June 8, 2011 – Catechism 888-892

I have heard several times when there is discussion about the infallibility of the Church that such things as the early understanding of the Earth as the center of the solar system or the world being flat or Darwin’s theories that because the Church was wrong at one point or another they cannot be infallible. The Catholic Church has never claimed infallibility over all understanding. As it is said in these paragraphs, the Church can teach infallibly only in regards to faith and morals. Notions of Science are not in the same category as faith and morals. The Church does make statements about science and many of history’s greatest scientist were Catholic Clergy, but it has never claimed infallibly anything scientific. It does understand that science must conform to the morals that are taught and the science cannot contradict those things taught as infallible by the Church, but this is logical. God created or revealed those teachings of faith and morals that are laid down by the Church. God also created all things, including science and our understanding of the physical world. God cannot create these things to be in contradiction to one another. So, nothing that will ever be discovered in science can contradict what has been taught infallibly by the Church.

What is interesting is that our country was founded on the understanding that all men have unalienable rights given to them by their creator. These are rights that can never be taken away. But these laws and rights cannot be contradictory of any teaching of faith or morals given by God. In our country, the right of privacy is one that is seen to extend to the body of a pregnant women so that she can do whatever she wants with the child she carries. Faith and morals taught by God would not allow an abortion. This contradiction between laws and faith and morals cannot be correct logically.