The nature of the ChurchPope

The Pope is the Head of the Catholic Church on Earth and the Bishop of Rome.

The Pope oversees the worldwide church and all those within it. St Peter was ordained as the first Pope by Jesus at Caesarea Philippi, and each Pope is a successor of St Peter, who the Catholic Church state was the first Bishop of Rome.

Since the first Pope, there has been an unbroken line of successors, known as apostolic succession. The belief is that this continuous succession has ensured that the messages and teachings that Christ gave to the apostles have been passed down and remain the same today.

Infallible statements

The belief is that the Pope also has the ability to speak infallibly on matters of faith and morals. This means that the Pope's statement or teaching cannot be considered as wrong. The Catholic Church teaches that the authority to speak infallibly comes from the authority that Jesus gave to Peter to build his Church and look after it, as well as to keep his own faith and strengthen the faith of others. Not everything the Pope says is infallible – it has to fall in line and agreement with tradition and scripture.

The statements of the Catholic Church are not made easily and take many years of discussions, study and debate before they are finished. They do not add to the faith, but rather confirm long-held beliefs. Once the statements are finished, however, the Pope will make a papal infallible statement, which means that the doctrine cannot be proved wrong and is classed as truth in the Church’s eyes.

Only two such statements have been made in Church history and both have been on the person of Mary. The first, in 1854, was the dogma of Mary as the Immaculate Conception and the second in 1950, the dogma of the Assumption.