The 12 papal charisms are divided into three sets of four charisms each:

— Authority —
1. The Pope has supreme authority over the one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
2. The Pope has supreme authority over the body of Bishops and every Council.
3. As the supreme judge of the faithful, the Pope can be judged by no one but God.
4. Papal decisions under this supreme authority allow no appeal.

— Indefectibility —
5. The Pope is the indefectible Rock on which the indefectible Church is founded.
6. The Pope has the charism of truth and never-failing faith, making him indefectible.
7. The Apostolic See is unblemished by any grave error, making his See indefectible.
8. The Pope is the head of the body of Bishops, which is indefectible due to this union.

— Unity —
9. The Pope is one Head with Christ over the Church and head of the body of Bishops.
10. The Pope is the principle and foundation of unity of the whole Church.
11. The Pope has the charism to teach infallibly, unifying the faithful in doctrine.
12. Subjection to the Roman Pontiff is from the necessity of salvation.

~ This post covers charisms 5 and 6, in the second set.

The Second Set of Four Charisms: Indefectibility

The next four papal charisms explain why the Roman Pontiff has supreme authority from Christ over the whole body of Christ: because he is indefectible. The Pope as both the Head of the Church and Her foundational Rock must be indefectible in order to secure the indefectibility of the Church, as the sole Ark of Salvation. This indefectibility is taught by the Church in the form of the charism of truth and never-failing faith, as well as in the explicit teaching of Pope Leo XIII, quoting Origen, that the gates of Hell can never prevail over the Church, nor over the Rock on which the Church is founded, meaning Peter and his successors.

Therefore, certainly the Apostolic See cannot err gravely in doctrine or discipline, that is, when the Roman Pontiff exercises the Keys of Saint Peter. And this doctrine has been taught in two ways: teachings stating the freedom of the Papal See from blemish, stain, contagion, heresy, etc.; and teachings stating the continual presence of Peter himself in the judgments of the Papal See.

The body of Bishops participates in this charism of truth and never-failing faith, which is a type of indefectibility, but only as a body, not as individuals, and only when united to, and led by, the Roman Pontiff. A Bishop who rejects the authority of the Roman Pontiff falls away from that union, and loses all jurisdiction. For if the Roman Pontiff by himself, or the Bishops as a body, (or even the rest of the faithful as a body,) were to defect from the true Faith, then the Church could not be said to have remained indefectible. The Church must retain Her fundamental structure as founded by Christ on Peter, with the other Apostles, leading His flock. Thus, the indefectibility of the Church implies the indefectibility of each of Her fundamental indispensable components: the successor of Peter; the successors of the other Apostles, the body of Bishops; and the flock they teach and guide, the rest of the faithful (priests, deacons, religious, laity).

The indefectible Church can never lose her fundamental characters: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. So, to remain indefectible, the Church must remain apostolic, referring not only to the Apostle Peter and the other Apostles, but to their successors, the Pope and the Bishops. For the Church to be indefectible, so that the gates of Hell never prevail over Her at any time, this indefectibility must apply to Peter and each of his valid successors, and to the Bishops as a body, as well as to the flock which they tend. The Church cannot be shepherds without a flock, nor a flock without shepherds. Neither can the Church be a set of shepherds and their respective flocks without a unifying Supreme Shepherd, who is one Shepherd and one Head of the one Church with Christ. If the Pope were to defect, the Church would not be indefectible. If the Bishops as a body were to defect, the Church would not be indefectible. If the body of the faithful were to defect — even if the Pope and the Bishops remained faithful — the Church would not be indefectible. Then the loss of any of the chief characteristics of the Church — one holy catholic and apostolic — would also mean the Church had lost Her indefectibility. Thus, all these things are always retained by the Church, due to the power of God, by grace, providence, and even miracles. Never can the promise of Christ fail that the Church will never fail.

* Pope Pius XII: “After His glorious Ascension into Heaven this Church rested not on Him alone, but on Peter, too, its visible foundation stone. That Christ and His Vicar constitute one only Head is the solemn teaching of Our predecessor of immortal memory [Pope] Boniface VIII in the Apostolic Letter Unam Sanctam; and his successors have never ceased to repeat the same.”

Notice that Peter did not become the Roman Pontiff, with the specific papal charisms, until the Ascension of Christ. His faults and failings before the Ascension were not of the Roman Pontiff. For before the Ascension, the Church rested on Christ alone as Her Rock. So not only are Christ and His Vicar one mystical Head of the one Church, but also Christ and His Vicar are one spiritual Rock on which the Church rests as Her foundational Stone. Just as the Roman Pontiff is the visible head, representing Christ, the invisible head of the Church, so also is the Roman Pontiff the visible Rock, representing Christ, the invisible Rock of the Church. These two are mystically one, Christ in His role from the Father who sent Him, and Peter in the related role from Christ who sent Peter and his successors.

Now let’s consider the four papal charisms that fall under indefectibility:

5. The Pope is the indefectible Rock on which the indefectible Church is founded.

This expression, that the Church is founded on Peter as on a Rock, is no mere figure of speech. It is a dogma with profound implications. As Cardinal Manning, one of the fathers of Vatican I, taught: Peter as the Rock of the Church implies “the perpetual stability of Peter’s faith”, referring to Peter and his successors. He also taught that the promises of Christ in Mt 16:18 and Lk 22:32 (Peter as Rock; his never-failing faith) guarantee divine assistance “to secure the stability and indefectibility of the Faith,” in and by means of Peter and his successors. See below for the full quotes. Thus, the dogma of the indefectibility of the Church is closely related to the indefectibility of the Roman Pontiff.

The indefectibility of the Church requires this indefectibility of the Roman Pontiff, for “Christ and His Vicar constitute one only head” of the one Church (as Pope Pius XII taught). If the Pope were to defect from the true faith, the Church could not be said to be indefectible, as Her Head and foundational Rock would have failed in faith. An indefectible Church cannot be founded upon a Rock which can fail gravely in truth or fail gravely in faith. But neither is the Church vulnerable to the personal sins or failings of each successive Pope, for the divine promises of Christ (Mt 16:18; Lk 22:32) are absolutely secured by prevenient grace, which no one can resist. So his personal failings, however grave, never result in grave errors in doctrine or discipline, nor in grave failings of faith in his person.

Neither can any perceived or alleged defection of the Roman Pontiff from the true Faith be explained in that Christ is the true Rock or true Head, since the doctrine of the Church is ancient and unceasing that Christ and His Vicar are one Head (Unam Sanctam, confirmed by Lateran V). They are not two, such that one can defect, while the other secures the indefectibility of the Church. Christ did not need to promise that He himself would not defect, as He is God. The promise and prayer was needed for Peter and his successors, as they are each fallen sinners. Christ himself secures their never-failing faith, so as to secure the indefectibility of the visible Head and visible Rock of the Church. But these two, Christ and His Vicar, the invisible and the visible, have a mystical unity promised by Christ, so much so that no matter how sinful a Roman Pontiff may be, Christ secures him in truth and never-failing faith, due to this mystical unity. For the figure of a Rock is chosen for its strength and firmness, representing indefectibility in the Roman Pontiff, as the foundation of the Church.

Example Teachings:

[Matthew]
{16:15} Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
{16:16} Simon Peter responded by saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
{16:17} And in response, Jesus said to him: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father, who is in heaven.
{16:18} And I say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.”

[Luke]
{22:31} And the Lord said: “Simon, Simon! Behold, Satan has asked for you, so that he may sift you like wheat.
{22:32} “But I have prayed for you, so that your faith may not fail, and so that you, once converted, may confirm your brothers.”

~ Note that Peter’s betrayal of Christ, during His Passion, occurred prior to Peter’s Pontificate, which began at the Ascension. This teaching on when the Pontificate of Peter began is found in multiple sources: The First Council Lyons; Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum; St. Thomas, Summa Contra Gentiles; and Pope Pius XII, Mystical Body of Christ — all quoted and referenced below. The papal charisms are only given during each Roman Pontiff’s Pontificate. Before a Pontificate, the man (who will later become Pope) does not have the papal charisms, no matter how holy he may be; and after a Pontificate, as in the case of resignation, the former Pope also lacks the papal charisms, no matter how holy he may be.

* Pope Saint Leo I: “The order of truth remains; blessed Peter, keeping the strength of the rock, does not abandon the helm of the Church. Whatever We do rightly is his work, whose power lives in his See…. In the person of My lowliness he is seen, he is honored, in whom remains the care of all pastors and of the sheep of their charge. His power does not fail, even in an unworthy heir.”

~ Even when the Roman Pontiff is “an unworthy heir” — which is not ours to judge — the firmness of faith of the successor of Peter is that of a Rock. Blessed Peter himself has never abandoned the helm of the Church. No matter how lowly or unworthy a Roman Pontiff may be, the power given by Christ to Peter “does not fail”, just as the promises of Christ can never fail (Mt 16:18; Lk 22:32). This unworthiness is never an excuse to accuse a Roman Pontiff of grave errors or grave failings of faith, as every Roman Pontiff keeps the strength of the Rock, through Peter, as the fulfilment of the divine promise of Christ.

* Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam, confirmed by the Fifth Lateran Council: “But this authority, even though it may be given to a man, and may be exercised by a man, is not human, but rather divine, having been given by the divine mouth to Peter, and to him as well as to his successors, by Christ Himself, that is, to him whom He had disclosed to be the firm rock, just as the Lord said to Peter himself: ‘Whatever you shall bind,’ [Mt 16:19] etc. Therefore, whoever resists this authority, such as it has been ordained by God, resists the ordination of God. [Romans 13:2]”

~ Peter and his successors are each the unfailing rock on which the Church is founded, because each is united to the invisible Rock who is Christ, making one foundational Rock and one Head only of the one Church. Thus, the charisms of the Roman Pontiff are from this unity with Christ, and this authority, indefectibility, and unity is divine, not merely human. The Church is the body of Christ, who is fully God and fully human, and so the Church likewise has two natures, the human and the divine. But the divine aspects of the Church preserve Her indefectibility, despite any failings in the Roman Pontiff, the Bishops, or the faithful as fallen sinners.

* Saint Jerome as quoted by Pope Benedict XVI: “This is what Jerome wrote: ‘I decided to consult the Chair of Peter, where that faith is found exalted by the lips of an Apostle; I now come to ask for nourishment for my soul there, where once I received the garment of Christ. I follow no leader save Christ, so I enter into communion with your beatitude, that is, with the Chair of Peter, for this I know is the rock upon which the Church is built’ (cf. Le lettere I, 15, 1-2).”

~ But does the founding of the Church on the Rock of Peter and his successors mean that each Roman Pontiff is as indefectible as the Church? Yes.

* Francisco Suarez, 1548-1617: “The faith of Peter was catholic and not able to fail; but the faith of the Roman Church is the faith of Peter; therefore, the faith of the Roman Church is the catholic faith, from which this See can never defect.”

~ Suarez mentions not only the never-failing faith of Peter, but also the indefectibility of his See. For the See of Peter can never defect from the Catholic Faith, no matter who may be the Roman Pontiff. The prevenient grace of God, in each Roman Pontiff, guarantees this indefectibility of each Roman Pontiff, to fulfill the promise of Christ that each Roman Pontiff will be a Rock for the sake of the Church.

* Pope Leo XIII, quoting Origen with approval: ” ‘neither against the rock upon which Christ builds His Church, nor against the Church shall the gates of Hell prevail’ (Origenes, Comment. in Matt., tom. xii., n. ii).”

~ The dogma of the indefectibility of the Church is based on the words of Christ in Matthew 16:18, that the gates of Hell shall not prevail. But Pope Leo XIII, using the words of Origen, applies this to both the Rock who is Peter and to the Church. Since the gates of Hell cannot prevail over either, then each has indefectibility: the Roman Pontiff and the Church — in every age, every generation, every year, every moment, without exception.

* Pope Saint Gregory I (the great), Doctor, 590-604: “Who does not know that the whole Church was strengthened in the firmness of the Prince of the Apostles, to whom it was said, ‘Upon this rock I will build my Church … and thou, being converted, confirm thy brethren?’ [Mt 16:18; Lk 22:32]”
* Saint Bellarmine: “There Gregory clearly teaches the strength of the Church depends upon the strength of Peter, and hence Peter is less able to err than the Church herself.”

~ The papal charisms of indefectibility are related to one another. As the Rock on which the Church is founded, Peter and his successors must have a never-failing faith, and so each Roman Pontiff is preserved in the exercise of the Keys of Peter against any grave errors. These charisms keep the See of Peter indefectible, for the sake of the indefectibility of the Church. Without papal indefectibility, the Church could be founded on a faithless Rock, with a faithless Head — as some imply by their attacks on the Roman Pontiffs. With papal indefectibility, the Church is founded upon a Rock with never-failing faith, and has a visible Head who cannot err gravely on doctrine or discipline. No other structure and explanation of Peter and his successors as Rock is compatible with Catholic dogma.

* Saint Maximus the Confessor, 580-662: “from the incarnate Word’s descent to us, all Christian churches everywhere have held and hold the great Church that is here [at Rome] to be their only basis and foundation since, according to the Savior’s promise, the gates of Hell have never prevailed against her.”

~ This ancient and constant teaching on the indefectibility, not only of the Church on the whole, but specifically of the Roman Church, that is, the Apostolic See of Peter, implies the indefectibility of the Roman Pontiff and is entirely incompatible with claims that any Roman Pontiff has taught or committed heresy, or has failed gravely in faith in any other way.

* Cardinal Manning: “The interpretation by the Fathers of the words ‘On this rock,’ etc. is fourfold, but all four interpretations are not more than four aspects of one and the same truth, and all are necessary to complete its full meaning. They all implicitly or explicitly contain the perpetual stability of Peter’s faith….”

* Cardinal Manning: “In these two promises [Lk 22:32, Mt 16:18] a divine assistance is pledged to Peter and to his successors, and that divine assistance is promised to secure the stability and indefectibility of the Faith in the supreme Doctor and Head of the Church, for the general good of the Church itself.”

~ Here Cardinal Manning, a father of Vatican I, teaches the indefectibility of Peter in those words: “the stability and indefectibility of the Faith in the supreme Doctor and Head of the Church”, i.e. the Roman Pontiff. The Catholic Faith itself can never be corrupted in the Roman Pontiff, because he is the Rock, and the Head, and the Teacher of the Faith to the whole Church on earth.

* Blessed Pope Pius IX, 1873, on those who write against the teachings of Vatican I: “For these writings attack and pervert the true power of jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff and the bishops, who are the successors of blessed Peter and the apostles; they transfer it instead to the people, or, as they say, to the community. They obstinately reject and oppose the infallible magisterium both of the Roman Pontiff and of the whole Church in teaching matters. Incredibly, they boldly affirm that the Roman Pontiff and all the bishops, the priests and the people conjoined with him in the unity of faith and communion fell into heresy when they approved and professed the definitions of the Ecumenical Vatican Council. Therefore they deny also the indefectibility of the Church and blasphemously declare that it has perished throughout the world and that its visible Head and the bishops have erred.”

~ Notice that the indefectibility of the Church would be lost, according to Blessed Pope Pius IX, if the Roman Pontiff, or the body of Bishops, or the body of the faithful ever fell into heresy. The holy Pontiff also implies the indefectibility of each and every Ecumenical Council, when he explains that if Vatican I had taught heresy, then the indefectibility of the Church would, as a counter-factual hypothetical, perish throughout the world. This teaching of Pius IX attributes the indefectibility of the Church to what is essentially an indefectibility of the Roman Pontiff, and of the body of Bishops led by him. Thus, the dogma of the indefectibility of the Church implies necessarily the indefectibility of the Pope, the body of Bishops united to him and led by him, and of each Ecumenical Council. Then the body of the faithful, which includes the Pope and the Bishops, obviously is also indefectibility, for that is a description of the whole Church on earth.

* Pope Pius XI, 1922-1939: “without the Shepherd [i.e. the Roman Pontiff], little sheep would go astray and more easily become the prey of false shepherds…. more than the help of men, We must have confidence in the indefectible assistance promised by God to His Church and in the immense goodness of the Lord toward those who love Him.”

~ The Roman Pontiff, as the supreme Shepherd and supreme Teacher of the Church, cannot defect, otherwise, the little sheep he leads and teaches would fall away from the true faith. So the indefectibility of the Church is linked by necessity to the indefectibility of the Pope.

6. The Pope has the charism of truth and never-failing faith, making him indefectible.

The never-failing faith of the Roman Pontiff is a dogma of the Catholic Faith. It is the ancient and constant teaching of the Church, and the teaching of the Ecumenical Councils Constantinople III and Vatican I. This papal charism of truth and never-failing faith necessarily implies, among other things, that the Pope can never teach or commit heresy, nor fail gravely in faith by apostasy, schism, idolatry, or otherwise. It is one charism, with two aspects: truth and faith. For our faith is in divinely-revealed truths, and all the divinely-revealed truths support our faith.

The Roman Pontiff can commit personal sins, even to the extent of actual mortal sin; for he must walk the same path of salvation that he teaches, and must be subject to the same judgment as his flock. However, for the sake of the Church and the path of salvation of that flock, the prevenient grace of God keeps the Roman Pontiff always firm in a faith that cannot possibly fail. Prevenient grace is that type of grace which is God operating, not cooperating; no created person can choose to resist, nor choose to cooperate with this type of grace.

And since this never-failing faith is in the truths of divine revelation, the Pope can never fail gravely in truth, nor in faith. This an indispensable part of the indefectibility of the Roman Pontiff. This gift does not guarantee that all he teaches is infallible, nor does it guarantee that he cannot sin. But, for our sake, this charism does guarantee, as Christ the Lord promised and prayed in Luke 22:32, that no Pope can ever fail in faith. This charism protects against grave failures in the truths of the faith, grave failures in the disciplines derived from those truths, and grave failures of faith in the person of the Pope. For these promises were made to the person of Peter, not merely to an office. But since the protection relates to grave failures, it does not make the Pope infallible in everything he teaches or opines. Infallible teachings have no errors; non-infallible papal teachings have no grave errors.

[Luke]
{22:32} But I have prayed for you, so that your faith may not fail, and so that you, once converted, may confirm your brothers.”

~ Jesus says “I have prayed for you” because He is both human and divine, and also because He is speaking of the near future, when Peter will become the Roman Pontiff and Vicar of Christ at Christ’s Ascension. This charism of never-failing faith was not granted at the time that these words were spoken. Then Jesus says “once converted” for the same reason, and also because He knew and predicted that Peter would betray Him. This betrayal is not contrary to the charism of never-failing faith, as Peter was not yet Roman Pontiff and so did not yet have the charism. After Peter betrayed Christ, repented, and was converted, and specifically in the conversion that occurs in the first moment of every Pontificate, Peter and each of his successors then receives the papal charisms, including a never-failing faith.

* Saint Irenaeus: “Those who have the succession from the apostles have received a sure gift [charisma] of truth, according to the will of the Father.”

* Saint Irenaeus: “Where the gifts [charismata] of the Lord are placed, there we must learn the truth, namely, from those who have the succession of the Church from the apostles…. These preserve our faith.”

* Pope Pelagius II, 590 AD, writing to the Bishops of Istria: “For you know how the Lord in the Gospel declares: ‘Simon, Simon, behold Satan has desired you that he might sift you as wheat, but I have prayed to the Father for thee, that thy faith fail not, and thou, being converted, confirm thy brethren.’ See, beloved, the truth cannot be falsified, nor can the faith of Peter ever be shaken or changed.”

~ The charism of truth and never-failing faith is the ancient teaching of the Church, and this teaching — as can be seen from the many quotes here and in the next section of the book — applies to every valid Roman Pontiff without exception. Then the claim is heretical which says that a valid Pope can fail in faith gravely, since he thereby loses his validity and his charisms. Such a claim nullifies the charism of never-failing faith, since it proposes that any Pope can possibly fail in faith. This claim is like saying that a crystal bowl is unbreakable, but when it shatters into a thousand pieces, the same person explains that because it is now no longer a bowl, it no longer has the characteristic of being unbreakable. Such a bowl was never unbreakable. Similarly, the claim that a Pope can lose his validity by failing in faith implies that he never had the charism of never-failing faith, a claim contrary to the ancient, constant, and therefore infallible teaching of the Church.

* Pope Saint Gelasius I, 492-496, epistle to the Emperor Anastasius: “This is what the Apostolic See guards against with all her strength because the glorious confession of the Apostle is the root of the world, so that She is polluted by no crack of depravity and altogether no contagion. For if such a thing would ever occur (which may God forbid and we trust cannot be), why would we make bold to resist any error?”

~ Many different teachings throughout the centuries state, along with Vatican I, that the Apostolic See is without blemish, stain, “crack of depravity”, contagion, and many other similar terms. By this is clearly meant that the See of Peter — the Roman Pontiff in his exercise of the Keys of Peter — can never fail gravely in doctrine or discipline. That it is grave failures and not all failures that are prevented at all times (while what is infallible has no failures at all) is seen in the wording, frequently expressing this gravity of error with many terms and figures.

* Pope Saint Leo IX: “Without a doubt, it was for him alone, whom the Lord and Savior asserted that he prayed that his faith would not fail, saying, ‘I have prayed for thee, etc.’ [Lk 22:32]. Such a venerable and efficacious prayer has obtained that to this point the faith of Peter has not failed, nor can it be believed that it is ever going to fail in his throne.”

* Pope Saint Leo IX: “By the See of the Chief of the Apostles, namely by the Roman Church, through the same Peter, as well as through his successors, have not the comments of all the heretics been disapproved, rejected, and overcome, and the hearts of the brethren in the faith of Peter — which so far neither has failed, nor up to the end will fail — been strengthened?”

~ When Leo IX says “it was for him alone”, he means Peter and not any other individual Apostle or holy person; then Leo also states that this charism is given to Peter and his successors, not to Peter alone in that sense. Pope Saint Leo IX clearly states that the faith of Peter “has not failed” and is not “ever going to fail in his throne”, meaning in his successors. There are many such explicit teachings on the never-failing faith of the Roman Pontiffs.

* Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor, 1090-1153, writing to Pope Innocent II: “It is fitting that every danger and scandal of the kingdom of God be referred to your Apostolate and especially these which touch upon the faith. For I regard it worthy that there, above all, dangers to the faith are mended, where one cannot think the faith is lacking. For to what other See was it ever said: ‘I have prayed for thee, that thy faith not fail?’ [Lk 22:32]”

~ Saint and Doctor of the Church, Bernard of Clairvaux, understands this never-failing faith. No one should imagine that the faith can ever be lacking in the Roman Pontiff and his See. And “dangers to the faith are mended” by the Roman Pontiff and his See due to that never-failing faith. For his answers on matters faith, morals, and discipline can never fail gravely. This gives the Apostolic See a trustworthiness that is independent of the person of the Roman Pontiff. The papal charisms are individually present in the Roman Pontiff (cf. Lumen Gentium 25 on the charism of infallibility). But these charisms are also independent of the personality, personal sins and failings, and idiosyncrasies of the person who is Pope at any point in time. This is due to the mystical unity of Christ and His Vicar as “one only Head” of the one Church [cf. Pope Pius XII, Mystical Body of Christ, 40].

* Pope Innocent III, 1198-1216: “The Fathers, for the sake of the Church, understood especially in regard to articles of faith that those words [Lk 22:32] refer to the See of Peter, who knew the Lord had prayed for him, lest his faith would fail.”

* Pope Innocent III: “To him [Peter] the Lord committed his sheep to be shepherded by a thrice-repeated word, so that anyone who wishes not to have him as his shepherd, even in his successors, should be deemed an alien to the Lord’s flock.”

~ Those who accuse Popes (and Ecumenical Councils approved by the Pope) of grave errors or grave failings of faith fall under this admonition and condemnation of Pope Innocent III. If you reject the Roman Pontiff as your shepherd, you “should be deemed an alien to the Lord’s flock”.

* Pope Innocent III: “The Lord confesses at the time of the Passion that he prayed for him: ‘I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail: and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren’ [Lk 22:32], by this manifestly indicating that his successors would never at any time deviate from the Catholic faith, but rather they would recall others and also strengthen others in such a way as to impose on others the necessity of obeying….”

John Paul II: “Moreover, Peter — and like him each one of his successors and head of the Church — has the mission of encouraging the faithful to put all their trust in Christ and in the power of his grace, which he personally experienced. This is what Innocent III writes in the Apostolic Letter Sedis primatus [the First See] (November 12, 1199), quoting the text of Luke 22:32 and commenting on it thus: ‘The Lord clearly signifies that Peter’s successors will never deviate from the Catholic faith. Rather, they will help the deviating to return and will strengthen the vacillating’ (DS 775). That Pope of the Middle Ages considered that the declaration of Jesus to Peter was confirmed by the experience of a millennium.”

~ The verse of Luke 22:32 has been cited or quoted many times in the history of the Church with one and the same position on its meaning, that Peter and his successors have the charism of never-failing faith. Then notice the assertion of the Roman Pontiff that due to his prayer of Christ, Peter and his successors “would never at any time deviate from the Catholic faith”. And this is the plan of Jesus the Lord because the Pope has the role to recall others from such deviations and to strengthen them against such deviations. And we see that Pope Saint John Paul II agrees, since the mission to encourage the faithful to trust in Christ is accompanied by the power of His grace, so much so that Peter and his successors “will never deviate from the Catholic faith”. And this is not merely the teaching of two Popes, but, as we see from the many other quotations of this type, the ancient and constant teaching of the Church, infallible under the ordinary universal Magisterium.

~ By comparison, in Pope Paul IV’s document on measures to be taken if Church leaders (or others) fall into apostasy, heresy, or schism, the Roman Pontiff is excluded from those possibilities. But Paul IV does state that when a Roman Pontiff deviates from the Faith, he can be contradicted. This type of deviation is necessarily less-than-grave; it differs from the use of the same term by Popes Innocent III and John Paul II, who exclude any grave papal deviation from the Faith. Thus, the unblemished See of the Roman Pontiff can possibly err or deviate, but only to a less-than-grave extent.

* Saint Robert Bellarmine: “For the Pope not only should not, but cannot preach heresy, but rather should always preach the truth. He will certainly do that, since the Lord commanded him to confirm his brethren, and for that reason added: ‘I have prayed for thee, that thy faith shall not fail,’ [Lk 22:32] that is, that at least the preaching of the true faith shall not fail in thy throne.”

~ Again, we see this same position on the meaning of Luke 22:32, that each Roman Pontiff has a never-failing faith. And this is specifically said, by Saint Robert Bellarmine and others, to exclude the possibility of heresy from the faith of the Roman Pontiff and from his exercise of the Keys of Peter in his Apostolic See.

* See also the teachings of Pope Saint Agatho, on the never-failing faith of Peter and his successors, in his Letter accepted into the Acts (XVIII) of the Third Council of Constantinople (below).

* Vatican I, Pastor Aeternus, 7: “This gift [Latin: charisma] of truth and never-failing faith was therefore divinely conferred on Peter and his successors in this See so that they might discharge their exalted office for the salvation of all, and so that the whole flock of Christ might be kept away by them from the poisonous food of error and be nourished with the sustenance of heavenly doctrine. Thus the tendency to schism is removed and the whole Church is preserved in unity, and, resting on its foundation, can stand firm against the gates of Hell.”

~ This charism of truth and never-failing faith is the ancient constant teaching of the Church, making it infallible under the ordinary universal Magisterium. Then this same teaching was confirmed by Vatican I, so there can be no doubt that this charism is infallible, just as Vatican I and the many previous and subsequent sources describe it.

* Pope Saint John Paul II: “This is Christ’s promise, our consoling certainty: the Petrine ministry is not founded on human abilities and strengths, but on the prayer of Christ who implores the Father that Simon’s faith ‘may not fail’ (Lk 22:32).”

* Pope Saint John Paul II: “In foretelling the triple denial which Peter would make out of fear during the passion, Jesus also predicted that he would overcome the crisis of that night: ‘Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail, and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers’ (Lk 22:31-32). With these words Jesus guaranteed Simon a special prayer for the perseverance of his faith, but he also announced the mission entrusted to him of strengthening his brothers in the faith.”

~ No matter who the Roman Pontiff may be, he has a never-failing faith by the unfailing grace of God. The prayer of Christ cannot fail. Jesus “guaranteed” to Peter and to each of his successors “the perseverance of his faith”. This is not merely a protection to the office of the Roman Pontiff or to the Apostolic See, but also to the person of the Roman Pontiff in his faith. And the reason is so that the Roman Pontiff can strengthen the faith of the body of Bishops, and they all in turn can strengthen the faithful of the rest of the flock of Jesus Christ.

* Pope Benedict XVI: “The great bronze throne encloses a wooden chair from the ninth century, which was long thought to be Saint Peter’s own chair and was placed above this monumental altar because of its great symbolic value. It expresses the permanent presence of the Apostle in the Magisterium of his successors. Saint Peter’s chair, we could say, is the throne of truth which takes its origin from Christ’s commission after the confession at Caesarea Philippi. The magisterial chair also reminds us of the words spoken to Peter by the Lord during the Last Supper: ‘I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren’ (Lk 22:32).”

~ Here is a recent teaching of the Magisterium on the “permanent presence” of Peter “in the Magisterium of his successors”. Similar teachings are found in many sources: Pastor Aeternus at Vatican I, Pope Siricius, in 385; Doctor of the Church, Saint Peter Chrysologus, quoted with approval by Saint Robert Bellarmine; Pope Saint Leo I, Doctor; Pope Saint Agatho, in his Letter accepted into the acts of the Third Council of Constantinople; Francisco Suarez; Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum, quoting Pope Saint Leo I and the Council of Florence, and citing the papal legate, Fr. Philip, at the Council of Ephesus, as well as the pronouncements of the Councils of Chalcedon and Constantinople III. (See later in this book for those quotations.) The teaching of the Church is that Saint Peter continues to take an active role in his successors and in his See, as the means that Christ has chosen to carry out His promises on the indefectibility of the successors of Peter.