Infallibility 101: The Pope Can't Tell You What to Eat for Breakfast!

Oatmeal is good for you!
Just eat it already!

Supposing the pope decided that every Catholic should eat oatmeal for breakfast. It's good for you and gluten free. Suppose he wrote an Apostolic Exhortation about it and the Bishops of the United States asked if they should interpret it to mean that every Catholic should order oatmeal when they breakfast at a restaurant, that ordering bacon and eggs is a gross violation of the pope's will and an act of disobedience. Suppose the pope responded that their interpretation was the only possible interpretation.

Ridiculous right?

But there are some Catholics who believe that every word and every opinion of the pope is infallible. That is a mistaken notion and the first Vatican Council, which declared infallibility, expressed exactly how limited that gift of the holy Spirit is:

The Sedevacantist Position Summarized and Opposed

Sedevacantism has never made any sense to me. But it certainly generates incredible fights between Catholics who presumably all want the reign of Christ the King and the salvation of souls. Because of arguments on the blog, I've been doing more research and I am even more secure in my rejection of the sedevacantist position. While I admire the zeal of these folks, I don't think their answer is viable. Once again, I'm going to shut off comments on this post. Anyone who wants to jump off the barque of Peter and swim around in the sedevacantist pool, there are plenty of websites out there for you to check out. As for me, I recommend the resources below. A little catechism on sedevacantism This was apparently written during the papacy of Pope John Paul II. While his errors were not as numerous or egregious as Pope Francis, they were still serious, particularly the Assisi meetings that promoted syncretism, the belief that all religions are paths to heaven on an equal footing. (For more go here and here (first of four parts, excellent historical background)

The Pope is Infallible; What does that Mean?

The 2014 Synod and Vatican I by Robert de Mattei 

See Mattei's brief bio at the end of the article excerpts below: 

The constitution, Pastor Aeternus, establishes with clarity the conditions of pontifical infallibility.