The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-12-22
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The Practical Meaning OF InSailibility.

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Tho Practical Meaning Of Intailibility.
The argument Of eur Romish contemporary,
Which We publish to-day, Is . curiosity; to
which We do not expect TO do full Justice, bnf
merely TO point out some features which chiefly
have been detected in deliberately falsifying
tho quotation from Tortullian in their papers
of October 9th and November 10th:
2. They try to break down tho force OF the
their admissions in orr quotations from them
BY emitting the qualifying phrases. This is
plainly contradictod by the fact that on refer
qualifying phrases, but cited the passage, and
referred our readers to tho whole passage az
given by them in their own Article, which we
Published in foil aud accurately, instead OF
initiating il as they did ours.
s.: They do not deny that they have been Do
tected in perverting a passage in Augustine,
6y substituting p1teo for pato. Yet if, TO shield
attempt at fraud. but only . blnnder proceed:
ing from their ignorance Of Latin, why should
they resent the suggestion. that the odor Of
their argument ives not tho odor Of sanctify
They must surely remember that this is not
the fret blunder of that sort which We have
exposed-if it was . blunder.
4. Untaught by such experience, they boast
fully call our attention to another wonder
which they claim to have discovered-they say
We do not deny having translated illos epis.
copos. as the Pope" Their own statement OF
the case is this:
The Donatists had referred mooted ques-
ton to tho Emperor, the Emperor referred ii
to eighteen Bishops, who met at Rome to ex-
anime it. This made small local council over
which the Pope presided, and to the DEGREES Of
which he gave effect, not as Pope, not even az
Plimate Of Italy, bat simply as Bishop OF, the
Diocese in which it happened to be hold"
>. What We have TO say is simply this: That
<H0 - - De- st fn01 In,
or by himself, he would not be any less sc
when presiding as president over coun.
Gil formally called and solemnly assem-
6led to try case involving ecclesiastical
that this court was not held to be infallible fol
the decision v as appealed from, first to the
Synod at Aries and then to tho Emperor. When
then :n1.! Augustine says-"suppose those bishop.
neighbors profess to have made the wonderful
discovery that papal infallbility WAS not call
ed in question by those appeals, because the
appeal was not taken from the Bishop of Rome,
who was PRECEDENT of the council, but from the
other Bshops-or that if it was, it was not
from him as Pope, but only as Bishop-althongh
all the rest were undoubtedly as truly and as
much Pope as he was-for it was q common
title,-Hence by this elaborate process Of gra-
tuitous assertion our neighbors como to find
out that itos episcop0e does not includ the
Pope or Bishop Of Rome! Truly their philo-
logical discovery 10 one to be proud of, were it
not Obviously untrue.
5. Referring to the saying Of Christ, Matt.
16, 20, they do not hesitate to falsely II; assn,
not prevail against the Pope"
These points are instructive, rs showing the
sort of argument which they are willing to
use to establish what they call religious faith.
They show what sort of arguments are felt
to lie necessary to support the dogma OF lnfal-
libility.
They show how little confidence we are jus
cd -~s~, o. tnv,n Nf
those gentlemen when they have q point to
gain. And we hold that this discussion will
be of immense value to the COMMUNITY, il it
series to open the eyes of the public on this one
point. ..-. o.
than fiction. They have made certain admis-
sions which We noted. They do not fail to as
sure US that We attach teo much Importance
to these admissions. Possibly they are mis-
may be serious matter for them.
Their admission of the fallibility of the Pope
as bishop, archbishop, patriarch and primate ;
his fallibility in given questions of jurisdic-
ton and administration are no doubt true
enough. Yet we must mildly reprove the ire
weren't form in which they state the fact. The
1--WE have no doubt that the Pope could be
easily overreached in horse trade. and would
prove quite fallOle as to popys age and
wind. If 30, why not err also as Temporal
frlnce, as btSnop OF u SiuSIe DIOCESE, as fToSl-
dent OF Provincial Council, in fact in any
position except when teaching tho whole
Church Z"
Now; although we are sure he was fallihle as
President of the COUNCIL referred to above, we
were not prepared to Say that he knew as little
of the merits of the Donatst controversy, as
he did of "a pouy's wind" 1t does not appear
to us as strictly logical that becausca Pope is
a bad judge of "a pouy's wind" he should
therefore be an unreliable Bishop, President,
Archbishop, etc. We supposed that as he is
educated for, devoted and consecrated to the
Office and work of Bishop, etc, that it ought
to follow that he is rather better qualified for
the duties of that Office, than even for judging
of a. pony's wind" Certainly if it must be
admitted, as onI neighbors assure US, that in
all the various duties of his Office which can
be inspected and defined, he is as fallible as
when Judging of "a pony's wind )" how can we
help thinking that if the "pony" test, could be
applied to the unexamined and undefiued case,
he would be found fallible there too. We ad-
init the facts which they have stated. We do
not endorse the irrexerent way in which they
speak of the head of their Church but we ac-
cept their admission, that in the GASES referred
to the Pope is most certainly fallible.
But supposing their account of this matter
to DO true, it seems to be unfortunate for them
that they have been detected in telling it. As
fho;r