|
 Faith
Reflections
Am I
Growing
Embracing Suffering
Perfection: Divine VS. Human
Rest in God
Sexual Abuse in the
Catholic Church
Celibacy and Childhood
Sexual Abuse
Weeds Among the Wheat
The History of BDRC
The Gift of Winter
FAQs
What
is Papal Infallibility
Do Catholics Read the Bible?
What
is Papal Infallibility ~
by
Barbara Wooten
The doctrine of papal infallibility
probably produces more misunderstanding, debate and
even controversy among non-Catholics as well as Catholics
than any other teaching of the Church. Understanding
its basic premise is quite simple but requires effort.
You must first start with the infallibility of the universal
Roman Catholic Church.
Infallibility is the belief that the Church has been
entrusted with the teaching mission of Jesus Christ,
the Gospel, and is protected from fundamental error
by the power of the divine grace of the Holy Spirit,
when it makes a solemn pronouncement about faith or
morals. Infallibility is a characteristic of the Church,
vested in those who have supreme authority over the
whole Church. This supreme doctrinal authority is the
college of bishops together with and under the pope.
In ordinary usage in the contemporary Church this body
is called the magisterium.
Papal Infallibility insures that the pope is immune
from error only when he speaks as the successor of Peter
in his role as supreme teaching authority of the universal
Church when making a solemn pronouncement on faith or
morals. At no other time is the pope infallible. Infallibility
is not a personal character trait and it does not reflect
the pope's personal conduct or private views. The pope
is not free from sin. He goes to confession too.
Understanding papal primacy is necessary to better understand
infallibility. Papal primacy means that the pope, as
the successor of Peter, is the supreme teaching authority
of the Church. The Catholic tradition insists that primacy
and infallibility require one another.
The First Vatican (ecumenical) Council, 1869-1870, only
managed to define papal primacy and infallibility before
it was cut short by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian
War in 1870. The Second Vatican Council, 1962-1965 had
the mission of completing the work left undone by the
interruption of Vatican I. It explained papal infallibility
further, specifying conditions for an infallible pronouncement
and further defining the role of the college of bishops.
In the last two centuries the pope has proclaimed only
two doctrines ex cathedra as infallible. The Immaculate
Conception in 1854 by Pius IX and The Assumption of
Mary by Pius XII in 1950. Pope John Paul II has never
made an infallible pronouncement although he has issued
apostolic letters (not an official infallible pronouncement)
as in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (the Church can not ordain
women) in May of 1994.
If you are interested in learning more about this interesting
subject, a list of key words that follows is a good
starting place: Magisterium (ordinary and extraordinary),
Collegiality, Consiliarium, Indefectability, Encyclical,
Inspiration, Revelation, Apostolic Letter.
top
DO CATHOLICS
READ THE BIBLE? ~
by
Barbara Wooten
There is a perception on the
part of many Protestants that Catholics do not read
the bible. This idea developed largely due to a long-term
misunderstanding. Until the Second Vatican (1962-65),
Catholics were forbidden to read translations of the
Bible prepared by non-Catholics and they were not allowed
to participate in bible study groups with non-Catholics.
The reason for this was that the Protestant Bible didn't
include 15 Old Testament (OT) books or portions of books
(The Apocrypha) that the Catholic Church considered
part of the canon (list) of Sacred Scripture. This was
an important point because when the Church describes
the Scripture as "sacred," they mean that
it is inspired by God. The Protestant Reformation accepted
only 39 books of the OT, because it believed that only
those books that were from the original Hebrew Bible
could be counted on to be genuine. The Catholic Church,
on the other hand, accepted the books that were included
in the Latin Vulgate, which was translated into Latin
from the Septuagint (the original Greek translation
of the Hebrew Bible).
The Catholic Church has always placed a high degree
of importance on the Bible. Early on the Fathers of
the Church used the Scriptures as the principle source
of instruction in the faith. "In the Middle Ages
the Bible was revered as the sacred page. As such, it
was the basis on which theology was developed. The Church
today considers the Scriptures together with sacred
tradition the supreme rule of faith" (Catholicism
by Richard McBrien).
Biblical canonicity is not the divisive issue that it
used to be among churches. Most Catholics and mainstream
Protestant denominations use the same biblical lectionary
cycle, the order of Scripture readings used in the Sunday
and daily liturgies. There are versions of the Bible
in use today that are the work of Catholic, Protestant
and Jewish scholars.
The Mass (the traditional name given to the celebration
of the Eucharist) is the main worship service of the
Catholic Church. Throughout the world it is estimated
that there is a Mass beginning somewhere every two minutes.
There are four Scripture readings during Sunday Mass,
holy days, and major feast days in this order: a reading
from the Old Testament, a responsorial Psalm (usually
sung), a reading from the New Testament and the Gospel.
At daily Mass there are three Scripture readings instead
of four. In addition most of the prayers that are a
regular part of the Mass are Scripture based. In his
homily or sermon (during Mass) the priest explains the
Scripture readings and uses them as an instruction on
how to live. It is said that if you read all the Scripture
readings for Mass daily for three years you will have
read the entire Bible.
Bible reading and study by Catholics have grown steadily
since Vatican II. Catholics are encouraged to read the
bible daily. They are, however, directed to include
prayer with their Scripture reading, "so that a
dialogue takes place between God and man." (Vatican
II)
There is a current trend toward small Bible study groups
within the local parish. Susan Furgiuele heads up the
weekly Diocesan Catholic Scripture Study group at St.
Thomas the Apostle Parish. She says that the group population
fluctuates, but usually ranges anywhere from 40 to 80
men and women. Many members of the group follow the
daily scripture readings from the Mass in a publication
called "The Magnificat." This is a monthly
paperback that also contains a reflection and readings
similar to an abbreviated version of the Liturgy of
the Hours (read daily by the clergy and religious priests,
sisters and brothers).
So, do Catholics read the bible? Susan Furgiuele, a
convert to Catholicism, has a succinct answer: "I
was raised Methodist, but all my friends were Baptists,
so I attended many Baptist youth meetings," she
said, adding, "but, I have heard much more Scripture
in the Catholic Church, than I did growing up.
top
|
