Papacy and the Church

This important study examines the evolution of Catholic ecclesiological doctrine from the time of Pius IX to the end of the Second Vatican Council.

First published in 1987, J. Robert Dionne’s The Papacy and the Church was hailed as a major event in Catholic theological scholarship. In it, Dionne examines the perennial controversy surrounding papal infallibility. “With impeccable scholarship and original insight,” he explores whether the questioning of papal authority is compatible with the nature of Catholicism (Bernard McGinn, University of Chicago).