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When did the First Vatican Council define papal infallibility as Roman Catholic dogma?
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papal infallibility
In 1869 Pope Pius XI (center) convened an assembly of bishops that became known as the First Vatican Council (or Vatican I). The council declared the dogmas of papal primacy and papal infallibility before the assembly was suspended indefinitely in 1870.
The First Vatican Council officially defined papal infallibility as Roman Catholic dogma on July 18, 1870. This definition was promulgated in the dogmatic constitution Pastor aeternus. The council, convoked by Pope Pius IX, addressed contemporary issues such as rationalism, liberalism, and materialism. The doctrine of papal infallibility asserts that the pope, when acting as the supreme teacher and under specific conditions, cannot err in matters of faith or morals. This teaching is based on the belief that the pope, as a successor to St. Peter, is preserved from error when making definitive statements on faith or morals that are to be believed by the entire church.1234