LESSON15:The Church Is Infallible

No creation is perfect. Part of our human limitation and imperfection is our experience of committing
mistakes. We make errors in many aspects of our humanity. We make mistake in our choices, our
judgment and moral perceptions, and the exercise of our intellectual faculty. Simply, we admit that it is
but natural for us to commit mistakes. We even echo Alexander pope’s adage, “to err is human…” this
human limitation simply follows the reality of our finitude and mortality. Despite the seeming limitless
capacity of the human brain and the astronomical progress in science and technology, we can never
escape this human predicament.
Because of fact city, in accordance to philosophy, there is an attempt to temporarily or permanently
overcome the limitations of our humanity either through artificial or natural means. We hear of human
enhance mentor human genetic engineering. There is, indeed a universal desire to go beyond the
human limitation. However, we must accept the fact that humankind will always be limited.

It is different in the case of the Church. We profess the truth that the Church is infallible. Infallibility is
the impossibility of falling into error The Church in the exercise of her teaching office, when she teaches
on essential matters concerning faith and morals is infallible. This Infallibility, however, is not absolute. It
is only in connection with her doctrinal authority that the Church is infallible. The Church is fallible in her
objective and definitive teachings regarding faith and morals.

Infallibility is perhaps the most misunderstood, if not, the most controversial topic within Catholicism.
Other Christian confuse infallibility (incapable of committing error) with impeccability (incapable of
committing sin). Others think that we, Catholics, believe that the pope cannot commit sin. It is not true.
The Pope is infallible when he defines a truth of faith or morality, but he is not impeccable just like any
one of us Infallibility is not the absence of sin; it is the absence of error or mistake. Once we understand
the doctrine of infallibility correctly, our faith and confidence would be firmer in the active presence of
the Holy Spirit in the Church.
This Spirit never leaves the Church that despite the human frailty of the members and leaders of the
Church, she does not err in her teachings in matters of faith and morals. The infallibility of the Church
does not defend on the holiness of her leaders. Sinful men can be used by God to be His agents in
transmitting His messages.

The infallibility of the Church is a gift from her Founder, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit that gives us
certainty about faith itself and morality.
The infallibility of the church is more than an exemption from the actual error. It means exemption from
the possibility of error. Jesus Christ said that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church (cf.
Mt 16:18), which means that the Church of Jesus. Similarly, St. Paul declared that the Church is “the
pillar and foundation of truth“ (1 Tm 3:15). If the Church is the foundation of truth, she is the
spokesperson of God. As Jesus declared, “whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you
rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me” (LK10:16).

Infallibility is the basis of the essential matters of faith and morals. It makes the Church’s teaching free
of error. The promise of Christ is that the Church could not go astray because of His presence. Christ
makes His Church infallible in the exercise of her doctrinal authority.

According to the catechism of the Catholic Church, “The mission of the Magisterium is linked to the
definitive nature of the covenant established by God with His people in Christ. It is this Magisteruim’s
tast to preserve God’s people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective
possibility of professing the true faith without error. Thus, the pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed
at seeing to it that the People of God abides in the truth that liberates. To fulfill this service, Christ
endowed the Church’s shepherds with the chrism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals”
(CCC,890).

This infallibility belongs to the pope as the head of the bishops and the entire Church in the right and
special way (cf. Mt 16:17-19; J n 21:15-17). Vatican II says that it is the char ism the pope that “enjoys in
virtue of his office, when as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful-who confirms his brethren in
the faith (cf. LK 22:32)-he proclaim sin an absolute decision a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals. for
that reason his definitions are rightly said to be ire formable by their very nature and not by reason of
the assent of the Church, in as much as they were made with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, promised
to him in the person of blessed Peter himself”(LG,25).

The infallibility of the Church is based on Christ’s mandate. Jesus tasked the apostles to preach
everything He taught (cf. Mt 28:19-20), and He promised the protection of the Holy spirit to guide them
into all truth (cf. j n 16:13). This mandate and promise guarantee that the Church will never fall away
from His teachings (cf. Mt 5:18) even if individual members might.

God’s Glory in the Heavens and in the Laws

psalm 19:2-10

I
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the sky proclaims its builders craft.
One day to the next conveys that message;
one night to the next imparts that knowledge.
There is no word or sound;
no voice is heard;
Yet their report goes forth through all the earth,
their message, to the ends of the world.
God has pitched a tent there for the sun;
it comes forth like a bridegroom from his chamber,
and like an athlete joyfully runs its course.
From one end of the heavens it comes forth
; its course runs through to the other;
nothing escapes its heat.
 II

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.

The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye.
The fear of the lord is pure, enduring forever.
The statutes of the Lord are true, all of them just.
Amen.