Papal Infallibility and Supremacy. By Arthur E. Gayer, Esq., Q.C.
(Partridge and Co.)—Mr. Gayer states and marshals witk considerable skill and power of arrangement the usual arguments against Papal Supremacy and Infallibility. Probably he makes his strongest point when he pushes the Infallibilista with the vagueness of the claim and the practical difficulty of cleaning it. It seems to rest with the pri- vate judgment of individuals to declare when the Popo is infallible. The practical evil of this is that the claim is one which can be made and renounced almost at will. Utterances aro taken as if they were expressions of infallibility when one purpose has to be served, and are disavowed as such when another is in view. Sir George Bowyer would say, we suppose, that the Syllabus is not an infallible utterance, yet much of the conduct of the Roman See seems to be based upon a suppo- sition that it is. Indeed, to a devout Roman Catholic, who believes that under certain conditions the Pope is infallible, the responsibility of refusing assent to any statement of which he does not know nor has any means of ascertaining the precise value is an intolerable burden. For peace and safety's sake, it is better to acquiesce. Obedience can- not be far wrong ; disobedience may be the most fatal of sins. Ulti- mately, the practical difference between a limited and an unlimited infallibility must be nil.
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