Once a Pope retires.......

[Votto]

Is he still considered infallible?

 

[TheOldSchool]

Nope. That was a power granted by St. Peter to the head of the church. Ratzinger is no longer the head of the church.

 

[Avatar4321]

Considering he wont be speaking as the Pope, the answer is obvious.

 

[hoosier88]

The notion of Papal infallibilty is actually quite recent. It was voted (!) in by the First Vatican Council 1869 - 1870 - you can look it up on Wikipedia or your reference of choice. It only applies, however, to the Pope speaking ex cathedra - that is, on matters of R. Catholic faith &/or morals. There are additional conditions - see your reference. (The Church says infallibility actually predates the FVC - see their argument in the reference.)

 

[TheOldSchool]

The notion of Papal infallibilty is actually quite recent. It was voted (!) in by the First Vatican Council 1869 - 1870 - you can look it up on Wikipedia or your reference of choice. It only applies, however, to the Pope speaking ex cathedra - that is, on matters of R. Catholic faith &/or morals. There are additional conditions - see your reference. (The Church says infallibility actually predates the FVC - see their argument in the reference.)

Catholics argue that Jesus granted Peter that whatever he decreed on Earth would be binding in both Earth and heaven. Peter was the head of the church at the time and declared that each of his successors shall have that same power. By doing that it is assumed that heaven stands by that declaration. That's the argument I believe you are referring to.

I have no dog in the fight here but I think that's right.

 

[hoosier88]

The notion of Papal infallibilty is actually quite recent. It was voted (!) in by the First Vatican Council 1869 - 1870 - you can look it up on Wikipedia or your reference of choice. It only applies, however, to the Pope speaking ex cathedra - that is, on matters of R. Catholic faith &/or morals. There are additional conditions - see your reference. (The Church says infallibility actually predates the FVC - see their argument in the reference.)

Catholics argue that Jesus granted Peter that whatever he decreed on Earth would be binding in both Earth and heaven. Peter was the head of the church at the time and declared that each of his successors shall have that same power. By doing that it is assumed that heaven stands by that declaration. That's the argument I believe you are referring to.

I have no dog in the fight here but I think that's right.

Yah, well, I grew up Catholic. However, I distinguish between the hierarchical Church & the laymen in the pews. The notion of Papal infallibility is one of those topics that tremendously excites the Curia & the Pope. The average church-goer, on the other hand, could hardly care less. The average church-goer is much more concerned about cleaning up the issue of sexual predation upon children in the priesthood - something that Cardinal (?) Ratzinger knew @ first hand - all records of such cases were directed to him personally under John Paul II - once the issue wouldn't go away.

So Benedict entered the Papacy knowing full well what the problems were - & had said precisely nothing about the issue. In the US, @ least, where such issues are a scandal to the church-goers & the general public, this set of issues will help paralyze the Church in society, & damage vocations, and so on.

Thus the hierarchical church worries about how many angels can dance on the point of a pin, & other interesting but - to the man in pew - utterly insignificant issues. While the average church-goers see the soul & life draining out of the institutional Church, the people in charge - & the church runs a v. flat hierarchy, indeed - seemingly fiddle badly while Roma burns ...

 

[Avatar4321]

The notion of Papal infallibilty is actually quite recent. It was voted (!) in by the First Vatican Council 1869 - 1870 - you can look it up on Wikipedia or your reference of choice. It only applies, however, to the Pope speaking ex cathedra - that is, on matters of R. Catholic faith &/or morals. There are additional conditions - see your reference. (The Church says infallibility actually predates the FVC - see their argument in the reference.)

Catholics argue that Jesus granted Peter that whatever he decreed on Earth would be binding in both Earth and heaven. Peter was the head of the church at the time and declared that each of his successors shall have that same power. By doing that it is assumed that heaven stands by that declaration. That's the argument I believe you are referring to.

I have no dog in the fight here but I think that's right.

Not sure that's how the sealing power works. But then Im not Catholic so I dont have to agree with their understanding.

It should also be noted two chapters later, Christ gave all the Apostles the sealing power.

 

[TheOldSchool]

The notion of Papal infallibilty is actually quite recent. It was voted (!) in by the First Vatican Council 1869 - 1870 - you can look it up on Wikipedia or your reference of choice. It only applies, however, to the Pope speaking ex cathedra - that is, on matters of R. Catholic faith &/or morals. There are additional conditions - see your reference. (The Church says infallibility actually predates the FVC - see their argument in the reference.)

Catholics argue that Jesus granted Peter that whatever he decreed on Earth would be binding in both Earth and heaven. Peter was the head of the church at the time and declared that each of his successors shall have that same power. By doing that it is assumed that heaven stands by that declaration. That's the argument I believe you are referring to.

I have no dog in the fight here but I think that's right.

Not sure that's how the sealing power works. But then Im not Catholic so I dont have to agree with their understanding.

It should also be noted two chapters later, Christ gave all the Apostles the sealing power.

I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school through high school. The accepted school of thought is that Peter, through the authority of Christ, granted the "head of the church" (later titled the Pope) the power to establish law in the name of heaven here on earth, and that that law would be upheld in heaven. Peter is known as the rock upon which the church was founded because of the power granted him by Christ, and Catholicism is built upon that belief.

You may be right that the other Apostles also had that power (I would have to look it up), but the authority of the Pope was established solely by Peter. Whether that has been twisted by the politics of the era or whatever may be the case, but if you follow that train of logic, regardless of how corrupt a particular Pope was his word was bound both on heaven and earth.