The idea of papal infallibility has both baffled and amused Protestants at least since the First Vatican Council formally adopted the idea nearly 150 years ago (though the notion existed informally before that).
I have heard Protestants insist that it means one or more of these ideas: The Catholic church believes it is right about everything; every word the pope says is infallible; whoever is pope is sinless; and no Catholic can tell a lie. Well, wait. I've never heard the last claim, though because of the wild confusion about infallibility among Protestants (to say nothing of many Catholics), it wouldn't surprise me if somewhere someone did believe that.
Read Full Article »