“Clearly the person who accepts the Church as an infallible guide will believe whatever the Church teaches.”
- 1225 – March 7, 1274
- Born in the Kingdom of Sicily (Italy)
- Theologian, philosopher
- A representative figure of scholasticism, who systematized the relationship between the doctrines of the Catholic Church and reason through his masterpiece, the Summa Theologica
Quote
“Clearly the person who accepts the Church as an infallible guide will believe whatever the Church teaches.”
Explanation
Thomas Aquinas emphasizes that those who view the Church as an infallible authority will trust its teachings without question. To accept the Church as an infallible guide means to have complete confidence that its doctrines and teachings are divinely inspired and free from error in matters of faith and morality. For such believers, the Church represents the ultimate source of spiritual truth, and its teachings are seen as authoritative because they are believed to be rooted in God’s wisdom and guided by the Holy Spirit.
During Aquinas’s time in the 13th century, the Catholic Church was seen as the primary institution for guiding people in matters of faith and morality. Aquinas, as a theologian, believed in the authority of the Church to interpret Scripture and define doctrine. He understood the Church to be the steward of divine revelation, endowed with the ability to teach without error when it came to core beliefs about God, salvation, and moral conduct. For those who have faith in the Church’s authority, belief in its teachings becomes a natural consequence of their trust in its role as a mediator of God’s truth.
In the modern context, this quote highlights the nature of religious authority and the relationship between faith and trust. For those who see the Church as infallible, there is an inherent acceptance of its teachings because it is seen as representing divine authority on Earth. This perspective is often seen in discussions about the role of tradition and the trust believers place in the Church’s teachings on issues like morality, the sacraments, and the interpretation of Scripture. Aquinas’s insight serves as a reminder of the role of institutional faith—the belief that the Church, as a body, can provide reliable guidance for its followers. This perspective also raises questions about individual discernment and the balance between accepting authority and personal understanding in one’s spiritual journey.
