<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article has an unclear citation style . The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation and footnoting . (July 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article has an unclear citation style . The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation and footnoting . (July 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church that states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope is preserved from the possibility of error "when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church ." </P> <P> This doctrine was defined dogmatically at the First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican of 1869--1870, but had been defended before that, existing already in medieval theology and being the majority opinion at the time of the Counter-Reformation . </P>

Who is given the special gift of infallibility