Papal Infallibility
Papal Infallibility
While writing the last stages of the Grammar, John Henry Newman was distracted by the drama unfolding at Rome. There was an attempt to define the Pope as infallible in matters of faith. Newman had always believed in papal infallibility, but opposed the church's declaration of it. He warned that the church was not ready for the Pope's infallibility. Newman continued to explain and interpret the dogma to the people who wrote to him for advice and information. For Newman, the only infallibility the Pope possessed was the infallibility of the Roman Catholic Church. Unlike the Apostles, it was a negative gift. The Popes were not inspired but merely protected from error. He also stated that definitions involving infallibility did not come from divine revelation “but of human means, research, and consulting theologians”.
Keywords: John Henry Newman, Grammar, Pope, infallibility, Catholic Church, faith, Apostles, negative gift, divine revelation
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