Ex Cathedra Debate
David Rosenthal
Opening Statement
We who are about to die salute you.
To me the issue is simple and should remain simple: popes in exercise of ex cathedra pronouncements have contradicted scripture.
The example I put forward is that of the Immaculate Conception, which is
a contradiction of scripture, as it states that Mary was born free from
the stain of original sin. (By encyclical, it merits mentioning, Mary
was also considered free of all sin which, though not ex cathedra, is
also a contradiction of scripture.)
According to Wikipedia: The Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the
Catholic Church maintaining that the Blessed Virgin Mary was kept free
of original sin from her moment of conception and was filled with the
sanctifying grace normally conferred during baptism.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_conception] (Sources for this cited by Wikipedia are Encyclical Ineffabilis Deus of Pope Pius IX [http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9ineff.htm] and Encyclical Ad diem illum of Pope Pius X [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_x/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-x_enc_02021904_ad-diem-illum-laetissimum_en.html].)
The Wikipedia article on papal infallibility, however, lists the
Immaculate Conception as one of six infallible declarations of the
church, citing Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX, 1854, defining the
Immaculate Conception, which information it claims was published in 1985
in Creative Fidelity: Weighing and Interpreting Documents of the
Magisterium, by Francis A. Sullivan, chapter 6.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_infallibility]
(As the church does not, as far as I can determine, publish a list of
infallible pronouncements, I depended on the abovementioned to know
whether the Immaculate Conception was an ex cathedra pronouncement.)
Mary's parents passed on the stain of original sin just as all other
parents pass it on to their children. Nothing in scripture states or
suggests otherwise. (In contradiction of the encyclical on her
sinlessness, Mary stated that she had a savior, which only sinners
require. [Luke 1:46,47] And scripture also states that all have sinned
and fallen short of God's glory. [Romans 3:23])
Word Count: 333