The faith of our fathers - Carmel Apologetics

""OUR86 THE FAITH *>FFATHERS.Apostles. On the contrary, as the Apostles transmitted to their successors their power to preach, tobaptize, to ordain, to confirm, etc., they must alsohave handed down to them the no less essentialof infallibility.God loves us as much as He loved thegiftprimitiveChristians ;Christ died for us as well as for them ;and we have as much need of unerring teachers asthey had.It will not suffice to tell me :"We have an infallible Scripture as a substitute for an infallible apostolateof the first century," for an infallible book is ofno use to me without an infallible interpreter, as thehistory of Protestantism too clearly demonstrates.But besides these presumptive arguments, we ha^opositive evidence from Scripture that the Churchcannot err in her teachings. Our blessed Lord, inconstituting St. Peter Prince of His Apostles, saysto him : Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I willbuild My Church, and the gates of hell shall notiprevail against Christ makes here a solemnit."prediction that no error shall ever invade HisChurch ;and if she fell into error, the gates of hellhave certainly prevailed against her.The Reformers of the sixteenth century affirm thatthe Church did fall into error ;that the gates of helldid prevail against her ;that from the sixth to thesixteenth century she was a sink of iniquity. TheBook of Homilies of the church of England saysthat the Church lay buried in damnable idolatry1Matt. xvi. 18.