Papal Infallibility

Chris Knabenshue

Papal Infallibility, first off, is the Catholic belief that a Pope speaks with the authority of Christ when he speaks “ex cathedra” or “from the chair” of Peter in matters of faith and morals.   This is not a physical chair, but it is referring to his role as a successor to Peter.  This infallibility is also extended to the bishops when all of the bishops gather and agree upon a matter of faith and morals (i.e. an ecumenical council), keep in mind that the Pope is the Bishop of Rome.   We see this expressed in Scripture in several instances.

The most important instance is in Matthew 16:15-19

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

There is no doubt that this is a direct parallel to Isaiah 22:19-25

I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house. And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken."

In the Isaiah passage, Eliakim is given the role of the keymaster in the Old Testament Kingdom of David.  With this comes with the authority to speak for the King when the king is not present in the kingdom.  Notice that “what he opens none shall shut, and what he shuts, none shall open”.  In the Matthew passage, Jesus is setting up the New Testament Kingdom of the Church.  Since God establishes both the Old Testament Kingdom of David, and the New Testament Kingdom of the Church, He is going to use a similar model (If God is perfect, he wouldn’t use a model that is imperfect, and therefore, logically, it does not make sense that he would use two separate models for a kingdom).  Jesus gives Peter the authority of the Keymaster in this New Testament Kingdom, promising him the “Keys of the Kingdom” to him individually, as well as the authority that whatever he “binds on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever [he shall] loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”--notice that is the same pattern as what we see in Isaiah.  Also, the keymaster is a role that has successors, as seen by Isaiah, and attested by the History of the Church. 

We see the Pope, who continues in the role of Peter as his successor, speaks with the authority of the king (Christ) while he is not physically present in the kingdom (on earth from Pentecost until the second coming), on matters of faith and morals.

We see the authority/uniqueness of Peter’s mission expressed in several passages:

• First named in all the lists of the apostles (even though he wasn’t the first one called—in the Biblical wiritngs, lists are always done by rank—not by chronology/etc., which is why Peter is listed first, Judas Iscariot is always listed last)
• One others go to as leader, even to where he speaks for Jesus and the other Apostles (Mt. 17:24)
• Present at the Transfiguration
• First allowed in the tomb, even though he is the second to arrive (Jn. 20:1-9)
• Supernatural Strength given to him to carry the 153 large fish on the shore—(many scholars see the 153 fish as a symbol of the members Church carried in the net of Peter, being led to Christ) (Jn. 21:11)
• Jesus is the Good Shepherd, but He gives the responsibility to feed and tend his sheep (the Church) to Peter (Jn. 21:15)
• Peter is also the one who makes the infallible decision at the first Church Council of Jerusalem...once he declares that Christians need not be circumcised/follow the Mosaic law, the discussion is over and they listen to James on how to implement it (Acts 15).

With regards to the chair or seat of Peter that the Pope proclaims officially from, this is actually taken from the Jewish tradition of the chair or seat of Moses which the high priest spoke with authority on (this authority was also shared by the Pharisees).  We see Jesus give credit to this, and He commands his followers to follow what is proclaimed from this seat, even if the person(s) proclaiming it are living contrary to this:

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,  "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you--but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.  They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.  They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others (Matthew 23:1-7).

In the same way, in the New Testament Kingdom, we are bound to follow what is proclaimed from the seat or chair of Peter even if the one proclaiming it is living contrary to it (this is important, because there have been some popes who have lived very much in contradiction to the gospel they preached...as Catholics, we still uphold what was taught, even if the teacher is a failing example of it).

The rest of the Apostles (their successors, the bishops) also share in this authority when they are united and together.  In John 20:21-23,   “Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."”

Jesus sends the apostles as his witnesses/authority, to do what he has done (the Father sent Him into the world for his mission, now that mission is transferred to the apostles as Jesus sends them).  When Jesus breathes on them, this is a unique event, the “ruah” or breath/spirit of God is given to them.  When God breathes on something, it changes.  We see this in Genesis 2:7 when he breathes into the clay the “breath of life” causing the clay to become man.  God’s breath brings about life and change.  When Jesus (who is God) breathes upon the apostles, he causes a change in them (theologically we call this an ontological change).  It gives them the authority to forgive and retain sins (on a side note, the only way they would know how to retain or forgive sins is if people confess to them).  It is with this same authority to forgive and retain (notice same pattern of opening/shutting, binding/loosing that we see in Isaiah and Matthew) that we see that this infallibility to speak in matters of faith and morals is also given (when they are united), as that was part of the mission of Jesus which he is now sending the apostles to do.

Keep in mind, infallibility is not impeccability (impeccability is the belief that a person cannot sin).  The pope, the bishops, and all of us our human...we sin.  We have the great gift of Confession to be forgiven of our sins.  But, the gift of infallibility is given to the Church, specifically to the Pope and the bishops when the bishops are united, so that we can be assured of correct doctrine and a correct path to model and live our lives after...the life that Christ challenges us to live.

The above is just a sampling of how we get our doctrine, particularly from Scripture.  Throughout the ages the early Church fathers have attested to the authority and infallibility of the Pope, before it was officially pronounced as Catholic Church Teaching...it should be noted that almost every single one of our Church teachings was first believed and lived by the people before it is made officially Church Teaching...that is why we have the teachings with regards to Mary enter into Church teaching only recently, yet we can trace that same belief down to the first centuries of Church history.   For further explanation and reading with regards to Papal Infallibility...please see the variety of articles on this subject located at the following link:

http://www.catholic.com/library/church_papacy.asp

Also, I would highly recommend Scott Butler, Norman Dahlgren, and Rev. Mr. David Hess’s book Jesus, Peter, & the Keys published by Queenship Publishing Company.