What is Meant by 'Ex Cathedra.'

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 10, 6 March 1902, Page 6

What is Meant by ' Ex Cathedra.'

The Catholic Church teaches (-ays a contributor to the Boston 1 dot) that tbe Pope is infallible wuon he trachea cc cpthdra that is from the throne. Protestants want to know how we determine whether a decision of the Pope i> c.r cathedra or not. Some writers have gone «o far as to fay that it is impossible, that in fact it requires infallibity on the part of the individual judging to determine whether a decision is infallible or not. All this shows entire ignorance of the decree of the Vatican Council which declared the infallibility of the Pope. It is simply absurd to suppose that the Council would not have provided for so very important a test as that of determining whether a Papal decree i* c.r cat h- dm or not- The decree itself is very explicit. It declares tnat the • Roman P ntiff when he speaks cr «tf Aethat is, when ho, übing his olive as p.stor and doctor of all Christians, in virtue of hia apoatolie olHce, d« fines a doctrine of faith or morals, to be held by the whole Church. For clearness and precision we contend 1 lu.s explanation could not be improved up m. We .see that when the Pope wpeakH c.r cathedra, fimt he speaks an Supremo Pastor and teacher of all Christians Second, he defines a doctrine necessary to ba held by the whole Church ; and, third, that doctrine must be concerning faith or morals. The Council itself thus explained what it meant by an ex cathedra decision, and it is impossib.e to see how there can be any difficulty in applying the test. From this it will be seen how perfectly absurd is the popular Protestant notion that every utterance of tne Holy Father is infallible. Cardinal Newman very well >ays : 'A Pope is not infallible in his laws, nor in his commands, nor in his acts of Kate, nor in his administration, nor in hid public p ilicy. Let it be oLs rved that the Vatican Council has left him just as it found him here.'