Any sort of “creeping infallibility” that would attach the same level of authority to every papal utterance or document must be avoided. To fail to draw appropriate distinctions—whether between binding and non-binding documents of the ordinary magisterium, or between the development and the evolution of doctrine—is to dim the light of the Petrine ministry and impoverish the faithful.

CHR Comment: The Pope’s letter, an “apostolic exhortation,” has some Roman Catholics questioning the clarity and application of the document.

Source: Creeping Infallibility | Jessica M. Murdoch | First Things