Infallible Statements of the Church

In addition to the infallible decrees of the Councils, the following are considered as infallible:

According to The Vatican Council on pages 472-3, Dublanchy in his Dictionnaire gives a list of papal utterances, which are considered by common consent of theologians to be infallible. Unfortunately, he only gives a partial list of the twelve instances:

  1. Tome of Saint Leo

  2. Immaculate Conception

  3. Condemnation of the propositions of Luther

  4. Condemnation of the propositions of Jansenius

  5. Condemnation of the propositions of Molinos

  6. Condemnation of the propositions of Fenelon

  7. Condemnation of the propositions of Quesnel

  8. And finally the condemnations of the propositions of the Jansenist Synod of Pistoia.

Although many other things have been condemned by the Church as erroneous, they are not necessarily condemned as heretical. Other things are taught by the Church and also condemned in Denzingers, which accorindg to this book are not necessarily infallible by reason of being taught, but may be of Faith, because they are statements of the ordinary magisterium. (The Vatican Council limited itself in what we are discussing here, to the extraordinary magisterium of the Pope.)

List of Infallible Statements

This is from another source, which we had at the time of the election.

1. Pope Leo I: ‘Lectix Dilectionis Tuae’

2. Pope Agatho: ‘Omnium Bonorum Spes’, DZ 288

3. Pope Boniface VIII: ‘Unam Sanctam’, DZ 468-469

4. Pope Benedict XII: ‘Benedictus Deus’, DZ 530

5. Pope Leo X, ‘Exsurge Domine’, DZ 741-781

6. Pope Innocent X, ‘Cum Occasione’, DZ 1092-1096

7. Pope Innocent XI, ‘Coelestis Pater’, DZ 1221-1288

8. Pope Clement XI, ‘Unigenitus’, DZ 1351-1451

9. Pope Pius VI, “Auctorem Fidei”, DZ 1501-1599

10. Pope Pius IX, ‘Ineffabilis Deus’, DZ 1641

‘Quanta Cura’, DZ 1688-1699

11. Pope Leo XIII, ‘Apostolicae Curae’, DZ 1963-1966

‘Testem Benevolentiae’, DZ 1967-1976

12. Pope Pius X, ‘Lamentabili’, DZ 2239-2250

‘Pascendi’, DZ 2253-2333

13. Pius XI, ‘Casti Connubii’

‘Quadragesimo Anno’

14. Pius XII, “Munificentissimus Deus’, DZ 2331-2333

These things should be considered in light of this from Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII.  (DZ 2313) “Nor must it be thought that what is expounded in Encyclical letters does not of itself demand consent, since in writing such Letters the Popes do not exercise the supreme power of their Teaching Authority.  For these matters are taught with the ordinary teaching authority, of which it is true to say: “He who heareth you, heareth Me”; and generally what is expounded and inculcated in Encyclical Letters already for other reasons appertains to Catholic doctrine.  But if the Supreme Pontiffs in their official documents purposely pass judgment on a matter up to that time open to dispute, it is obvious that that matter, according to the mind and will of the same Pontiffs, cannot be any longer considered a question open to discussion among theologians.”