- Catholic Dictionary, p. 408
The Doctrine of Infallibility, while not officially taught until the First Vatican Council in 1869-70, has been held by the Church since its beginning. Some people, especially our Protestant brothers and sisters, assume that infallibility means the Pope can never make an incorrect statement. This ignores the beauty and requirements of the doctrine. Essentially, this doctrine teaches that God will preserve the Church from erroneous teachings as long as certain qualifications are met. These include the teaching being proclaimed by the Pope, the teaching being about matters of faith and morals and the teaching be declared as something that must be held by the universal Church. Since it has such rigorous requirements, situations in which infallibility are invoked are fairly unusual. This doctrine really is something we as Catholics should rejoice in because it means that God so loves His church that He is willing to preserve her from error.