The two dogmas adopted 150 years ago this month at the First Vatican Council deserve contemplation rather than celebration. The final vote was accompanied by a violent thunderstorm over St. Peter’s Basilica, darkness lit up only by frequent flashes of lightning and by a flaming taper brought in to enable the voting roll-call to be Read more
Male-only priesthood should be held as an unchanging and “definitive” part of the Catholic faith says the head of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal-designate Luis Ladaria. He says maleness is “an indispensable element” of the priesthood and the Church is “bound” by Christ’s decision only to choose male apostles. Ladaria’s opinion reflects Read more
Swiss theologian Hans Küng says Pope Francis has set no restrictions on a request for a free discussion on the dogma of papal infallibility. But Fr Küng is refusing to release the text of a letter he said he received from Pope Francis on the subject last month. The theologian cited the “confidentiality that I Read more
The notion of papal infallibility enjoys an unhappy distinction. One of the most widely known memes of the last one-hundred-and-fifty years, it is also one of the most utterly misunderstood. The media’s reporting of two recent events illustrates the issue. First, consider the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI. After Benedict’s dramatic announcement, serious and respected Read more
Is the Pope infallible when he proclaims a new saint, extending their liturgical cult to the universal Church? Many theologians – most in fact – believe he is and it is a commonly held and taught belief. Vatican Insider discusses this with Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca, a distinguished canonist and Adjunct Secretary of the Apostolic Signatura. Is Read more
You could be forgiven for not knowing where the buck stops in the Catholic Church these days. In any society, organization or Church community, it is important to know who is ultimately responsible in decision making; otherwise, chaos or worse would prevail. In an unprecedented (for a cardinal) cross examination in court last week, Cardinal Read more
When Pope Benedict XVI used the word “infallible” in reference to the ban on women’s ordination in a recent letter informing an Australian bishop he’d been sacked, it marked the latest chapter of a long-simmering debate in Catholicism: exactly where should the boundaries of infallible teaching be drawn? On one side are critics of “creeping Read more