The Pope | Infallibility
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the Pope is incapable of saying anything wrong regarding his teaching on faith and morals. The Bible, on the other hand, says that only God is without error. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Roman Pontiff, by virtue of his office, has infallibility as he speaks on doctrine pertaining to faith or morals. Biblically, infallibility is an attribute solely belonging to God alone and not that of any man or group of men. Eternity, omniscience, and infallibility are among God’s incommunicable natural attributes, properties of His Being that cannot be passed or delegated to creatures. All creatures err in fact, so that Bible solemnly declares, “There is none righteous, no, not one” Romans 3: 10.
The Catechism Says:
#891 “The Roman Pontiff… enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful – who confirms his brethren in the faith – he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals… This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself.”
The Bible Says:
Exodus 20:2-3 I am the LORD thy God … Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Mark 7:8, 9, 13 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men…and he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.…making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.
Isaiah 8:20 If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
The Catechism Says:
#890 “The pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed at seeing to it that the People of God abides in the truth that liberates. To fulfill this service, Christ endowed the Church’s shepherds with the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals.”
#2051 “The infallibility of the Magisterium of the Pastors extends to all the elements of doctrine, including moral doctrine, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, expounded, or observed.”
The Bible Says:
John 8:31-32 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
John. 17:17 “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.”
I Peter 1:24-25 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
The Papal claim to “infallible teaching authority” is essentially a claim to divinity. For only the Lord God is without error with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). The Vatican’s doctrine flaunts the claim that the Pope is “The Holy Father.” Nothing more strikingly displays the arrogance of the Papacy than this appalling claim to infallibility. The Bible says, …for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee:… (Hosea 11:9).
The Pope, in setting himself up as supreme, has denied the absolute authority of God! Amazingly, in this claim to a divine attribute of God, the Pope has fulfilled what was prophesied in the Bible, for this man will put himself in the midst of the People of God and proclaim to be The Holy Father, Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. II Thessalonians 2:4
For Christians, the Bible is the objective foundation on which one’s hope rests. Faith based on this secure authority is the expectation that the Lord God will perform all that He has promised to us who are in Christ, “we believe and are sure” (John 6:69). Because of this enduring link between the Scriptures and true faith, the Word must be studied regarding its truthfulness. Call to mind the lovely words of the Apostle Paul, “[Love] rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth” (I Corinthians 13:6).