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Definition: Infallibility

The Roman Catholic understanding that the power of divine grace (not the human strength of its members) cannot allow the Church as a whole to fall away from the truth of God. Infallibility does not mean that the Church will avoid all mistakes. The Church has certainly made its share of mistakes; history teaches that clearly. It does mean that the Church is not going to self-destruct, because the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the community will prevent this.

This conviction, of course, cannot be proved; it is a statement of faith. Rooted in the experience of the Church and expressed in the Scriptures in Jesus' promise to be with the Church, this conviction is validated again and again throughout the centuries in the life of the Christian community. The presence and action of the Holy Spirit will not allow the Church as a whole to turn away from God!

Vatican I and Vatican II specified the conditions necessary for an expression of an infallible pronouncement: 1) It must be a collegial act dealing with a revealed truth concerning faith or morals; 2) There must be an explicit call for absolute assent; 3) The pronouncement must be the unanimous teaching of all the bishops.

Infallibility is a characheristic of the Church, vested in those who have supreme authority (the college of bishops with the pope as the head of the college) over the whole Church; infallibility is not a characteristic of the pope's personal conduct or private views. Even when Vatican I (1869-1870) defined papal infallibility, it did so in terms of the Church. Vatican I stated that when the pope defines a dogma of faith (often described as speaking ex cathedra"— "from the chair"), he is gifted by the Holy Spirit with that infallibility which God wished the Church to be endowed in defining a doctrine of faith or morals. Vatican II reemphasized this point.

Infallible pronouncements are very rare. Since Vatican I, there has been only one: the definition of Mary's Assumption (1950).

Source:
Youth Update Glossary
St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2002

RL_Articles

Adam and Eve?

Some people say that Adam and Eve weren’t real. Then why is their story in the Bible? How do we know what is real?

It's Catholic

Source:Youth Update GlossarySt. Anthony Messenger Press, 2002

RL_Articles

Source:
Youth Update Glossary
St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2002