Release date is 2025-10-31

The evidence of scripture -- The age of the fathers -- The case of Honorius -- The scholastic period -- The age of the reforming councils -- The Council of Trent -- Cardinal Bellarmine -- The Sorbonne -- Bossuet -- Opposition among Roman Catholics in England -- Ultramontanism in France -- Darboy, Dupanloup, Marte, Gratry and Montalembert -- Opposition in Germany: Döllinger -- Hohenlohe and Friedrich -- The immediate preparations -- The opening of the Vatican Council -- The Vatican decision -- The minority after the Vatican decree -- The infallibility doctrine -- Where are the infallible decisions?

deaurider, Daniel Lowe, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

"Roman Catholic Opposition to Papal Infallibility" by W. J. Sparrow-Simpson is a historical and theological study written in the early 20th century. It examines how significant numbers of Roman Catholic bishops, clergy, and laity struggled with, resisted, and ultimately were pressed to accept the doctrine of Papal Infallibility, especially around the First Vatican Council. Drawing almost entirely on Roman Catholic sources, it traces arguments across countries and centuries and emphasizes the inner history of the opposition rather than a full chronicle of Vatican I.

The opening of the work sets out its aim: to narrate, from Roman Catholic evidence, the intellectual and moral difficulties many Catholics faced in assenting to Papal Infallibility, deliberately excluding Protestant critiques. The preface highlights newly available letters and biographies, notes the pressures shaping Ultramontane biographies, mentions the Indexing of Turmel’s book, and acknowledges scholarly assistance, before listing extensive authorities and a contents roadmap. The first chapter tests the scriptural cornerstone (Luke 22:32), arguing that Christ’s words to Peter do not establish papal inerrancy: the prayer is exclusive and conditional; “faith” concerns personal devotion rather than guaranteed utterances; “strengthen thy brethren” denotes moral support and a command, not an infallible promise; and successors are not implied. The next chapter surveys the Fathers, showing contested or limited support: appeals to Irenaeus, Cyprian, Augustine, Jerome, Gelasius, and especially Vincent of Lerins emphasize universality, antiquity, and consent, and illustrate councils critically weighing papal letters (e.g., Leo’s Tome at Chalcedon). The third chapter focuses on Pope Honorius and Monothelitism, recounting the Sixth Ecumenical Council’s condemnation of Honorius and later papal confirmations, the Liber Diurnus profession anathematising him, and the range of Roman Catholic attempts to explain or mitigate the case. The fourth chapter then turns to the scholastic era, noting the transformed context and the growth of papal (including temporal) power. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: London: John Murray, 1909