The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-01-11


Ir.houaon BoeIn,d about OBJ, mmu-
bHty of tHc Pope some More questions
Answered.
THE INFAlL1BILITY OF THE
CHURCH
The church is nau.bie n Che disc
Chargc of its office as teacher of Chusrs
doctrine.
That the church mas the power to
teach with authority SO that am are
bound to accept the divine truths which
80 proposes, we have shown in our
first article (Star january -. The sup-
ernatural assistance on which rests IT'S
iufalibnity does not imply a mani-
festauon of truths never before re-
vealed but such a guidance as TO enc
able it to teach without error the truths
once revealed by Christ and the Holy
Ghost TO the apostles Irvine assist
ance does not i'm any way exclude the
natural activity of the mind I'm those
invested with the teaching office; it
only accompanies and supplements the
intellect, preserving it from error and
directing it to the certain knowledge
of the revealed truth.
The infallibiity of the church in the
discharge of its teaching office follows
from the promises Of Christ. Christ
promised His apostles and their sue
cessors His perpetual assistance in the
preaching of His doctrine Behold 1 am
with you all days, even to the con-
summation Of the world" (Math.
XVIII 2O.) But Christ would not be
with the teaching body in His church
uess he enabled it to discharge that
Office efficiently I. e., to preach without
error that doctrine, which is the founda-
ton of Christian life and the ground
Of all our hope CHebr. XI u. Christ
promised the Holy Ghost to the apostles
and their successors: 81 will ask the
Father, and He shall give you another
Paraclete advocate, helper, interces-
sor) that He may abide with you for
ever, the Spirit of truth John XIV 16.
! 10, When the Spirit Of truth is come
He win teach you Gle will lead you
into) all truth" John XVI 49, By
these words is clearly indicated that
the object of the Holy Ghosts assist
ance is simply to preserve the faith
pure; and that not in the apostles only
but also in their successors, who have
the same mission, viz, to teach the
| truth. For the Holy Ghost is to re-
main with the apostles forever, not for
time. Again, Christ promised that
the church He was to found upon st.
Peter would be imperishable: Upon
this rock 1 will build my church, and
| the gates of hell shall not prevail a.
gainst it," (Math. XVI 49, By the
gates of hell are understood in general
the assaults of the churchs enemies,
the most dangerous of which are those
that threaten to destroy the faith, the
very foundation of Christion life. Christ
therefore, promised infallibility to His
church by the fact that He gave it a
foundation against which error should
not prevail.
The church is represented by the
apostles as infallible in it's teaching.
According to st. Paul, the church is the
pillar and ground of truth q Tim. III
49, The terms pillar and ground imply
| firmness, stability. Now, the church
cannot hold firmly the truth it has re-
| ceived unless it is infallible in it's
| teachings for the teaching of the church
/ determines its faith. The apostles
were convinced that it was with the
/ assistance of the Holy Ghost that they
| issued DEGREES which were binding on
the whole church: at hath pleased the
/ Holy Ghost and us" (Acts XIV 49,
What is true of the apostles, is likewise
| true of their successors, since the same
mission and the same promise were
given to both.
Without the infallibility of the teach
! ing church, the design of Christ in re-
gard IN His doctrine and His church
could not be realized. The religion of
Christ is to continue unchanged through
out the universe to the end of time.
Now, this is possible only in case that
the teaching church, amid the number
| less questions and doubts, and the va
rious misrepresentation of its doctrine
which necessarily arise, always possess