Not too long ago, the cardinals of the Catholic Church elected the first pope from the United States of America, Pope Leo XIV, which was an exciting time. We waited to see what kind of pope he would be. Before that, the first pope from the Americas, Pope Francis, was elected, and before that, Pope Benedict XVI was the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years. Prior to that, Pope John Paul II was the third-longest-serving pope in the Catholic Church. Each of these popes has a distinct personality, leadership style, and spirituality.

As the head of the Catholic Church, the pope is a very public figure. Now, with mass media, the entire world immediately hears the pope’s opinion on a topic or event. This leads to confusion about the pope’s role in speaking for the Church that Jesus himself established. In other words, when is the pope speaking as just a man in his personal capacity, or as the Vicar of Christ, exercising the dogma of papal infallibility? Let’s examine what papal infallibility is, so we can better understand the pope when he speaks on issues.

As we proclaim in the Creed, we believe that our Church is apostolic, which means it is built on the “foundation of the Apostles,” whom Christ chose to be his first witnesses and teachers of the faith (CCC #857). The Church teaches that the twelve Apostles were the first bishops to go out and establish churches far and wide. We recall the great commission: “And Jesus said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mat 28:18-20). From Jesus’ words, we can extract certain things: 1) he is establishing them explicitly as teachers, 2) they have the power to do certain things per his authority, and 3) he will remain with the Church forever to help and guide her. We also know that later, on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was sent as the guide and protector of the newly established Church and to empower the Apostles’ teaching office (Acts 2). All bishops from the original twelve Apostles and onward are protected in a line of direct succession. So, we do, in fact, consider our bishops to be successors of the Apostles.

The Bishop of Rome is the pope, and he is considered the successor of St. Peter, whom the Church teaches was the first pope, as established by Christ himself. “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mat 16:18). Note that Jesus says the gates of hell will not prevail against his Church. This necessarily means the Church is protected from error and heresy because if they were able to enter, the gates of hell would prevail. So, the pope, as the successor of Peter, is the head of the college of bishops and the vicar of Christ on earth (CCC #882). He is a visible reminder of Jesus and the bridge of unity between the bishops and the faithful (CCC #882). So, if we are to believe that what Jesus is telling us is true – that what the Church teaches is divinely protected truth – then there must be a mechanism in place that tells us this, which is the dogma of infallibility.

Before we look at what infallibility means in this context, we need to explain why we have it in the first place. Human beings are fallible, very fallible. We sin, we make mistakes, we misjudge, we lack understanding…the list goes on. Even Peter denied Jesus after he was named the first pope. No one is immune to fallibility, and no one ever will be. This also includes the pope, who is a human being just like the rest of us. As a matter of fact, throughout our over 2,000-year history, we have had some notorious popes, if not even downright evil ones. Therefore, Jesus would not want anyone to just declare church teaching as whatever they want based on their current whims. This is where infallibility enters.

The pope, along with the college of bishops, are not exercising infallibility at all times. In other words, it is inaccurate to think that Catholics believe the pope is always infallible in all situations. Specific conditions need to be in place for the pope to exercise his infallibility. First, he is infallible only when officially teaching on matters of faith and morals (CCC #890). If he recommends you eat your fruits and vegetables, he is sharing his opinion and therefore not speaking infallibly on official Church teaching. We will turn to the Code of Canon Law for the second very important component that must be present for papal infallibility. Canon 749 paragraph 3 states, “No doctrine is understood to be infallibly defined unless it is clearly established as such.” In other words, there needs to be an official declaration. We call this situation ex cathedra, which is Latin for “from the throne.” We also call it speaking from the chair of St. Peter. This may be expressed through official acts of the papal teaching office (though not every official papal document is an infallible declaration). Examples include encyclicals, decrees, constitutions, letters, catechisms, and other forms of speaking to the faithful in his official capacity and office as pope on matters of faith and morals. If there is no official document, it is not considered official Church teaching. This is how we can be assured of what Church teaching is and what it is not. This is one way for Catholics to differentiate between what our popes say in interviews on TV, or in the media, and what is official Church doctrine.

While it can happen, it is not typical for a pope to declare an official Church teaching on his own without consultation with the college of bishops. When questions arise about where the Church should stand on a particular topic, there is a process for discerning and disseminating the teaching. Namely, the bishops start by holding synods and ecumenical councils. Depending on the issue, they may invite secular experts, various theologians, Scripture scholars, and others to fully explore it. This is yet another protection for the Church, as it ensures that no single person makes sweeping decisions. Rather, we can be assured that the Holy Spirit will be involved to protect the truth entrusted to the Church. To quote the Catechism on this, “The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops, when, together with Peter’s successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium, above all in an Ecumenical Council. When the Church, through its supreme Magisterium, proposes a doctrine ‘for belief as being divinely revealed,’ and as the teaching of Christ, the definitions must be adhered to with the obedience of faith.’ This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself” (CCC #891). This tells us that no matter who is in charge and no matter what difficulties and challenges the Church faces, we can always trust that what we’re being taught is divinely protected truth, and we can freely give our assent to matters of the faith.

Hopefully, this clears up how papal infallibility works and empowers you to have conversations with your friends who may not fully understand. Please always remember to pray for our pope, bishops, and priests. They are entrusted with so much, namely our souls, and they are subject to fallibility, just like the rest of us. We must pray for them every day to build them up and cooperate in protecting them from all the snares that may come their way.

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