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8 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA the approval of the President, yet if the supreme court decided that the law or measure was in contraven tion of the Constitution of the United States the law or measure would be void and of no effect. No loyal American for a moment feels that his liberty is taken away by this fact. No one thinks that every word of a judge partakes of a judicial character. It is only when in his official character he decides a question or defines a law is his word to be considered as an official utterance. Why cannot our Protestant friends apply this to the actions of the Pope? The Protestant minister whose sermon was the oc casion of the visit paid me by the lady who desired information on the subject of papal infallibility said it was a question between an “Infallible Book and an Infallible Pope.” The term infallibility is scarcely one which can with grammatical accuracy be applied to a book. But I will not discuss that point. It might be permitted, however, for me to notice in passing his references to the Bible as the God-given guide to all men. Now the Bible is called the guide to sal vation. A guide is one who knows and shows to all the path in which they should walk as a means of reaching the end desired. Most Protestants believe that salvation is only possible through the merits and the passion of Christ. Now it is well known that a very considerable number of educated men use the Bible and flatly deny the divinity of Christ and the atonement through His Blood. There must be some thing wrong somewhere. I freely admit the divine inspiration of Cod s 5Vord, but to me it is supremely foolish to assert that every Tom, Dick and Harry may interpret it as he pleases. The Book is God’s Word. It tells one truth. It must not be held respon sible for the contradictory and ridiculous interpreta tions foisted on it by private judgment of incompe tent men. But let us return to the question of Infallibility of the Pope. The efficient cause of Papal Infallibility is the explicit promise made by Christ to Peter and his successors. This explicit promise made by Christ is found recorded in the twenty-second chapter of St. Luke, and the 31st and 32d verses: “I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not, and thou being once converted confirm thy brethren.” This power was implicitly conferred by the promise made to the same Peter by Christ (Matt. XVI-18): “Thou art Peter and upon this Rock 1 will build My Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it, and to thee I will give the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth it shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth it shall be loosed also in Heaven.” To me it seems quite clear that in the “Infallible Book we find Christ, who came to sav4 all men, in- stittued the Church to carry on His work; that of this Church He made Peter the chief support or foundation; that the Church is "the pillar and the ground of truth”; (I Tim. 111-15) that those who hear the Church hear Christ Himself, and those who de spise it despise Him (Luke X-16); that he who does not believe its teaching will be condemned by Christ (Matt.-XVIII 17-20); that Christ is to be with the teaching Church always (Matt. XXVIII-20) ; that Christ delivered Himself up for the Church (1 Cor. V-7) ; that the power of evil shall never prevail against it (Matt. XVI-1 8). Now Peter is the sure foundation of it, and did He fail, the Church itself would fail. But Christ especially prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail and bade him confirm all the rest- of the apostles (Luke XX1I-31), that Peter was commanded by Christ to teach both sheep and lambs, or all the flock of Christ (John XXI-15-16). Now after these words of the "Infallible Book,” I ask: Are we bound to listen and obey when Peter speaks? If you say “yes,” then Peter is infallible. If you say no," then Christ is not God, for He has deceived us. Let me put the question this way: If the Church was established by Christ to “teach all things that He had commanded,” and if Christ made Peter the Supreme Teacher of all the flock, then Peter, on account of Christ s promise and command, could not teach error, but must faithfully keep and teach the truth commanded by Christ. But Christ did make him the Supreme Teacher and did promise that Peter s faith should not fail; therefore, Peter was in fallible. It is true that our Lord had prayed for Peter espe- cially that his faith should not fail (Luke XXII-31), then he did not fail; if Peter was bidden confirm in their faith the others, it was because he was constituted by Christ Pastor of all. But he could not teach all, as ordered by Christ, unless he was assured of freedom from error. Therefore, Peter was infallible. This in fallibility is not an accidental quality, but is essential to the Church. She was constituted by Christ a teaching body, to endure forall time and all the essen tial gifts and powers conferred upon her by Christ are, and must ever remain, with her. Hence, the infallibility of Peter descends to his legitimate suc cessors. Hence Papal Infallibility. Now we Catholics are most firmly persuaded that the “Infallible Book” clearly and most unmistakably does teach that Christ gave to Peter and his suc cessors this gift of infallibility. Our friends remem bering their “God-given right of private judgment” cannot object when the most numerous Christian body in the world says the doctrine is in the “Infallible Book"; and, moreover, that it is clearly expressed therein. The good minister’s statement that Infallibility of the Pope is a blasphemy as vesting in a man a power which only belongs to God, brings to mind the story told of the man to whom our Lord said he must be of good heart because his sins were forgiven him. The first century Pharisees were scandalized at a mere man pretending to forgive sins. Our Lord per formed a miracle to show that the son of man, not the Son of God, could forgive sins. And, in fact, Christ did give this power to His Apostles. The minister declared that Papal Infallibility was only proclaimed in 1870, and hence is a new doctrine, and that the Pope, in virtue of this declaration, might define some manifest error as a truth, and all Cath-