Protestants believe that the Bible is the sole highest and final authority in all matters of belief and practice.
Roman Catholic apologists reply with, "Ah - but you Protestants, with your Bible alone, don't agree with each other! You need something more!" That something more is the supposedly-infallible Roman Catholic church.
In a clear and concise post here, James Swan shows that this shift in reality achieves nothing. The same Roman Catholic apologists then disagree with each other on how to interpret the pronouncements of that supposedly-infallible church.
The fact that people disagree over the Bible's meaning shows nothing. People disagree over everything, and when those people are sinners handling a book that strikes right at the heart of sin, it's hardly surprising. There's no mileage in scoring apologetic points from that observation on its own.
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A former Catholic myself, I long ago came to the understanding that the position of Catholic Church on infallibility is as rubbery as the definition of evolution. Faith and morals are whatever they declare them to be at the time, and it is easily demonstrated that Rome has erred on morals on many occasions; their condoning if not actively supporting the Inquisition is a case in point, as is their persecution of the Jews. One need go no further than review the anti-Semitic Papal Bulls of Pope Pius V, who was nevertheless canonised! The model of Jewish suppression in Hitler’s Germany can be found in the mid 16th century edicts of Rome: yellow badges on clothing to identify them, forcing Jews to live in ghettos, banning Jewish participation in commerce, special taxes for Jews, etc. A study of Papal activities over the centuries quickly removes any belief in their infallibility, or indeed, any belief that Rome has consistently portrayed Christian ethics, morals, or behaviour. Sadly, it is the elevation of Tradition and the Magisterium above Scripture that has entrenched this attitude and prevents the Roman Catholic Church from admitting guilt and truly repenting, for to do so would be to admit that they have been wrong and the edifice of being the sole arbiters of truth and morality would come crashing down around their ears. As we have seen repeatedly in the way serious crimes of clergy are handled, Rome (and other Christian denominations) is seemingly more concerned with the welfare of the shepherds’ union that protecting the flock; faith in hierarchy of clergy supplants faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ.
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