One of the “difficult to accept” doctrines of the Catholic Church is the infallibility of the Pope (in Latin “Papa” which means “father”), the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome. Being infallible doesn’t mean that the Pope does not sin nor the Pope makes no mistake, it is impeccability (answers.com: Incapable of sin, perfect). Being infallible simply means that the Pope is protected by the Holy Spirit when he teaches doctrinal issues, thus what he teaches is always true and binding (must be accepted and obeyed by all). It doesn’t mean that everytime the Pope says anything, it is free from errors either. A teaching is infallible if the Pope intends it to be so, and only on doctrinal issues (church teachings).
Why it is important to have such doctrine? Jesus said that He would build His Church, and the gate of netherworld will not prevail against it (Mt 16:18). Jesus also said that He would be with us always, until the end of time (Mt 28:20). Will Jesus make mistake? No! If Jesus is with his Church till the end of time, will the Church teach something wrong? No! Will Jesus’ Church cease or disappear for a certain period of time, even 1 second? No!
Now the question is, which one is Jesus’ Church? There were so many churches in the world, one claiming to be The True One Church of Jesus Christ. No offense, there were only a few who can claim that the church has existed since the first century, starting from the Pentecost (descent of Holy Spirit): The Church of Christ (commonly called Roman Catholic Church) and the Eastern Orthodox Churches (Russian Orthodox, Orthodox Church of Antioch, Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, and others. I apologize for not mentioning all). Only these churches were able to trace their lineage to the apostles, where the Roman Catholic Church traces its lineage all the way to the first Bishop of Rome, St. Peter. Check with historian.
If Jesus’ Church will not teach errors, how is it so? Does it mean everytime a priest, a preacher, or an individual teach in the name of the Church, it is infallible? No! There must be something or someone who is given the authority by Jesus to determine what is true at any point of time. Who is that? The Roman Catholic Church believes that it is the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St. Peter is the one given the authority.
Or was it the Bible? It is the inerrant, infallible Words of God. Shouldn’t it be THE authority? Suppose there are 2 people who read a particular passage in the Bible, both pray about it, reflect about it, and come up with different conclusions which is contradictory? Who is right or wrong?
By the way, how do we know that the Bible is the inerrant Words of God? It is because the Pope (the Church) says so. The Bible was consolidated and defined (not written) during the Synod of Rome on AD 382, under the authority of Pope Damasus I. By the way, there were 73 books in the Bible according to the Synod of Rome. How do we know the doctrine of the Holy Trinity (3 persons in 1 God)? It is because the Pope says so. How do we know that the Holy Eucharist is the True Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ, not merely a symbol? It is because the Pope says so.
But there were bad Popes, big liars, sinners, even the current Pope made mistakes? Hey, the Pope is human just like us. Again, back to the first argument, the Pope is not impeccable, he is only infallible when he teaches doctrinal teachings. He won’t be infallible when he is teaching economy, astronomy, mathematics, etc. There are many sinners in the Catholic Church, in fact all human are sinners (with some exceptions like Christ Himself, and His Mother). There are a lot of bad priests, some bad bishops, and some bad Popes. Thankfully there weren’t many of them.
Check the following URL for more details on Papal Infallibility.
http://www.catholic.com/library/papal_infallibility.asp
Cheers
