The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-03-28
FATHER PARDow's SERMON.
The Infnllibic Pope Before ths
Tribunal of Reason.

Aloysius Church was given by Father
Pardow yesterday at the II o'clock
service, who closed with an explana-
ton is to the true meaning of infalli-
bility as applied to the sovereign pom
tiff at Rome The prelate said in
part:
There is no teaching of the church
that has raised such a storm against
the Catholic Church as this, that we
should claim the infallibility of its
head.
The most outrageous things have
been said against the 250,000,000 of
| human beings who maintain the Cath
Ollie doctrine We ares told that any
institution that claims that it's head is
| infallible has Unreason written ON it's
very brow and that the claims are not
even to be examined.
1T was only few days ago that I
read in a review that is supposed to be
| scientific, Reason Stagnates in Rome,
and again, research and study are use
! less in Rome because the infallible
pope settles all questions once for all
and forever
Now, l am sorry for human reason
when l hear such things said by men
and in certain respects capable men,
but absolutely uniformed as regards
the matter they are talking about.
We are no longer living in the days
| OF Don QuiXote who spent his time
fighting wind mills, and it seems only
fair that before we speak on a subject
we should know what we are talking
about. Most people are prejudiced.
And what is prejudice? 1t is talking
about something before you know
what it is. Now, I suppose there are
nine hundred people out of every nine
hundred and two who do not know
what they are talking about when
there is question of the infallibility of
the pope, and they do not take the
| trouble to investigate.
Il shall endeavor be clear, and in
discoursing on the infallible pope be-
fore the tribunal of reason 1 shall en-
deavor TO speak Of the what, the where,
the when, the how, and the way of his
infallibility. When l shall have said d
few words on the what, when, where
how and why, we can then appeal to
| the tribunal of reason.
The what of the infallibility is two
! fold-as regards the name ana the ma
| tuTe
The name, infallibility, and here it
is not necessary for US to have re-
course to theology, but only to phil
ology. We do not need the great tones
we find in our Libraries; all We need
is an unabridged English dictionary
and we shall see by turning to the
word that it means the power of not
erring or not making q mistake il
doctrine. Inerrancy is about the same
as infallibility.
Not long ago I was speaking to {
| lawyer, a graduate of one of our cele-
brated colleges. He said: Father, see
here; tets talk plainly, as man to man
You claim something for your pops
which makes him practically equal Il
God. That certainly should have beer
| the end Of me, because if l was claim.
ing something that made man equal &
God, then / was worse than heather
l asked him if he had a dictionary a
home, and he said he had. a. l aSkeC
him he had consulted it recently. HI
admitted he had not ] then asked hin
to do so before he dealt the charg,
against 100000. coo of human beings
that they made man equal to God
He was ConfCunding two words, infalli
| biIHy and inDeCca Diiity. The one re
CARDS the intellect and the other tht
will, and they are as far apart as TIT
Morn and South poles.1 SO far apar
that Christ said of the Scribes am
Pharasees: Do, therefore, what the!
shall say to you, but do not do as thee
do Christ distinguished between TIN
infaHibiity Of the teacher and his i'm
peccability.
Now, is it not strange that a youni
| lawyer should not have thought fer
moment Of the real meaning of tn
word, before he attacked the church?
rs it to make a man equal to Go'
to say that he cannot err in certain
things? So much for the first ques
| tion-What?
InfaHib!ity does not mean that tn
pope may not sin, but only that he can
not, under certain conditions, teacI
error. 1t bestows 7uroh enc man il
certain lines the power TO make no ms
take. .-,
Now the question where Wher
does this infallibiity reside?
1T might reside in the whole churcl
: THAT is true. All Christians admi
pay attention to the fact that no coun
ellis of the church. But they do no
/ pay attention to the fact tina no eoun
Gil was authorized unless approved o
by the sovereign pontiff. After the de
crees had been uttered by the coun
ellis, they had TO be gone over agai
by the sovereign pOntiff, and it wa
emily when he gave his sanction tina
they became law throughout tn
church. The where then, is in tn
, church, in the council, including tn
r | sovereign pontiff, and in the sovereig
, pontiff himself.
The next question IS, how. Whe
the pope speaks as an individual doe
tor or theologian, is he infallible? NJ
| Would he be pretty sure to be right
, Yes, but he might make a mistake.
1T does not seem to me strange tina
, | whereas we can easily distinguish tn
, | official capacity Of u man and his indi
| vidual capacity, yet when there
question Of the pope acting in his Of
: | fetal capacity and in his personal ca
pacity the minds Of many seem to b
{ unable to realize the distinction.
, when is the pope infallible, accord
ing to the teachings of the church
. When, as head Of the church, ne Pre-
; claims to all the church the teaching
of Christ.
But now as to the how I hav
. known some to suppose Catholics I
teach that the pope had a direct rev
citation whenever he pronounced q dog
, ma We believe that all universal rev
!, citation was finished with st. John.
i is, therefore, only when the soVe~eig
5 pontiff examines carefully the mats
that he comes to a decision
Il THE last question, Why Shout
! there be an infallible pope?
ITO preserve Christianity. That
/ the answer 1t is a strong answer,
: course, and those not Of our faith Wi
II say it is only an assertion Fer IL
proof, look around you. The infaltb
d teachings Of the Catholic Church HAY
J. united together $50 600 600 of thinkin
Is men and women, some of them II