Works of the Right Rev. Bishop Hay of Edinburgh/Volume 1/Chapter 12
CHAPTER XII.
Of The Church
Q. 1. What is the Church of Christ?
A. It is the congregation or society of all the true followers of Jesus Christ throughout the whole world united together in one body, under one head for "we, being many," says St Paul, "are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another," Rom. xii. 5 . "And there shall be one fold and one Shepherd," John, x. 16 .
Q. 2. In what are all the members of the Church united together, so as to compose one body in Christ?
A. Chiefly in these three things: (i.) In one and the same Faith, believing and teaching all those Divine truths which Jesus Christ revealed and His apostles taught, and no other; for there is but " one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism," Eph. iv. 5 ; and of the Church, in the time of the apostles, it is said that " they were persevering in the doctrine of the apostles," Acts, ii. 42 . (2.) In the participation of those Sacraments which Jesus Christ ordained for the sanctification of our souls; thus St Paul, speaking of the Sacrament of Baptism, says, " In one Spirit were we all baptised into one body," i Cor. xii. 13 ; and of the Holy Eucharist he says, "Because the bread is one, all we, being many, are one body, who partake of that one bread," i Cor. x. 17 . (3.) In being all governed by one head, and by pastors under him, ordained and authorised by Jesus Christ; for He Himself declares, that all who belong to Him " shall be one fold, and one Shepherd," John, x. 16 , And St Paul assures us that all the different orders of pastors, apostles, evangelists, and teachers, were ordained by Jesus Christ Himself, "for edifying the body of Christ," Eph. iv. 12 - that is, for building up and preserving the Church in one body.
Q. 3. Of whom is the Church composed? A. Of pastors teaching, and of the people who are taught.
Q. 4. "Who are the pastors of the Church? A. The successors of the apostles, ordained and authorised by Jesus Christ to teach the people the truths of salvation, and to rule the Church.
Q. 5. How do you prove that Jesus Christ authorised the pastors to teach the people?
A. From His own commission to them, laid down in several places of the Holy Scripture, as follows: (i.) He declares that He Himself was sent by God His Father to preach the Gospel , Luke, iv. 18 ; and He says to His apostles, "As My Father hath sent Me, I also send you," John, xx. 21 . (2.) He revealed to His apostles all Divine truths: " All things," says He to them, " whatsoever I have heard of My Father, I have made known unto you," John, xv. 15 . And before He left the world He gave them commission to teach the same to all nations; " Go ye," says He, "unto the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature," Mark, xvi. 15 ; and again, " Go ye therefore and teach all nations, . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you," Mat. xxviii. 19 .
Q. 6. Was this commission of teaching to continue with the successors of the apostles?
A. Most certainly it was; for (i.) When Christ gave the apostles the commission " to teach all nations," He immediately added, " And behold ' I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world," Mat. xxviii. 20 . Now, as the apostles neither did nor could teach all nations in their own persons, nor were to continue upon earth till the end of the world, it is manifest that this commission was not confined to their persons, but given to their office - that is, to them and their successors in office, who should continue to the end of the world, and complete the work of teaching all nations, which the apostles began. (2.) St Paul was not one of those to whom the above commission was given personally, and yet he declares of himself, " I am appointed a preacher and an apostle (I say the truth, I lie not), a doctor of the Gentiles, in faith and truth," Tim. ii. 7 ; and " that Christ sent him to preach the Gospel," i Cor. i. 17 - (3-) St Timothy was ordained by St Paul to be a pastor of the Church, and a successor of the apostles, and St Paul conjures him faithfully to discharge this duty of teaching: " I charge thee before God and Jesus Christ, Who shall judge the living and the dead, by His coming and His kingdom, preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, entreat, rebuke, with all patience and doctrine," 2 Tim. iv. r. (4.) He also orders the same Timothy to appoint others to succeed him in the same office of teaching: " The things," says he, " which thou hast heard of me, before many witnesses, the same commend to faithful men, who shall be fit to teach others also," 2 Tim. ii. 2 .
Q. 7. In what light do the Scriptures represent to us the pastors of the Church?
A. (i.) As the ambassadors of Christ, sent by Him to declare to us His will, and reconcile us with God. " For Christ, therefore," says St Paul, "we are ambassadors, God as it were exhorting by us. For Christ we beseech you, be reconciled to God,"' 2 Cor. v. 20 . (2.) As the organs of Christ by whom He speaks to us, " He that hears you," says Christ, " hears Me, and he that despises you despises Me," Luke, x. 16 . (3.) As the angels of God, from whom we are to know His law; for, " the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts," Mai. ii. 7 . " I preached the Gospel to you heretofore," says St Paul, " and you received me as the Angel of God, even as Christ Jesus," Gal. iv. 13 . Great, indeed, is this dignity; but woe to those priests who disgrace it by their conduct!
Q. 8. Are we obliged to hear the pastors of the Church, and to receive the doctrine of our Faith from them?
A. Nothing is more strongly commanded, or more clearly expressed in Scripture, than this obligation; for - (i.) The pastors are expressly authorised by Christ to teach us; consequently, we are obliged to be taught by them. (2.) They are instituted by Jesus Christ, to preserve us all in the unity of the Faith; consequently we are obliged to receive our Faith from them. (3.) When Christ gave the commission of teaching to the pastors of His Church, He immediately adds, " He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be condemned," Mark, xvi. 16 ; consequently, Ave are obliged by Jesus Christ Himself to believe what the pastors of His Church teach, under pain of damnation. (4.) He further declares to the pastors of His Church, " He that hears you hears Me, and he that despises you despises Me, and he that despises Me despises Him that sent Me," Luke, x. i6. (5.) He condemns those that " will not hear His Church as heathens and publicans," Mat. xviii. 17 - that is, as " worshippers of the devil," for such were the heathens; and " as people abandoned by God," and given up " to a reprobate sense," for such the publicans were reputed among the Jews. (6.) The Holy Ghost gives the same command to all by the mouth of St Paul: " Remember your prelates, who have spoken the Word of God to you, whose faith follow . . . and be not led away by various and strange doctrines," Heb. xiii. 7 , 9. (7.) St John, speaking of himself and the other pastors in his time, gives our submission to them as the sign to distinguish the Spirit of truth from the Spirit of error, and of our belonging to God: " We are of God," says he; "he that knoweth God heareth us, he that is not of God heareth us not; in this we know the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error," i John, iv. 6 .
Q. 9. What are we to think of any doctrine which is contrary to what the Church teaches?
A. As, by what we have seen above, we are undoubtedly assured that Jesus Christ will never permit His Church to fall into error or teach false doctrine, but will continue to preserve the sacred truths which He revealed to her, and put into her mouth, at the beginning, unchanged and uncorrupted to the end of the world; so it is evident that the doctrine which the Church teaches is infallibly true; consequently, any doctrine which is contrary to this must necessarily be a false doctrine; and, if false, it cannot be from God, for God is truth, and cannot deny Himself, by speaking contrary to the truth.
Q. 10. From whom, then, does all false doctrine come?
A. Our blessed Saviour says to the Jews who opposed His doctrine, "You are of your father the devil. . . . He abode not in the truth, because truth is not in him; ... for he is a liar, and the father thereof," John, viii. 44 . St Paul also assures us that " in the last times some shall depart from the Faith, giving heed to spirits of error, and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy," I Tim. iv. 1 ; and St James says, " Be not liars against the truth; for this is not wisdom descending from above, but earthly, sensual, devilish," James, iii. 14 , 15.
Q. 11. What other powers belong to the pastors of the Church besides that of teaching?
A. They are also commissioned and authorised by Jesus Christ to rule and govern the Church, and have received from Him all the spiritual powers of the priesthood for this purpose.
Q. 12. How is it proved that the pastors are authorised by Jesus Christ to rule the Church?
A. From the words of St Paul, who, speaking to the chief pastors of the Church at Ephesus, says, " Take heed to yourselves and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops to rule the Church of God, which He hath purchased with His own Blood," Acts, XX. 28 .
Q. 13. What does this power of ruling the Church comprehend?
A. It includes the whole of their authority, and is described by St Paul, Eph. iv. 12 , under three heads. For He declares that the different order of pastors were instituted by Jesus Christ: (i.) " For the perfecting the saints" - that is, for conducting souls in the road of Christian perfection, by prescribing such rules to them and giving them such advice as is necessary or conducive to that end. (2.) " For the work of the ministry" - that is, for the preaching of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments. (3.) " For the edifying of the body of Christ " - that is, for regulating the externals of religion, by prescribing such rules and ordinances as they judge necessary for the decorous performance of all the outward service of the Church, for preventing or punishing all scandals, and for keeping the Christian people in virtuous discipline; so that everything may contribute to give edification to the whole body, and to promote the honour of God in His Church.
Q. 14. For what end did Christ give such powers to the pastors of the Church?
A. St Paul goes on, in the same place, to tell us that all this was done by Christ: (i.) To bring "all to the unity of the faith;" (2.) To enable us all "to become perfect men;" and, (3.) " To prevent us being tossed to and fro like children, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive," Eph. iv. 13 ,
Q. 15. Are the people obliged in conscience to obey
the commands of the pastors of the Church in things concerning religion, and subjected to their authority?
A. Most certainly they are; for St Paul says expressly, " Let every soul be subject to higher powers; for there is no power but from God, and those that are, are ordained of God. Therefore he that resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist purchase to themselves damnation," Rom. xiii. 1 . Now if this be the case with all lawful powers, though they be immediately of human institution, and may be changed and altered by man, both as to their form and the extent of their authority, how much more must it be with regard to the pastors of Christ's Church, whose power is immediately from Christ Himself, instituted expressly by Him, and which can be altered by no other whatsoever? Hence, (2.) Jesus Christ Himself says to the pastors of His Church, in the persons of His apostles, " He that hears you hears Me, and he that despises you despises Me," Luke, x. 16 . (3.) He declares the greatness of the sin of disobeying His Church in these strong terms: " He that will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as a heathen and a publican," Mat. xviii. 17 . (4.) St Paul "went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches; " and the means he used to confirm them was by "commanding them to keep the precepts of the apostles and the ancients," Acts, xv. 41 . Hence, (5.) He expressly requires this obedience and subjection to our pastors, when he says, " Obey your prelates, and be subject to them, for they watch as being to render an account of your souls," Heb. xiii. 17 .
Q. 16. Who is the Chief Pastor, or Head of the Church?
A. Jesus Christ is the invisible supreme Head of the Church; for God " hath put all things under His feet, and hath made Him Head over all the Church, which is His body," Eph. i. 22 ; and therefore He assures us that He is " with her all days, even to the consummation of the world; " and that He animates her by His Holy Spirit, " the Spirit of truth, Who abides with her for ever;" and by this means He communicates to her and to all her members the heavenly influence of grace and charity, to preserve them in life, and enable them to bring forth fruit, as the vine communicates nourishment to the branches, John, xv.; for " the charity of God is poured abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, Who is given to us," Rom. V. 5 . But though Christ be thus the invisible Head of the Church Himself, yet He has also been pleased to appoint another under Him to be His vicegerent upon earth, the Chief Pastor among men, and the visible Head of His Church.
Q. 17. Whom did Christ appoint for this high office?
A. St Peter the apostle, and his successors after him.
Q. 18. How does it appear from Scripture that Christ made St Peter visible head of the Church?
A. From the following testimonies, among many others: (i.) Christ gave him the name of Peter, which signifies a Rock; and declared, that upon him, as "a rock, he would build His Church;" Mat. xvi. 18 . (2.) Christ gave to him in particular, and to none of the other apostles, "the key of the kingdom of heaven," Mat. xvi. 19 . Now, the power of the keys is the emblem of supreme power and authority, according to the prophet, " I will lay the key of the house of David upon His shoulders, and He shall open, and none shall shut; and He shall shut, and none shall open," Isa. xxii. 22 . This was prophesied of Christ Himself, Who also says on this subject, " Thus saith the Holy One, and the True One, He that hath the key of David; He that openeth, and no man shutteth; shutteth, and no man openeth," Rev. iii. 7 ; consequently, by saying to St Peter, "To thee I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven," He manifestly communicates to him this supreme power, as to His vicegerent upon earth. (3.) After His resurrection He gave him the formal commission to feed His whole flock in these express words, "Feed My lambs; feed My sheep," John, xxi.; by which He constituted him the Chief Pastor of His fold, of which He had said before, " There shall be one fold and one Shepherd," John, x. 16 . (4.) When Satan sought to have the apostles in his power, " that he might sift them as wheat," Christ prayed only for St Peter, " that his faith should not fail," and left him as head of the whole, " to confirm his brethren," Luke, xxii. 31 . (5.) In the lists of the apostles given in the Gospel, St Peter is always named first in order, and the others are named sometimes in one order, sometimes in another; yet it is certain St Peter was not first called to Christ, for his brother Andrew was called before him, and introduced him to Christ. (6.) St Matthew, St Mark, and St Luke, in their lists of the apostles, take particular notice of the name of Peter, which Christ gave him, for his own name was Simon, which indicates the particular privilege annexed to that name; and therefore St Matthew expressly calls him the frist. (7.) St Peter acted in this supreme capacity as Head of the Church, both when he called the brethren to deliberate about choosing one in the place of Judas, Acts i., and also when he gave the definitive sentence in the council of Jerusalem, after " there had been much disputing," Acts, xv. 7 ; but when he had spoken, all "the multitude held their peace," verse 12, and submitted to his decision, as did also St James, who assented to and confirmed what he had said. (8.) The Christian writers and holy fathers in every age have always attested it as a truth revealed by God, that Jesus Christ did constitute St Peter prince of the apostles, and visible Head of His Church. (9.) It is an undoubted fact that his successors have always claimed this supreme authority, and have exercised it throughout the whole Church, as occasion required, in every age, from the very beginning. Now, considering the nature of man, it is evidently impossible that any one bishop of the Church should have acquired such authority ever all the others even in the most different nations and the most distant kingdoms, or that he could have exercised it everywhere among them, if it had not been given him from the beginning, and ordained by Jesus Christ.
Q. 19. Why did Christ institute one visible Head of His Church upon earth?
A. Because, as the Church is a visible body, or society of men, it was most becoming they should have a visible supreme Head among them, like to the members of whom the body is composed. Besides, as the Church was ordained to be spread over all nations, differing from one another in language, customs, government, and everything but religion, it would have been morally impossible to have kept them all united in one body, if there had not been one common visible Head or supreme authority among them, to which all must submit. So that this Head of the Church is the centre of unity, by which the Church of Christ, throughout the whole world, is united in one body.
Q. 20. Who are the successors of St Peter as head of the Church?
A. The Bishops of the city of Rome, of which St Peter was the first Bishop, and suffered martyrdom in that city for the Faith of Christ, leaving his successors there the heirs of all his power and authority.
Q. 21. Wherein consists the power of the Bishop of Rome, as Head of the Church?
A. As he is appointed by Jesus Christ to be the supreme Head and Pastor of the Church under Him, to be the spiritual Father and Teacher of all Christians, with full power to feed and govern the whole flock, therefore he is the supreme judge and lawgiver, in all things relating to religion, whether as to faith, morals, or discipline. The primacy, both of honour and jurisdiction, over all the other bishops, belongs to him; and all the members of the Church are obliged to pay the greatest respect, veneration, and obedience to his decrees and orders in all things belonging to religion.
Q. 22. How is the Head of the Church commonly called?
A. He is called the Pope, which word signifies Father, and is given to the Head of the Church; because, being the Vicar of Jesus Christ, he is the common spiritual Father of all Christians.
Q. 23. As the power of teaching resides in the pastors of the Church, does the infallibility of the Church, preserving the true doctrine, reside only in them?
A. The promises of infallibility, in preserving the true doctrine of Jesus Christ, are of two sorts. Some are made to the Church in general, such as these, " I will build My Church upon a rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her. My words which I have put in His (the Redeemer's) mouth shall not depart out of His mouth, nor out of the mouth of His seed, from henceforth and for ever." " The Church is the pillar and ground of truth." By these promises infallibility is secured to the whole Church, pastors and people; so that they shall never cease to believe and profess the true Faith of Jesus Christ. But whereas the people are commanded to receive the Faith from their pastors, and to believe what they teach, so that the Faith of the people depends upon the teaching of the pastors, therefore the second class of promises are made to the pastors in particular; for to the pastors, in the persons of the apostles, our Saviour said, " Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world; " " The Father will send you the Spirit of truth, to abide with you for ever, and teach you all truth." By which both pastors and people are assured that Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit will always remain with the pastors of His Church, and so assist them, by the continual protection of His overruling providence, in the great work of teaching the people, that they shall never alter nor corrupt the true doctrine of Christ, but teach it whole and undefiled, to the end of time.
Q. 24. In whom then does the infallibility properly reside?
A. In the body of the pastors, joined with their head.
Q. 25. How so?
A. In either of these two ways: (i.) When the pastors of the Church are called together by the Chief Pastor, in a general council, to decide anything about religion, whether regarding faith or morals, they are then infallible in their decisions, and their decrees are considered as dictated by the Holy Ghost, according to the example of the apostles, in their council at Jerusalem, who begin their decrees with these words, " It hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us," Acts, xv. (2.) When the Head of the Church, without calling together the other pastors, publishes any decree concerning faith or morals, and this decree is accepted and received by the body of the pastors, either expressly or tacitly, it then becomes a decree of the whole Church, and of the same infallible authority as if it had been made in a general council.
Q. 26. When the Head of the Church publishes any decree concerning faith or morals, to which he requires submission from all the faithful, is he himself infallible in what he there teaches?
A. This is not proposed as an article of Divine faith, nor has the Church ever made any decision concerning it.[See Appendix B] Great numbers of the most learned divines are of opinion, that in such a case the Head of the Church is infallible in what he teaches; but there are others of a contrary opinion, who think that his decree is not to be considered as infallibly certain, till the body of the bishops receive it, either by their express approbation, or their tacit submission when it becomes a decree of the whole Church, whose infallibility is undoubted.
Q. 27. On what grounds do those divines found their opinion, who believe that the Pope himself, when he speaks to all the faithful as Head of the Church, is infallible in what he teaches?
A. On several very strong reasons, both from Scripture, tradition, and reason.
Q. 28. What proofs do they bring from Scripture?
A. These following: (i.) Because this privilege of the particular direction and assistance of God in teaching true doctrine was given to the High Priest in the old law; and the synagogue being only a figure of the law of grace, and of the Church of Christ, the same privilege must certainly be given to the High Priest of the Church also; otherwise the type would have been more perfect than the reality, the shadow more privileged than the substance. Now that the High Priests were so privileged in the old law appears from this, that in all their disputes or doubts about religion the people were referred to them as the supreme judges, with the assurance that they would declare to the people the truth of the judgment, and with the corresponding obligation " to do whatsoever they shall say that preside in the place which the Lord shall choose, and what they shall teach, according to His law, and to follow their sentence; and not to decline to the right hand or to the left; " adding, " But he that will be proud, and refuse to obey the commandment of the priest who ministereth at that time to the Lord thy God, and the decree of the judge, that man shall die, and thou shalt take away the evil from Israel. And all the people hearing it shall fear, that no one swell with pride," Deut. xvii. 8 .
(2.) Because Jesus Christ said to St Peter, whom He constituted the Head of His Church, " Thou art Peter " (that is, a rock), "and upon this rock will I build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her," Mat. xvi. 18 . From this text, as we have seen above, the infallibility of the Church, in always teaching the true Faith, is most solidly proved; and the grounds of this proof are given by Christ Himself, when He says that the firmness and stability of the wise man's house against all storms and tempests, winds and rain, was precisely owing to this; "for it was founded on a rock," Mat. vii. 25 - that is, on a solid and immovable foundation. Seeing then that St Peter, as Head of the Church, is the rock, under Christ, on which she is built, and seeing that she is therefore infallible, because built on a rock, it necessarily follows that the foundation itself must be infallible also.
(3.) Because our Lord said also to St Peter, " Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not, and thou being converted, confirm thy brethren," Luke, xxii. 32 . Here our Saviour shows the rage of Satan against all His followers; but, to disappoint him, Christ prayed for St Peter, in particular, that his faith should not fail, and then commissions him, as the Head, to confirm all the rest. Now, when our Saviour prayed to His Father to raise Lazams from the dead, He said, " Father, I give Thee thanks that Thou hast heard Me, and I knew that Thou hearest Me always," John, xi. 41 . If, therefore, the prayer of Christ was always heard by His Father, the above prayer, that the faith of Peter should not fail, was without doubt heard also. Whence it follows that St Peter, as Head of the Church, and consequently his successors in office, shall never fail in faith, nor teach false doctrine. Besides, our Saviour, in the very text itself, shows that this very prayer for Peter was heard by His Father: " I have prayed for thee," says He; "you have nothing to fear." In consequence of My prayer, you shall be confirmed in the faith; and when you are so, " strengthen your brethren, and confirm them also." Now this very commission of confirming others necessarily presupposes that the prayer of Christ was heard, by which Peter was confirmed in the Faith himself. Neither does the subsequent fall of Peter, in denying His Master that very night, in the smallest degree weaken this argument: it rather corroborates it, because it shows that this promise of our Saviour, that Peter's faith should not fail, was made to him, not as a private person, but as the Head of the Church, and therefore to stand firm in all his successors; because, like all the other promises made to the Church itself, it was not to be fulfilled till the coming of the Holy Ghost, Who was sent on purpose to establish the Church, and fulfil all the promises Christ made to her, and for that end to " abide with her for ever."
Q. 29. What proofs of the infallibility of the Head of the Church do they bring from tradition?
A. From the testimony of the holy Fathers from the very earliest ages, which shows that this was the belief of the Church in their days. Thus Origen, a celebrated writer in the third age, explaining the text, " Thou art Peter," etc. says, " It is true, though not said expressly, that neither against Peter, nor against the Church, shall the gates of hell ever be able to prevail; for if they could prevail against Peter, in whom the Church is founded, they would also prevail against the Church. St Irenseus, Bishop of Lyons, in the second age, confutes all heresies, and all false doctrine, from the authority of the Holy See alone: " By declaring," says he, " the tradition and faith of that Church which she received from the apostles, and has handed down to our days," Adv. Her. 1. 3. cap. 5. And then adds, " To this Church all must have recourse; for in her the apostolical tradition is always preserved." So St Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, from the text, " Thou art Peter," concludes thus: " According to this promise, the apostolical Church of Peter remains immaculate, free from all seduction and heretical circumvention." Great numbers of others are omitted for brevity's sake. Only we must add St Augustine, who, when the Pelagian heresy was condemned by the Pope, says, " The answer of Rome is come; the ca:use is ended," Serm. 3. de Verb. Apost. " Jam enim de hac causa duo concilia missa sunt ad Sedem Apostolicam, inde etiam rescripta venerunt. Causa finita est."
Q. 30. What proofs are brought from reason?
A. The proofs from reason are founded on facts, and on principles received by all members of the Church as Divine truths; for (i.) There never was an instance of any Pope who proposed any doctrine to be believed by the Church, that was contrary to the sacred truths of faith revealed by Christ; for though a few, and only a few Popes have been disedifying in their lives, yet the most inveterate adversaries of the Catholic Faith have never yet been able to show that any Pope ever taught false or pernicious doctrine. (2.) Never yet did any Pope issue any decree concerning the truths of faith or sound morality, but it was immediately received by the great body of the bishops as containing the most solid and wholesome doctrine. (3.) Many different heresies that have arisen in different ages in the Church have been proscribed and condemned by the authority of the Head of the Church alone, both before the first general council was held, and since. (4.) In all controversies of moment that have arisen in the Church about points of faith, the bishops have always had recourse to the Head of the Church, as the supreme tribunal for settling them; and if the obstinacy of the party condemned by him made it advisable to have recourse to general councils, these councils never were found to do anything else, after the most mature examination, but confirm the sentence already passed by the Head. Besides, (5.) It is a truth received by all Catholics, as Toumely, a French divine, who writes against the infallibility of the Holy See, expresses it, " That as the Roman and apostolical See is the bond of Catholic unity and of Catholic communion, no man can be held to be a Catholic, unless he be joined with that See in the unity of Faith and doctrine." And then, showing that this union is of two kinds, both in the external profession and the internal assent of the mind, he concludes, - " To be united in both ways with the See of Rome was always necessary, and looked upon in all ages as the most certain sign and proof of true Faith and pure doctrine," tom. i. De Eccl. a. 6. This same truth is handed down from the very beginning in the writings of the holy Fathers, in every age, in the strongest terms. Thus St Jerome, writing to the Bishop of Rome, says: " I am joined in communion with your Holiness - that is, with the chair of Peter: upon that rock I know the Church is built. Whoever eats the lamb out of this house is profane; whoever is not in his ark shall perish in the deluge; . . . whosoever gathers not with thee scatters - that is, he who is not of Christ belongs to Antichrist," Epist. 56 ad Damas. And St Augustine, in his psalm against the Donatist schismatics, says to them: " Come, brethren, if you have a mind to be ingrafted in the vine.
'Tis a pity to see you lie in this manner lopped off from the stock. Reckon up the prelates in the very See of Peter; and in that order of Fathers see which has succeeded which. This is the rock over which the proud gates of hell prevail not." (6.) The same celebrated Tournely acknowledges, that if a division among the bishops should happen about any point of Faith, " without doubt," says he, " we must adhere to that part which is united with the Head, which is always to be esteemed the better and the sounder part." From all which, the infallibility of the Head of the Church naturally flows; for, if Christ obliges all to be united with Him in Faith and doctrine, He surely is obliged to preserve him from teaching false doctrine. From the command of Christ to hear His Church under pain of being considered as heathens and publicans, it is justly inferred that the Church can never err. This argument has an equal weight, when applied to the obligation of being united with the Church's Head in Faith and doctrine.
Q. 31. These are very strong arguments indeed: but what proofs do the others bring for their opinion, that the Head of the Church is not infallible?
A. They bring not a single text of Scripture nor almost one argument from tradition to prove it. Indeed they seem to aim rather at invalidating the proofs from Scripture and tradition in favour of infallibility, than at directly establishing the contrary. However, as this is a question in which faith is not concerned, the Church having given no decision regarding it, any person may believe it or not according as he thinks the reasons on either side preponderate.[ See Appendix B. ]
Q. 32. What consequences flow from these Scripture truths concerning the Church of Christ?
A. The consequences that necessarily flow from all that has been said in this and the preceding chapter, are chiefly these three: (i.) That the Church of Christ is the sacred Rule of Faith, and the supreme judge of controversy, instituted and ordained by Him to preserve inviolate to the end of time all those Divine truths which He revealed to man, and on the knowledge and belief of which the salvation of our souls depends; and that she is fully qualified by her Divine Spouse to discharge this office, so as to pronounce sentence upon every point of revelation, clearly and distinctly, and with infallible certainty. (2.) That this Church of Christ is one body, having one and the same Faith, and governed by one and the same supreme Church authority; so that whatever sect is divided from this body, by professing a faith different from hers, is no part of the Church of Christ, but, at best, a human invention; and the faith they profess is falsehood and error, arising from the father of lies. (3.) That the Church of Christ is the only road to salvation; both because it is only in her communion that the true Faith of Christ can be found, " without which it is impossible to please God," Heb. xi. 6 ; and because Christ has declared, that all who refuse to hear her are condemned by Him as heathens and publicans, and that those who despise her pastors despise Christ Himself, and His Father who sent Him.
Q. 33. Is there any other direct proofs from Scripture to show that out of the Church of Christ there is no salvation?
A. Yes, there are several; of which we shall only mention these two here: (i.) Christ, speaking of those who were not yet joined in the communion of His Church, but whom He foreknew would make a good use of the graces He would give them for that purpose, says, " Other sheep I have who are not of this fold, them also I MUST BRING, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd," John, x. 16 ; where He plainly declares, that all those of His sheep who are not yet of His fold must be brought into it, as a necessary condition of their salvation. (2.) In consequence of this fixed disposition of the Divine providence, no sooner did the apostles begin to preach the Gospel, than immediately " the Lord added daily to the Church such as should be saved," Acts, ii. 47 ; which evidently shows that all who are not added to the Church are out of the way of salvation.
Q. 34. Is it lawful to have any communication in things of religion with those who are separated from the Church of Christ?
A. By no means; all communication or fellowship in religious duties with those who are out of the Church of Christ is repeatedly and strictly forbidden in the Word of God, both by Christ Himself and by His holy apostles.
Q. 35. Among the many different sects of Christians who pretend to be the Church of Christ, how can one distinguish which is really the true Church?
A. By the marks laid down in the Holy Scriptures, by which the true Church of Christ can easily be distinguished from all separate congregations.