Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1874-12-03

winch are opposed 10 reyelatlOn; Tor II
is argued, she could not discharge her
Office of teacher Of mankind unless she
were able to prescribe with infallible
certainly all doctrines at variance with
/ the Word of God. Hence the direct OBJ
ject of the infallibility of the Church is
the revelation or the Word of God, and
. the indirect object is necessary for it's
exposition and defence, or contrary to
the law of faith and morality. 2. Pom
fical infallibility il thus defined in chap
ter of the constitution Pastoy etevnms,
July Is, 1870 ave teach and deline
that it is dogma divinely revealed that
the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks es
eathedra, that is when, in discharge of
the Office of pastor and doctor Of all
Christians by virtue of his supreme au-
thority, he defines doctrine regarding
faith and morals to be held by the uni
versal Church, by the divine assistance
promised to him in blessed Peter, is
possessed ofthat infallibility with which
the divine Redeemer willed that His
Church should be endowed for defining
doctrines regarding faith and morals;
and that, therefore. such definitions of
the Roman pontiffs are irreformable
of themselves and not by the consent
Of the Church" This definition de-
clares that the Pope is infallible when
speaking from the seat of authority, in
discharge Of his Office of pastor and
teacher Of the entire Christian fold,
verand challenging theassent of the uni
sal Church. The doctrinal point defined
or finally decided must relate to faith
and morals, and in such definitions, it
is declared, he is divinely guided by vir-
tue of the promises made to him in the
person of Peter. This infallibility of
the Pontiff has the same extension as
the doct!inal Office Of the Church, and
the final judgments pronounced in its
exercise are in themselves irreformable
or irreversible, even before the Church
has accepted thcm. The definition linz
its the irfalli5ility and the divine as
sistnnce which secures it to tie Pope's
official acts as pastor and doctor Of all
Christians. 1t thus excludes all his
acts as private person, doctor, thcolo-
gian, local bishop, or ruler. He is ex-
cmpt from error in only one capacity,
that is, when as teacher of the whole
Church in faith and morals he speaks
from the chair Of Peter TIE phrase
doctrine of faith and morals" signifies
the whole revealed Word of God, the
whole way of salvation through faith,
or the whole supernatural order with
all that is necessary to the salvation of
mankind through Jesus Christ. The
efficient cause of this infallibility or i'm
munitv from error is declared to be the
divine assistance promised to Peter and
in Peter to his successors. This, it is
asserted by Catholic theologians. is con-
tair,d explicitly in the words of Christ
to Peter. Luke xxi b u have prayed
for thee that thy faith fail not, and
when thou art converted strengt hen thy
hrethrcn;' and implicitly in Matthew.
xvi. l8-'And l say also unto thee.
that thou art Peter, and upon this rock
| will build my Church: and the gates
Of hell shall not prevail against it,
The assistance thus promised and its
effect are divine ordinance. 1t is
further affirmed that before the defini-
tion of the Vatican Council the infalli-
bility Of the Pontiff was a doctrine re-
vealcd 10y God. delivered by the con-
stant tradition of the Church, recogniz-
ed in Ecumenical Councils. presupposed
by the acts of the Pontiffs in all ages,
taught by all the saints, defended by
every religious order, and by every the
illogical school except the Galhcan. and
in that school only disputed by a nu-
merical minority and during one period
of its history, and believed. ut least i'm
plicitly, by all Catholics The detini-
tion, Catholics believe. has added moth
ing to the intrinsic certainly of this doc
! trinc. which is derived from revelation.
, 1t has only added the extrinsic certain
~ Of universal PRONUNCIATION, binding
the whole Church to believe the dogma
/ explicitly. The doctrine of pontifcal
, infallihiGtv, theolocically considered, is
{ intimately connected with the pontifcal
supremacy: and. considered historical
ly, it is seen that from The exercise of
the supremacy was gradually evolved
and finally asserted the prerogative of
infalibility. The bishops of Rome at
a very early period claimed supreme
and final authority in deciding all &C.
clesiastical disputes; and this claim they
founded on the fact of the See of Rome
r being the seat of Peters authority, and
of their being his successors with su.
| prcme jurisdiction over the entire
2 Church. On the other hand, the eppo-
sition to the exercise of this supremacy
e forms raralleland continuous record in
e the early Church down to the consum-
: nation If the Photian schism. Thus
{ in the ante-Nicene period Pope Victor
f l., (about 1881 claimed to decide final
: y the controversy about the proper day
e for celebrating Easter, and excommuni.
- Gated the Asiatic churches which re.
:. fused TO abide by his decision: anG
i Pope Stephen I. (2sS-250 decided
f against ST. Cyprian and the churches ot
: northern Africa, that baptism perform
d ed by heretics should not lie repeated
j and annulled the sentence of . Spanish
) synod against two bishops. But til,
e decision of Victor was set aside by tn,
: Asiatic bishops; and in ike manner th,
e bishops Of Africa and Spain persisted
n in upholding their own local custom,
/ and established rights. Earlier still
4 Tertulliap, in his treatise De Psdici.ia
/ complained that the Roman Pontiff is
h sued peremptory edicts. as if he wer,
4. bishop of bishops" From the tim,
4 OF Constantine the Great this exercis,
,e of supremacy, and the righ, ON which i