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papal infallibility
papal infallibilitynounthe dogma that the pope cannot err in a solemn teaching addressed to the whole church on a matter of faith or morals.
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infallibility, papal
infallibility, papalThe belief of the Roman Catholic Church that the pope is kept by God from making a mistake when he speaks on a question of faith or morals.
papal infallibility
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of papal infallibility
First recorded in 1865–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Küng, who brought Ratzinger to Tübingen, would later be barred from teaching by his former colleague, after he rejected papal infallibility.
From BBC • Dec. 31, 2022
Most famously, Ratzinger helped censure his friend Hans Kung, a Swiss theologian skeptical of the concept of papal infallibility.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2022
In recent years, papal infallibility, a concept officially codified by Pius IX nearly 150 years ago, seems to have been supplanted by papal apology.
From New York Times • Apr. 23, 2018
They don’t care whether Barrett secretly holds the Greek Orthodox position on papal infallibility.
From Washington Post • Sep. 21, 2017
The book makes a whimsical appearance with these patches; and the heretics exulted in this demonstration of papal infallibility!
From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 1 by Disraeli, Isaac
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.