The Irish standard., 1892-05-07

I
Tie Pope may say it explicitly: but tn
is not necessary, for he can indicate 1t b
the manner in which he exerc SOS his at
thority But it is certain he must ind
cate in some way or another his inter
ton to make definition. Thus III
formula: "If any one say x.
let him be anathema,' or I'VE de6ne,' O
the declaration that such or snch doc
trine is "heretical. DIOR even "errbAeous,
".faise," leading TO "heresy.' etc. indicat
clearly in the decrees Of councils or u
Popes the intention Of exercising the in
fallible magisterium
The intrinsic cause Of infalibillty O
the Pope is the same as that Of the entire
teaching Church. The Catholio doctrine
has always taught that the definitions o
the Church are not based ON now divine
revelations; on the contrary it is dogma
that the ''Catholc revelation, chat is te
say the revelation of truths of faith to be
believed by every Catholic as reverted
I5by God, was completed by the Holy
Ghost in the apostles, and thar there will
not be an injective increment Of the de-
post Of faith in the present economy
but only subjective increment, that is
a more perfect knowledge Of the doctrine
once revealed by it's most explicit explain.
alton and proposition.
| The end OF the infallibility Of the Pope
| is the same as that of the infallibility OF
the teaching Church; It is, in few
words, the unity Of the Church in the
faith It's object is the divine deposit,
inasmuch as the Pope is it's guardian, in
terpreter and defender, in order that ii
4 may be preserved intact by al the faith
full. The council Of the Vatican deter
mines this object by saying that the
Pope is infallible when he deinesa doc.
| trine relating TO faith or morals to be
held by all the faithful"
From the foregoing consideration it
/ follows that the infalhbility OF ths Pope
is not communicated to him by the
Church, that the value OF his decision
does not depend upon the assent &C.
corded to it by the bishops Or the faith
| full. He will never define truth which
| is not contained in the deposit Of faith
either explicitly or unexphoitIy, but no
one in the Church has the right to make
his assent depend upon preliminary
examination for the purpose of ascer-
tanning that the doctrine in question is
really part of revelation. The Catho
| lie must, on the contrary, reason as fol-
lows: The Pope has defined such do j.
tripe as revealed, because he makes the
defnition with the assistance of the
Holy Spirit. In this sense the council
defined that "these judgments Of the
Popes are in themselves, and not from
the consent of the Church, irreformabis. !"
! In the same sense it is true also that this
infalllbility is personal. gift; that is to
say, the person of the Pope is its subj
1t is proper to him, not inasmuch as he
is private person, but because he is the
foundation stone Of the Church, the con-
frmer of his brethren, the shepherd of
all the sheep, the doctor of all Christians;
in word. because he is head OF the
Church. That is why the council adds
that the Pope is infallible when he de-
fines ''in has capacity of pastor and doc
tor of all Christians, in virtue OF his su-
preme apostolic authority
1t is evident that the Pope in his gov
ernmental and administrative measu res
as temporal sovereign Of the Pontiticial
states never was and never will be any
more infallible than other secular princes.
So, too, hie infallibllity does not extend
to his acts of ecclesiastical admin istra.
ton, such rs accommodation, the erec-
tion of dioceses, the appointment of
bishops, and the abolishing or suspend
of religious orders.
When, therefore, it is certain that a
Papal definition is x-cathedra," it is
equally certain. for every Catholic that
this definition is infallible, by the assist
ance of the Holy Spirit, and that it ought
to receive the assent Of faith. Certaioly
the Pope, before making a decision, will
investigate and consult theological eour-
cee, in order to know the revelation bet
ter, as a general council always does;
but the infallibility of his judgment is ID
no way based on these Investigations. [
do not believe it because the Pope is q
great theologian, because he has sur
rounded himself by the lights Of other
theologians or of bishops; the formal rea-
son. the ultimate motive of my faith is
solely the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
It is this that renders our faith 'sa rea-
sonable service" Consequently as soon
as an 'sex-cathedra" definition presents
itself, make an act of faith saying: II
believe, because the Pope defines this
doctrine, and because the Pope in defin-
ing it is protected against all error by