Thus it followed directly that the Roman Pontiff was
the head, heart, mind, and tongue of the Catholic Church; and
moreover, it was plain that when Our Lord prayed for Peter that
his faith should not fail, that prayer implied the doctrine of
Papal Infallibility. All these things were obvious, and yet--and
yet-- might not the formal declaration of such truths in the year
of his grace 1870 be, to say the least of it, inopportune? Might
it
not come as an offence, as a scandal even, to those unacquainted
with the niceties of Catholic dogma? Such were the uneasy
reflections of grave and learned ecclesiastics and theologians in
England, France, and Germany. Newman was more than usually upset;
Monseigneur Dupanloup was disgusted; and Dr. Dollinger prepared
himself for resistance. It was clear that there would be a
disaffected minority at the Council.
Catholic apologists have often argued that the Pope's claim to
infallibility implies no more than the necessary claim of every
ruler, of every government, to the right of supreme command. In
England, for instance, the Estates of the Realm exercise an
absolute authority in secular matters; no one questions this
authority, no one suggests that it is absurd or exorbitant; in
other words, by general consent the Estates of the Realm are,
within their sphere, infallible.
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