sinners. In other words their sin is a witness to the reality of God preserving his faithful from error. The Spirit still leads us to all truth, even through some sinful men who hold the office of Peter.

Summary of the Popes

• Infallibility is not a characteristic of the Pope, but of Jesus who continues to teaches us through sinful and broken men who hold the office of Peter.

• The sin and error of the Popes is not a rejection of infallibility.

Papal Infallibility • Jesus is the Truth, not an opinion. Faith is the life and work of God

in us. Church is the Body of Christ and His Body is not a chaotic blob but an organic unity that reflects and participates in the Unity of the Trinity because of the Incarnation of Christ Jesus.

• “In order to preserve the Church in the purity of the faith handed on by the apostles, Christ who is the Truth willed to confer on her a share in his own infallibility.” (CCC #889)

• “The Roman Pontiff . . . enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful . . . he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to the faith or morals. . . . This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself.” (CCC #891)