papal infallibility
Pontiff's unerring authority
Papal infallibility is the Catholic doctrine that the Pope, when speaking officially on matters of faith and morals, cannot err.
The doctrine applies only to formal declarations made "ex cathedra" (from the chair), not to everyday statements or personal opinions.
It was formally defined in 1870, though rarely invoked since: The Pope has used papal infallibility only once since Vatican I.
- ex cathedraWith binding doctrinal authority
- popeCatholic Church's supreme leader
- faithTrust without proof
- pontiffSupreme Catholic leader
- Council of TrentCatholic ecclesiastical congress addressing reformation
doctrine · Roman Catholic Church · Vatican · St. Peter's Basilica · white smoke · dogma · canon law · Holy See · Immaculate Conception · primacy · belief · Peter · throne · pronouncement · decree · apostolic · successor · College of Cardinals
- CatholicismVatican, cardinals, pope, Holy Communion, popes
- church historychurch history, apostles, Protestant Reformation, Christian history, baptism
- papacypontiff, Pope, pope, Holy See, Vatican
- Religious Beliefsmonotheism, polytheism, pantheism, trinity, original sin
- Catholic historyVatican, Pope, dioceses, Catholic Church, cardinals
- church authoritybishops, popes, deacons, presbyters, curia
papal infallibilityfallibility
Liability to err
human error · doubt · skepticism · intellectual humility · errancy