“Though they may be utter strangers to each other in the flesh, and divided in temporal position as far as men can be divided from their fellow-men, there will be found one and the self-same faith, one and the self-same rule of morals, the self-same sacraments, and the self-same belief respecting those sacraments; there will be found but one mind, one heart, and one voice, as regards all the doctrines and commandments of the Church.
Read this series and have a question if still considering discussion. To paraphrase, the unity of faith is what precedes the visible unity of the Church. Do I understand correctly that no subsequent pope, who has supreme unjudgeable authority regarding doctrine, can contradict a doctrinal teaching on faith and morals given by a previous valid pope and yet still make a claim to being the visible head of this unity of faith? And if there is a nuance, which I think was the claim of especially Ratzinger regarding the Syllabus of Pius IX, can there be circumstances that allow a seeming contradiction where one does not exist? Judging such nuance by ourselves can certainly be difficult, as you seem to allude to in your discussion of unsettled doctrinal questions open to disagreement. Perhaps you addressed it in a subsequent article you could point me to.
Read this series and have a question if still considering discussion. To paraphrase, the unity of faith is what precedes the visible unity of the Church. Do I understand correctly that no subsequent pope, who has supreme unjudgeable authority regarding doctrine, can contradict a doctrinal teaching on faith and morals given by a previous valid pope and yet still make a claim to being the visible head of this unity of faith? And if there is a nuance, which I think was the claim of especially Ratzinger regarding the Syllabus of Pius IX, can there be circumstances that allow a seeming contradiction where one does not exist? Judging such nuance by ourselves can certainly be difficult, as you seem to allude to in your discussion of unsettled doctrinal questions open to disagreement. Perhaps you addressed it in a subsequent article you could point me to.