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The Forum > Article Comments > Pope Benedict XVI and the papacy > Comments

Pope Benedict XVI and the papacy : Comments

By Bernard Toutounji, published 13/2/2013

A pope is not able to wake up one morning and decide to drop the sixth commandment or add a fourth person to the Trinity.

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...In support of “Constance” above; although Bob Katter does not have the authority of Jesus, he nails the point well for gender equality outcomes of many women duped by its superficial charm:

(Hansard 14th Feb 13).
#...I reflect greatly upon my generation, who were told that women should have careers, not children. So, within 10 years, we become a vanishing race. Those women of my vintage are very old and very lonely. Their careers have left a very bitter taste in their mouth. They have no-one to love; they have no-one to love them…#

...Rhian :
To attack the RC Church on the credibility of its authority is to attack the soft underbelly of Christianity en-total: Immediately its defence is its faith based assumptions. You simply believe or you do not! That is its strong point. Without the childish belief in its infallibility, entry to heaven is impossible, (Jesus).
Posted by diver dan, Friday, 15 February 2013 11:16:41 AM
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That was exactly the point I was making, Constance.

>>Pericles, Yes, humans regardless of what position they hold are ultimately fallible creatures. That is, no institution is every perfect.<<

I was comparing and contrasting this self-evident proposition of yours, with the words of the author of the article...

"...no Pope has ever, in his office as Pope, contradicted the teaching of the Christian faith"

I then provided a couple of well-known examples, where God's vicar had contradicted the teaching of the Christian faith in virtually every aspect of his lifestyle.

>>Can’t you be more philosophical? I see those few evil popes in history as part of the whole stage of human drama.<<

Absolutely. Spot on. Quite. Totally agree. In fact, I can quite easily see those evil popes as perfect examples of what happens to human beings when they find themselves able to wield enormous political and emotional power over their fellow man. As you say, they are no more than "part of the whole stage of human drama".

But again, I take leave to dispute that this behaviour can be consistent with the teaching of the Christian faith, as the author claims.

"...no Pope has ever, in his office as Pope, contradicted the teaching of the Christian faith"

Unless the contents of the Roman Catholic church are entirely different to those described on the packaging.

>>You do believe in good and evil, don’t you? There will always be forces you have to fight against.<<

Well, ummm... yes.

But isn't it the Church's job to fight against it too? Actually doing something concrete, like supporting the prosecution of the paedophile priests in its midst, instead of just wringing its hands on a balcony in Rome...?
Posted by Pericles, Friday, 15 February 2013 12:44:30 PM
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"...no Pope has ever, in his office as Pope, contradicted the teaching of the Christian faith"

Is a beautifully constructed sentence…

It is self evidently true because, ipso facto, the teaching of the Christian (Catholic) faith is defined by the Pope, in his office, to be what ever he says it is.

Isn't this papal bull?
Posted by WmTrevor, Friday, 15 February 2013 1:50:37 PM
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>>"...no Pope has ever, in his office as Pope, contradicted the teaching of the Christian faith”<<

This indeed is a very clumsy formulation, and WmTrevor is essentially right when he says that it is self evidently true. What are and what not doctrines of the Catholic Church is decided - roughly speaking - by Ecumenical Councils and the Pope when he speaks “ex cathedra” (e.g. Benedict XVI published three books on Jesus, where he explicitly said that he was writing as a scholar and not as a Pope “ex cathedra”). For instance, there is an ongoing theological dispute behind the scenes - that I don’t claim to understand - whether Paul VI in his “anti-contraception” encyclical Humanae Vitae did or did not speak "ex-cathedra".

So what the author apparently wanted to say was that no Pope TAUGHT against accepted teachings of the Church. This is very different from LIVING against not only the Catholic teachings but the very basic Christian (and human) moral principles. Perhaps not unlike the difference between ACTING as a pedophile (or COVERING other pedophiles) and BOASTING about sexual harassment of minors (c.f. http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=5422#148086). The Church is innocent of the latter although obviously not of the former.
Posted by George, Saturday, 16 February 2013 12:29:29 AM
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