It
is beyond dispute that the Bible, without an infallible Teacher to
explain its true meaning, will be of no use whatsoever as a bond of
unity.
If the unity, promised by God-incarnate, is to be secured, the present
circumstances of the case, as well as the actual experience of many
centuries, prove three conditions to be absolutely necessary, _viz._:
a teacher who is _firstly_ ever living and accessible; _secondly_, who
can and will speak clearly and without ambiguity; and _thirdly_, and
most essential of all, whose decisions are authoritative and
decisive. One, in a word, who can pass sentence and close a
controversy, and whose verdict will be honoured and accepted _as
final_ by all Catholics without hesitation. These three requisites are
found in the person of the infallible Head of the Catholic Church, but
nowhere else.
Experience shows that where, in religion, there is nothing but mere
human learning to guide, however great such learning may be, there
will always be room left for some differences of opinion. In such
controversies even the learned and the well read will not all arrange
themselves on one side; but will espouse, some one view, and some
another.
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