On the evening of the same day the minority, which included such able and influential prelates as Darboy of Paris, Schwarzenberg of Prague, Rauscher of Vienna, Dupanloup of Orldans, FBreter of Breslau, Ketteler of Mainz, Stroesmayer of Bosnia, Hefele of Rottenburg, and Kenrick of St. Louis, sent a deputation to the pope, and its Pmmul gatioa by the Vatican Council. On July 17 fifty-six bishops opposed to the dogma sent a written protest to the pope, and, with sixty additional members of the opposition, left Rome to avoid voting. The next day, of the 535 members present all voted for the dogma except Bishops Riccio of Sicily and Fitzgerald of Little Rock, Ark., who changed their votes before the close of the session. After the vote the. pope read the decree of his own infallibility in St. Peter's. The Vatican dogma can not stand the test of history, and is a mere pretension.
History knows of other heretical popes.
The arguments adduced by Roman Catholic theologians in support of this newly defined doctrine are in part a priori, based on the assumed necessity of a central supreme authority in matters of faith and morals whose decisions shall be final, and to which, moreover, recourse may be had easily and conveniently when doctrinal differences and disputes arise. The infallible authority of the Church in her teaching-capacity is, of course, assumed as a postulate, for among other reasons, it seems to be clearly implied in the promise of Christ to remain with the organization founded The Roman Catholic Statement. This document is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library at Calvin College. Last updated on June 13, 2000.