An English Translation of Juan de Torquemada's Summa de Ecclesia, Book II, Chapter 109

 

Chapter CIX. That the Judgments of the Apostolic See in Matters of Faith and the Salvation of Men Necessarily Cannot Err

That which was said in the previous chapter has given us the clearest light of understanding that the apostolic throne has been established by divine clemency with such firmness of truth that its judgment in matters of the faith cannot possibly err from the truth. It is proper that the See which, by the supreme disposition of counsel, has been appointed as teacher of the Faith and is the hinge of all that is taught to the churches concerning those matters which are of the Faith or necessary for the salvation of souls, should be endowed by God Himself, the author of all things, whose providence cannot be wrong, with this singular gift of infallibility. 

As a sign of this reality, this firm name be placed first on the pontiff of that see by divine dispensation, that is, Peter, which means “rock” in the Syriac language. Thus does St. Gregory write in his 181st Epistle to Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria, “Who would not know that the Holy Church is grounded on the firmness of the Prince of the Apostles, his firmness of mind derived from his name, for he was called Peter from the ‘rock,’ to whom was said with a true voice, ‘I give to you the keys to the kingdom of Heaven,’ and again it was said, ‘And when you are converted, strengthen your brethren.’”

We will prove, multiply and also effectively, that what we said is truly a most ample privilege and duty of the Apostolic See, first by authority, then secondly by reasoning in the next chapter. First, by authority: That promise of the Savior, which is not possibly made void, where he said to Peter in that place, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.” This promise of Christ concerning Peter’s firmness is attested by the testimony of the most renowned men of wisdom.

Thus does Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, say [as introduced in a gloss], “Continuing next to this promise of the Lord to the Church of the Apostle Peter, it remains untouched from schism and heresy, overseeing archbishops, bishops, and all primates of the Church and people in his pontificate in the full faith and authority of Peter, and while other churches may be shamed due to [accepting] some certain errors, she reigns unshaken, imposing silence upon and shutting the mouths of all the heretics, and it is necessary for our salvation not to be deceived by pride nor be drunk on the wine of arrogance, but we confess and announce with her the form of truth and the holy and apostolic tradition.” Thus Cyril.

Following him, Chrysostom confirms it, speaking with a mouth of gold on this same passage of Matthew as above, says, “See how Christ brings Peter into a greater understanding of himself: thus, he promises these things of God alone, that is, to forgive sins and to make the Church unshaken amid so many storms of persecutions and temptations.” Again to the same effect, Origen (as St. Thomas explains) interprets the words of Christ in Matthew 16, “And the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it,” to refer to both Peter and the universal Church. And it is said that either they do not prevail against Peter or the Church built upon Peter. Still, it is clear that the Gates of Hell cannot prevail against either Peter or against the Church. 

And it is clear that, when Christ said ‘petra,’ he spoke concerning Peter, as the same Father says: “See how great is the power of that rock on which the Church is built, for his judgment remains firm just as if the Lord were judging through him.” Second, the indefectibility of the judgment of the Apostolic See concerning matters of faith is proven clearly from that promise of Christ in which He says to Peter and those who will occupy his see in Luke 22, ‘I have prayed for you that you faith fail not, and when you are converted, strengthen your brethren.’ In addition, the holy doctors bear witness to the fact that the faith of Peter in the Apostolic See is understood as always remaining indefectible. First, the most blessed Leo in his sermon following his ordination, while discussing that same promise of Christ (“I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not,” etc.), says, “A special care is given by the Lord to Peter, and Peter’s own faith is prayed for, just as the others would be more certain if the mind of the chief were not overcome. So then in Peter the strength of all is fortified, and the help of divine grace is so ordered that the stability which through Christ is given to Peter, through Peter is conveyed to the apostles.” 

Also in the same vein is Pope Agatho, in the answer he wrote to the Emperor Constantine, which the whole of the sixth ecumenical council rightly accepted. “This Apostolic Church of Christ never strays from the path of Apostolic tradition by the grace of the omnipotent God, nor has she been depraved by yielding to heretical innovations, but from the beginning she has received the Christian faith from her founders, the princes of the Apostles of Christ, and remains undefiled unto the end, according to the divine promise of the Lord and Saviour himself, which he uttered in the holy Gospels to the prince of his disciples: saying, ‘Peter, Peter, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for you, that (your) faith fail not. And when you are converted, strengthen your brethren.’ Let your tranquil Clemency therefore consider, since it is the Lord and Saviour of all, whose faith it is, that promised that Peter’s faith should not fail and exhorted him to strengthen his brethren, how it is known to all that the Apostolic pontiffs, the predecessors of my littleness, have always confidently done this very thing.”

The same opinion is also espoused by Pope Lucius. The writer of the gloss says some things here which, had he seen the full text of Lucius, he would not have interpreted in such a way. This is a frequent error of the glosses of the Decretum. These errors primarily arise because the original texts of the holy fathers were not seen by the author of the gloss, but only the shortened version which is presented in the Decretum. 

Also St. Bernard, writing to the lord Pope Innocent, witnesses that this sign of the privilege of the Apostolic See is based on the same words of the Lord, as he says: “Every danger and scandal arising in the kingdom of God, especially those which concern the faith, ought to be referred to your Apostolate. Thus I consider it fitting that the wounds of the Faith be most especially mended in that place where the Faith could not suffer defect, seeing as this see has such a prerogative. For whom else was it said, ‘I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith fail not’?”

And again, the same Bernard (or perhaps John Damascene) in a sermon on John the Baptist which begins with “Today, most beloved,” says this: “The tenth honor is the defense of the mother of the Church, the edges of the cloak are embroidered, and the perfume poured abundantly on the head overflows onto the fringes of the garment. The reason is that it was said, ‘I pray for you that your faith fail not.’ to that teacher and queen of all the churches, the Roman Church. In honor of St. John the Baptist, it was consecrated and made known after the name of the Lord, since it was fitting that the authority should follow the bride, and that her singular friend should be brought there where she herself ascended to rule.”

Also, the same is shown from the aforementioned promise of our Redeemer, as Pope Leo IX says in his book against Michael of Constantinople: “The holy Church was built upon Peter in this manner — that is to say, Christ built the Church upon Peter, the rock, who was first called Simon, the son of John — so that the Gates of Hell, that is, the arguments of the heretics who introduce vain things leading to destruction, by no means can overcome it. Thus He promises his truth such that whatever is actually part of the Gates of Hell will be unable to overcome it. The Son himself declares that He obtained the fulfillment of this promise from the Father by His prayers, saying to Peter, ‘Behold, Simon, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not, and when you are strengthened, confirm your brothers.’ Therefore would anyone dare to be so insane as to say that the prayers of the man whose will is power [i.e. Jesus Christ] could possibly be null and void? Are not all heretical opinions so reprobated and convicted and destroyed by the seat of the prince of the Apostles, that is, the Roman Church, through Peter and through his successors? And have not the hearts of the brethren been confirmed in the faith of Peter, which has neither failed nor will fail until the end?"

Also in a synod the same Leo writes thus to Peter, Patriarch of Antioch: “From the Apostolic See our catholicity recognizes that your prudence does not wish to deviate from the decree of the Lord and all the holy fathers in agreement, [that decree being] that the Roman Church and the Apostolic See has been inviolably placed as the head over all churches over the whole world, and that the greater and more difficult cases from all churches be referred to it: thus all the venerable councils decree, thus the human laws promulgate, thus the Holy of Holies and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords himself confirms that the venerable summit of principal dignity and of the whole discipline of the Church may shine forth and stand out most prominently in the place where that very head and hinge of the apostles, Peter, awaits the blessed resurrection of his flesh on the last day. Surely, he alone is the one for whom the Lord prayed that his faith might not fail, and the Savior affirmed that He had prayed, saying, ‘Behold, Simon, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not, and when you are strengthened, confirm your brothers,’ which venerable and effective prayer was granted, since, thus far, the faith of Peter in that throne has not failed, nor is believed to fail at any point in the future. Rather, he will confirm the hearts of his brothers which have been shaken in their test of faith, just as, up until now, he has not stopped strengthening them."

Again, this is clearly shown in the declaration of the eighth ecumenical council in which the book of Pope Adrian II was read, which was accepted with all praise, in which it is read, “The first [step to] salvation is to observe the rule of right faith; secondly, not to deviate from what has been divinely established, and to deviate in no way from the Fathers, since one of these pertains to faith and another to good works, just as it is written, ‘without faith, it is impossible to please God,’ though we also read that ‘faith without works is dead.’ And it is not possible to disregard that statement of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, ‘you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.’ What has been said is proved by the effects thereof, seeing as, in the immaculate Apostolic See, the Catholic religion is always maintained and holy doctrine is always proclaimed.”

Also the eighth ecumenical council itself accepted the doctrine and sentence of the Apostolic See, as it says, “since, just as we had proclaimed, in following the Apostolic See in all things and being observant of all her statutes, we hope to be worthy to be received into the one communion of the Apostolic See, in which is the truth and strength and the genuine solidity of the Christian religion. We also promise that those separated from the communion of the Catholic Church, that is, those not consenting to the Apostolic See, their names shall not be recited in  the sacred mysteries.”

And also, proclaiming the promise of Christ in Luke 22 (“I have prayed for you,” etc.), let it be understood from Peter through his Seat the famous doctors in the Church of God who expound the Sacred Scriptures bear witness. Thus Albert the Great, commenting on the aforementioned words, says so formally, “for your faith cannot fail, that is, finally. Here is an effective argument for the faith of Christ and His successor, because his faith will not finally fail, thus Nahum says, “for Belial shall no more pass through you again, he is utterly cut off.” Also the lord Cardinal Hugo on the same passage [in Luke] says, “Here is an argument for the Roman Church.” Again on this matter is a gloss which says, “Unless the Roman Church were to err, which I do not believe could happen, because God would not permit it.”

[Please note: Some citations removed]