Can a Pope Make Mistakes?

Can the Pope make a mistake?  The question falls under the heading of "papal infallibility" and that means the Pope is immune from liability to error.

 

What?  You may be asking the same question that slammed into my mind upon reading this.  As always, I jumped on the Internet to see what else was out there.  I got a quick lesson through Chapter XIV, "Papal Infallibility," in a text called "Things Catholics Are Asked About."  I offer up one paragraph, of this five page chapter, to give you the flavor of the Catholic viewpoint.

Infallibility means immunity from liability to error.  In reference to the Pope it signifies that he is special, divine assistance, preserved from liability to error in definitive dogmatic teaching regarding matters of faith and morals.  Infallibility is sometimes confused with impeccability.  Impeccability means immunity from sin.  A man may be a sinner and yet have correct ideas.  The infallibility of the Pope does not mean that he is impeccable.  It does not mean that he may not sin.  But it does mean that as the official Head on earth of the Church of Jesus Christ he may not officially teach false doctrine; and this is not because he is wiser or more learned than other men, but because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has pledged His divine word that His Vicar on earth will always be safeguarded against erroneous teaching in his office of visible Head of the Church.

In recent world politics we have come to humorously refer to this as "President for Life."  The, "no matter what I do you can't fire me," mindset. Neener, neener, neener!  If this makes your head hurt, let's take a look at what the authors of this chapter use as the reasoning for imbuing the Pope with the ultimate "get out of jail free" card.

Finally, at the close of His life, on the night before He laid down His life for the life of the world, He clearly announced the infallibility of His Church.  "I will ask the Father and He shall give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you forever.  The spirit of truth...He shall abide with you, and shall be in you...the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things" (John 16:16, 17, 26).

Clearly announced?  I can read several other interpretations into this statement, so there isn't anything really clear about it unless you're one of the faithful and believe everything the Church of Christ throws at you.  But, let's look at what they're saying.

 

"Infallibility means immunity from liability to error...in definitive dogmatic teaching regarding matters of faith and morals."  So this immunity only extends to those decisions he makes specifically dealing with church dogma, faith, and morals.  Morals?  Isn't that a catchall blanket for anything?  If so there isn't much the Pope isn't immune from liability for.  I suppose this explains Papal decisions where the Crusades and the Inquisition were concerned.  God's voice on earth?  Must be nice.

 

"Impeccability means immunity from sin."  Yes, believe it or not, one of the definitions of impeccable is -- faultless.  "It does not mean that he may not sin."  So, the Pope must say, "Oops!" quite a bit? 

 

"Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has pledged His divine word that His Vicar on earth will always be safeguarded against erroneous teaching in his office of visible Head of the Church."  I want to see that sentence, verbatim, written anywhere in the Bible.  This goes back to my concern that "church" as a building is an interpretation arrived at by the Christian hierarchy to keep the faithful subservient to that hierarchy for their own good.

 

"A man may be a sinner and have correct ideas."  I suppose this explains how priests have been protected by the Church for crimes against children, as long as they have "correct ideas."

 

To be fair, I don't believe a Pope in our recent history would have intentionally pushed this issue.  The wake up call for the Head of the Church was when he was relegated to a small city state, as though he was under house arrest.  If the Church of Jesus Christ is guilty of anything, it is bringing the "money changers" into the temple.  The Church of Christ today is deeply invested in property and big business.  Even visitors to Vatican City fill the coffers through their purchases.  Like so many other Christian churches, it is all about money.  They seem to have forgotten Matthew 21:13,  

 

He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

It wasn't proper in the eyes of Christ, but we are to believe that now the Church is good with it as long as the Pope says it is correct because, after all, he has "Papal Infallibility."  Really?

 

And then there is Pope Francis.  Talk about a breath of fresh air!  He fore goes all the usual trappings of a Pope in preference of more meager accommodations, dress, and a vehicle (including riding public transportation).  He eats meals in the Vatican cafeteria.  He is taking on the timely controversies of priests getting married, abortion, contraception and homosexuality in favor of a more merciful approach.  His latest refreshing comment, "The [papal] court is the leprosy of the papacy...  It looks after the interests of the Vatican, which are still, in large part temporal interests.  This Vatican-centric vision neglects the world around it and I will do everything to change it."

 

Did I equate the papacy to "President for Life?"  Maybe, in the case of Pope Francis, that comparison isn't a bad thing.  Many are saying that Pope Francis may have been a mistake, may not be good for the church.  God made a mistake?  My personal view is that, through Francis,  God might be correcting another great idea that man, more specifically the Church of Jesus Christ, has turned into an abortion.  Perhaps in the future we will see a Vatican that is more interested in feeding the poor than in cathedrals and art.

I leave you with one final quote from a Pope I am learning to love and respect:

 

"A Catholic God does not exist...I believe in Jesus Christ, His incarnation.  Jesus is my master and my pastor, but God, the Father...is the light and the creator.  This is my being."  --Pope Francis

 



What do you think?  Feel free to share, either through the comments below, or by e-mail shown at the top of this blog page.