There is a tendency in the modern Catholic world to equate the ideas of Papal Authority with Papal Infallibility. For example, many believe, or at least act as if, every action, pronouncement, and document issued by the Holy See is sealed with infallibility, whereas in reality many papal pronouncements are merely the Pope's exercising of his legitimate authority. In this series of blog entries, I will attempt to analyze the interplay between papal authority and papal infallibility.
The Universal Authority of the Pope of Rome
There is really no question that the Pope of Rome has universal authority over the entire Catholic Church. This has been universally recognized for so long that it really does not deserve to be discussed as it would be like once again proving that gravity exists.
The best way to show the long-accepted universal jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff is to examine early Church writings, including the Gospels themselves and the Acts of the Apostles, as well as the early correspondence between the various episcopal sees. It is abundantly clear that the early Church recognized a hierarchy given by God in the form of bishops, priests, deacons, and laity. Moreover, it is clear that the hierarchy very quickly set about the idea of dividing geographical areas into jurisdictions for the particular apostles and bishops (this eventually began to parallel the Roman civil law in jurisdictional division).
Once the geographical divisions were set up, the inherent authority of the Roman Pontiff became more evident. With these divisions came territorial and theological disputes amond the bishops and patriarchs of other sees. It is clear from historical evidence that when there was a dispute, the bishops and patriarchs (even those in the East) appealed to the Apostolic See to settle disputes. Interestingly, there is really no dispute, even now, amongst the Orthodox East that the Holy Father, the Roman Pontiff has this authority (of course, given the schism, they are more likely to appeal to the so-called "Ecumenical Patriarch" for modern disputes). What the Orthodox dispute is whether the Apostolic See has the charism of infallibility (an issue that came to greater prominence and crystallization with the sua sponte inclusion of the filioque into the Symbol of Faith as proclaimed by the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople).
The authority of the Holy Father also includes his teaching office, which involves propogating the faith and morals of the Catholic religion. So, the Holy Father "rules" the universal Church in matters of discipline in the same way the local ordinary does for the local Church. But, as is evident, the teaching office of the Roman Pontiff necessarily includes his discussion of the doctrines and dogmas of the universal Church: this is the intersection of authority and infallibility.
The Universal Authority of the Pope of Rome
There is really no question that the Pope of Rome has universal authority over the entire Catholic Church. This has been universally recognized for so long that it really does not deserve to be discussed as it would be like once again proving that gravity exists.
The best way to show the long-accepted universal jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff is to examine early Church writings, including the Gospels themselves and the Acts of the Apostles, as well as the early correspondence between the various episcopal sees. It is abundantly clear that the early Church recognized a hierarchy given by God in the form of bishops, priests, deacons, and laity. Moreover, it is clear that the hierarchy very quickly set about the idea of dividing geographical areas into jurisdictions for the particular apostles and bishops (this eventually began to parallel the Roman civil law in jurisdictional division).
Once the geographical divisions were set up, the inherent authority of the Roman Pontiff became more evident. With these divisions came territorial and theological disputes amond the bishops and patriarchs of other sees. It is clear from historical evidence that when there was a dispute, the bishops and patriarchs (even those in the East) appealed to the Apostolic See to settle disputes. Interestingly, there is really no dispute, even now, amongst the Orthodox East that the Holy Father, the Roman Pontiff has this authority (of course, given the schism, they are more likely to appeal to the so-called "Ecumenical Patriarch" for modern disputes). What the Orthodox dispute is whether the Apostolic See has the charism of infallibility (an issue that came to greater prominence and crystallization with the sua sponte inclusion of the filioque into the Symbol of Faith as proclaimed by the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople).
The authority of the Holy Father also includes his teaching office, which involves propogating the faith and morals of the Catholic religion. So, the Holy Father "rules" the universal Church in matters of discipline in the same way the local ordinary does for the local Church. But, as is evident, the teaching office of the Roman Pontiff necessarily includes his discussion of the doctrines and dogmas of the universal Church: this is the intersection of authority and infallibility.
1 comment:
Whitehead's book, "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic: The Early Church Was the Catholic Church," is an excellent read regarding the early Church, Papal infallibility and authority, and the early relationships of Rome, Damascus, Corinth, Alexandria, etc. It has many letters from the various Churches and early Popes, a discussion of some of the more significant events, councils, and Popes. I have it on my 'frequently read" shelf.
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