On the Apostolical and Infallible Authority of the Pope; When Teaching the Faithful, and on His Relation to a General Council (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1868. Excerpt: ... OBJECTIONS REFUTED There is no truth, however evident, which has not been the subject of objections, arising either from misunderstanding, prejudice, ignorance, or the intentional malice of men whose interest it was to impugn the truth. This is especially the case in matters of faith. This assertion is amply proved by the history of heresy. Were it not a matter of record, we could scarcely credit with what a mass of misrepresentation, sophistry, and distortion, heretics in different ages have attacked the several articles of divinely-revealed truth. It is not precisely with such antagonists that we now pretend to treat, since it would be almost useless to contend with those who willfully close their eyes that they may not see. We prefer to address ourselves to those who sincerely believe their objections to be well founded and destructive of our thesis. We propose to consider their difficulties, and, in our answers, to give them entire satisfaction. OBJECTION I. "There would be no use for a General Council, if the Pope can define the. truth by himself alone. But General Councils have been convoked by the Popes themselves, for the suppression of heresy; consequently they themselves did not consider their own decisions infallible, and did not think others possessed of that belief." Answer.--The convocation and action of General Councils in latter times are no more in contradiction with our thesis than the convocation and action of the first Council at Jerusalem, where there was question of matters of faith, and in which St. Peter, St. Paul, and the other Apostles took part. Such Councils have been convoked for the purpose of acting more powerfully in the suppression of heresy, and more completely depriving it of its mask of orthodoxy; and especially in orde...