''Pastor aeternus'' ("First

Dogmatic Constitution An apostolic constitution () is the most solemn form of legislation issued by the Pope.New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, pg. 57, footnote 36. By their nature, apostolic constitutions are addressed to the public. Generic constitutions use ...

on the Church of Christ") was issued by the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...

, July 18, 1870. The document defines four doctrines of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

faith: the apostolic primacy conferred on Peter, the perpetuity of the

Petrine Primacy The primacy of Peter, also known as Petrine primacy (from the ), is the position of preeminence that is attributed to Saint Peter, Peter among the Twelve Apostles. Primacy of Peter among the Apostles The ''Evangelical Dictionary of Theology' ...

in the Roman pontiffs, the definition of the

papal primacy Papal primacy, also known as the primacy of the bishop of Rome, is an ecclesiological doctrine in the Catholic Church concerning the respect and authority that is due to the pope from other bishops and their episcopal sees. While the doctri ...

as a

papal supremacy Papal supremacy is the doctrine of the Catholic Church that the Pope, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, the visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful, and as priest of the ...

, and

Papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

– infallible teaching authority (

magisterium The magisterium of the Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition". According to the 1992 ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' ...

) of the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Petrine and papal primacy

There is general agreement among scholars on the preeminence that the historical Peter held among the

disciples A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

of Jesus, making him "the most prominent and influential member of the Twelve during Jesus' ministry and in the early Church".

It was to Simon alone, to whom he had already said You shall be called Cephas, that the Lord,…spoke these words: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the underworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven".

The

Primacy of Simon Peter The primacy of Peter, also known as Petrine primacy (from the ), is the position of preeminence that is attributed to Peter among the Twelve Apostles. Primacy of Peter among the Apostles The '' Evangelical Dictionary of Theology'' illustrate ...

is essential to the vision of

: that is, the idea that the

papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

by divine institution enjoys delegated authority from Jesus over the entire Church. The primacy of the

Bishop of Rome The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

over the whole Catholic Church is derived from the pope's status as successor to Peter as "Prince of the Apostles" and as "

Vicar of Christ Vicar of Christ () is a term used in different ways and with different Theology, theological connotations throughout history. The original notion of a vicar is as an "earthly representative of Christ", but it is also used in the sense of "person ...

" (''Vicarius Christi''). The

defined papal primacy in the sense of papal supremacy as an essential institution of the Church that can never be relinquished.

Magisterium

In the Catholic Church, the word "Magisterium" refers to the teaching authority of the church. This authority is understood to be embodied in the

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

, which is the aggregation of the current

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s of the church, led by the

(the

), who has authority over the bishops, individually and as a body, as well as over each and every Catholic directly.

That apostolic primacy which the Roman Pontiff possesses as successor of Peter, the prince of the apostles, includes also the supreme power of teaching. This Holy See has always maintained this, the constant custom of the Church demonstrates it, and the ecumenical councils, particularly those in which East and West met in the union of faith and charity, have declared it.

''Ex cathedra''

There is a distinction between the Solemn Magisterium and the Ordinary Magisterium. When the Pope issues a dogmatic definition, he is speaking ''ex cathedra'' in an exercise of the Solemn Magisterium. ''Ex cathedra'' means literally "from the chair”; it is a theological term which signifies authoritative teaching and is more particularly applied to the definitions given by the Roman pontiff. The second form of Church teaching, the Ordinary Magisterium, is continually exercised by the Church especially in her universal teaching regarding with faith and morals. For a Papal statement to be considered "ex cathedra" it must be made by the Pope as supreme teacher and pastor of the entire church; it must be on a matter of faith and morals; and it must be definitive, and applicable to the universal church.

Infallibility

was thus formally defined in 1870, although the tradition behind this view goes back much further. In the conclusion of the fourth chapter of ''Pastor aeternus'', the council declared the following:

...We teach and
define A definition is a statement of the meaning of a term (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols). Definitions can be classified into two large categories: intensional definitions (which try to give the sense of a term), and extensional definit ...
that it is a dogma divinely revealed that the Roman pontiff when he speaks ''ex cathedra'', that is when in discharge of the office of pastor and doctor of all
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine regarding
faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...
or
morals Morality () is the categorization of intentions, decisions and actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduc ...
to be held by the universal Church, by the Divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, is possessed of that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed that his Church should be endowed in defining doctrine regarding faith or morals, and that therefore such definitions of the Roman pontiff are of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, irreformable.

The chapter was subject to two votes in July 1870. In the first on 13 July there were 601 voters: 451 affirmative, 62 conditional affirmative, and 88 negative. The latter groups were then permitted to leave; others left because of the imminent

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. The final vote on 18 July saw 433 affirmative and only two negative votes, from bishops Aloisio Riccio and Edward Fitzgerald. According to Catholic theology, this is an infallible

dogmatic definition Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the apostolic Church and ...

by an

ecumenical council An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are ...

. Because the 1870 definition is not seen by Catholics as a creation of the Church, but as the dogmatic definition of a truth about the Church Magisterium, Papal teachings made prior to the 1870 proclamation can, if they meet the criteria set out in the dogmatic definition, be considered infallible. ''

Ineffabilis Deus for, la, Ineffabilis Deus, Ineffable God is an apostolic constitution by Pope Pius IX.''Ineffabili ...

'' is an example of this.

Opposition and criticism

The Catholic priest wrote a detailed criticism of the

, presenting the passage of the infallibility definition as orchestrated. Mark E. Powell, in his examination of the topic from a Protestant point of view, writes: "August Hasler portrays Pius IX as an uneducated, abusive megalomaniac, and Vatican I as a council that was not free. Hasler, though, is engaged in heated polemic and obviously exaggerates his picture of Pius IX. Accounts like Hasler's, which paint Pius IX and Vatican I in the most negative terms, are adequately refuted by the testimony of participants at Vatican I".Papal Infallibility: A Protestant Evaluation of an Ecumenical Issue
Published by

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company is a religious publishing house based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1911 by Dutch American William B. Eerdmans and still independently owned with William's daughter-in-law Anita Eerdmans as presi ...

, p. 23

References

External links

*
Text with English translation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pastor Aeternus History of the papacy Catholic theology and doctrine First Vatican Council Texts in Latin 1870 documents 1870 in Christianity