>The Catholic church, as I understand it, has largely decided that this approach is overly cautious and expensive since a decision of a single person (by the vi

>The Catholic church, as I understand it, has largely decided that this approach is overly cautious and expensive since a decision of a single person (by the virtue of being the pope of Rome) is already guaranteed to be correct. Vatican 2 (and 1, for that matter) would like a word. Putting aside your conceptions of councils, though, you're trying to give the pope too much power. This infallibility is limited to faith and morals, and it must follow from what the church has already been doing: stating what previously didn't need to be stated. E.g. the pope could not invoke infallibility to declare the death penalty impermissible.