Papal Infallibility Into the Modern Age.

You can't pick and choose which Catholic doctrine to believe. Though there are many Catholic encyclicals, papal bulls and ecumenical councils. And there are saints who are declared doctors of the church. Doctor means teacher in Latin. And once declared, their writings must be accepted as fact. St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine of Hippo. And even women like St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. And you can't just form your own sect of Catholicism if you disagree. The Pope is the successor of Peter and the infallible vicar of Christ. And that's heresy and apostasy. And to do so incurs automatic excommunication, latae sententiae.

So if the Pope says now that priests can bless gay marriages you just have to accept it. Sorry.

 

Well if they were just so infallable then maybe their congregations would not be shrinking so rapidly.

 

if you could catch them saying something that clearly contradicts past ex cathedra doctrine, you'd have them! (e.g, "now it's okay to bless gay marriages"--which of course the pope hasn't done yet). It would depend on how and why he said it. The Pope, according to Catholics is only supposed to be infallible under four conditions set by the decree Pastor Aeturnus: (1) speaking ex cathedra from the papal chair at St. Peter's Bassilica in Rome; (2) on matters of faith or morals; (3) with intent to exercise supreme apostolic authority; (4) for the purpose of teaching all Christians. When you say "that's heresy and apostasy", are you infallible or just speaking off the cuff? Back in 2015, Pope Francis said that the times are changing, and Christians must be ready to adapt. Pope: Times change and Christians must change continuously.

 

Hmmmm. As of 2021, the percentage of Americans identifying as Catholic seemed to be holding steady at 21%. The decline came mainly from Protestant churches (about 4% from 5 years earlier, in both evangelical and mainline churches), according to a Pew poll.About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated

 

Sorry. I wanted to add more.

As I said, if the pope endorses gay unions, the faithful have to accept what he says. He is infallible when he speaks "ex cathedra". But that is only in matters of faith. Because much of private revelation hasn't been added yet to the official canon. When the pope speaks ever about morals, he is always infallible. Because morals never change, and neither does God's will. So to reject what the pope says would incur excommunication latae sententiae, ipso facto, as soon as the act is done. Just like abortion. That seems unfair. But it does not apply if you don't know canon law. And sadly most Catholics don't. Also excommunication latae sententiae does not apply if it damages your good name.

The perennial question, about "knowing" church doctrine is should people just not learn Catholic canon, and thus avoid this penalty. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse". Theologians are divided on that one. Of course excommunication ferendae sententiae requires an ecclesiastical proceeding, so it is more strict strict. Unlike the greater excommunication, the lesser is a "medicinal" remedy, meant to bring the offender back to penance and to the church. So don't oppose gay marriage! And although the offender can't receive communion or confession until he repents, solemn acts of contrition and sincere acts of grace still apply. And any priest can immediately remove any status of excommunication if the person is in danger of death, even a priest who unfrocked or excommunicated himself. So it's debatable if an excommunicated person goes straight to hell. Actually, it is debatable what hell even is. Some think it is hot. But Dante's "Inferno" describes it as a very cold place. Pope Francis says its just a place where you feel sad for what you did for all eternity.

BTW, if you don't agree with gay unions, you can't break away and form your own sect. There are Old Catholics and Polish Catholics, etc. But it doesn't work that way. The lineage of the pope goes all the way back to Peter (look at the list!). Although of course many protestants would point out there was a lot of division and corruption along the way. The line is still unbroken though. And which RC offshoot to you join? Like protestant religions there are so many, as a Catholic would point out. And some people would even call Unitarians protestant, even though that is what they call themselves. But there is a clear unbroken line. Peter, Linus, Anacletus, Clement, Evaristus, Alexander, Sixtus, Telesphorus, Hyginus, Pius, Anicetus, etc. Unbroken. Need I go on?

BTW You don't have to attend a gay wedding if you don't want to. That is still a personal choice. Whether or not you have to bake a cake for one, like the ignorance-of-the-law thing, is still debatable though...

 

BTW, speaking of Church doctrine, frankly it does seem to change. Even though it never does. According to Pope Gregory IX, cats are the tool of the Devil: Our Legal Heritage: Gregory IX, the cat-killing pope who laid down the law That doctrine has never changed. People just don't talk about it anymore.

And as the new catechism points out, many Catholic saints had pets. St. Gertrude of Nivelles (c. 628–659 AD) had a cat. St. Benedict had a pet Raven. Though some people say that is because Benedict is based on the Norse god Odin. But that is debatable too.

 

That was the thirteenth century, and the Pope was acting on reports by his Inquisitor that confessions under torture had identified black cats as Satanic. The condemnation of cats,especially black ones, occurred in the context of a Papal Bull condemning Luciferianism, thought to be rife in Northern Germany. The Pope's Inquisitor, Conrad of Marburgh, reported that confessions from suspects obtained under torture reported using black cats in their rituals. Initiates were said to kiss the ass of a statue of a black cat. The Pope didn't directly order the killing of cats, but people took it as calling for that.

Some critics blame the mass extermination of cats for the Bubonic plague carried by the rats that multiplied in a catless environment--although that's highly questionable. And the bad rep cats acquired carried on and contributed to the witch hunts a couple of centuries later. Even today, superstitious folks think black cats are unlucky. Yes, that's one most Catholics have forgotten. BTW, Conrad pushed his luck too far in accusing Henry II, Count of Sayn, of being involved in the cult. The Inquisitor, not a popular guy, was murdered by unknown knightly assailants on his way back from the trial.