Comments on: What does it mean to say that the pope is infallible? http://www.bustedhalo.com/questionbox/what-does-it-mean-to-say-that-the-pope-is-infallible/ an online magazine for spiritual seekers. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:54:15 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: G. Miguel http://www.bustedhalo.com/questionbox/what-does-it-mean-to-say-that-the-pope-is-infallible/#comment-3996 G. Miguel Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:12:16 +0000 http://www.bustedhalo.com/beta2008/wp/?p=574#comment-3996 The doctrine of papal infallibility precipitated a crisis in the Roman Catholic Church at that time. The Old Catholic Church separated from Rome. Also present as an observer at Vatican I in 1870 was Lord Acton of England, a lifelong devout Catholic layman. It was in response to the doctrine of papal infallibility that Acton issued the following famous pronouncement: "I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way, against the holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." – Lord Acton in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton (1887) The doctrine of papal infallibility precipitated a crisis in the Roman Catholic Church at that time. The Old Catholic Church separated from Rome. Also present as an observer at Vatican I in 1870 was Lord Acton of England, a lifelong devout Catholic layman. It was in response to the doctrine of papal infallibility that Acton issued the following famous pronouncement: “I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way, against the holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”
– Lord Acton in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton (1887)

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