By Michael Patrick O’Brien–
Pope Francis recently admitted he made a mistake in how he handled allegations that a bishop from Chile had witnessed and tolerated sexual abuse. What does it mean when a man who holds the power of infallible declarations says he erred?
The Catholic doctrine of papal infallibility is widely misunderstood. It does not mean that the pope is a perfect human being or that everything he says or does is beyond human limitations and sin. Instead, it is a belief that because of the biblical promise of authority Jesus gave to Peter, the pope is preserved from the possibility of error when, acting as the successor of Peter, i.e. “ex cathedra,” he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church.
This ex cathedra power is limited and has only been used twice. Both are about Mary: her Immaculate Conception and her bodily Assumption into heaven (see http://www.uscatholic.org/church/2011/05/there-list-infallible-teachings). Thus, the doctrine of papal infallibility really is irrelevant to what Pope Francis said about events in Chile. Yet, that does not make his comments any less extraordinary.
What happened with Chile? On a recent trip there, the pope defended a bishop accused of covering up sex abuse. The outcry that followed led the pope to send an investigator in to review the situation. After getting the investigative report this week, the pope issued a public letter to church members in Chile and admitted that he had badly misjudged the matter. As he put it: “I fell into serious errors in the evaluation and perception of the situation, due especially to the lack of true and balanced information.” He also said, “From here on, I ask pardon of all those that I have offended.” He has invited abuse victims and church leaders to the Vatican for discussions.
It is pretty rare these days to hear anyone, let alone a prominent world or political leader, admit to a mistake and humbly apologize for having made it. Instead, blame-shifting and evasion of personal responsibility too often are the norm. With guts and integrity, Pope Francis has shown us another way. As he also said last week in his Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate (“Rejoice and Be Glad”): “the lack of a heartfelt and prayerful acknowledgment of our limitations prevents grace from working more effectively within us.”
Perhaps what Pope Francis really is doing is modeling another form of infallibility, one available to all of us. Another pope, the English poet Alexander Pope, once said, “No one should be ashamed to admit they are wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that they are wiser today than they were yesterday.” More to the point, the German writer (think Faust) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, “The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection.”
