Question:
Is it true that Cardinal John Henry Newman, the Anglican convert from the Oxford Movement of the last century, rejected the doctrine of papal infallibility up until the definition at Vatican I and only accepted it out of obedience afterward?
Answer:
No, it is not true. Cardinal Newman professed that he personally believed that the pope must be infallible, but he questioned the issuing of a formal definition of the doctrine at that particular time. He was not alone among the Church hierarchy in holding this opinion and was perfectly within his rights to do so. Once the definition was issued he embraced it unhesitatingly.
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