Letters

Infallibility

Jerome Gonzalez

Contents - Nov 2007 - Buy a copy now Editorial: East Timorese to attend World Youth Day - Michael Gilchrist Democracy: Religious leaders must have freedom to speak - Cardinal George Pell Australia's Missionaries of God's Love congregation continues to grow - Mary Pidcock News: The Church Around The World Liturgical Abuse: Trinitarian language lost in Brisbane Scriptures - Michael Apthorp Ora et labora: How monastic hospitality can strengthen one's faith - Br Barry Coldrey CFC Latin is still the universal language of Liturgy - Bishop Arthur Serratelli World Youth Day: Wagga Wagga priest's 'fly-a-thon' project to aid East Timor Architecture: How a Sydney parish church was restored - John O'Brien Poetry: A poem on the priesthood - Among the Apostles - John O'Neill Letters: Bishop Robinson - Eric Carman Letters: Teachings rejected by Bishop Robinson - Kevin McManus Letters: Modern saints and traditional liturgy - Seamus Mahady Letters: Petition Letters: True Church? - John Frey Letters: Clerical attire - Fr G.H. Duggan Letters: Infallibility - Jerome Gonzalez Prayer: John Paul II and the Rosary - Fr. M. Durham Books: Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating: essential reading in apologetics - Valerie Renkema (reviewer) Books: ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN by Dale O'Leary - Bill Muehlenberg (reviewer) Internet 'Singing Catechism': catechesis for the 21st century - Fr James Tierney Music: Cherished Hymns of the Forefathers - 2DVD and CD set - Peter Donald (reviewer) Books: Books available from AD Books Reflection: Benedict XVI on Sunday Mass: 'not a command, but an inner necessity' - Pope Benedict XVI

With reference to Dr Frank Mobbs' letter in the September AD2000, my understanding of a Council's infallible teaching is that this does not require use of the words 'we define' or 'this is definitive'. All that is needed is that the teaching be presented in an authoritative or definitive manner.

As Father William G. Most states on the EWTN Website (under 'Faith'), 'when the Church presents some doctrine as definitive or final, it comes under [Christ's] protection: it cannot be in error; in other words it is infallible. This is true even if the Church does not use the solemn ceremony of definition. The day to day teaching of the Church throughout the world, when the Bishops are in union with each other and with the Pope and present something as definitive, this is infallible ...'.

Without considering which teachings in Vatican II fall into this category, I would argue that Councils (Bishops and Pope together) do not have to necessarily 'use the solemn ceremony of definition' in order for a declaration to be infallible.

JEROME GONZALEZ
Willetton, WA

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 20 No 10 (November 2007), p. 15