Reverend Benton continued to speak with the greatest self-control. "I do not say anything of the kind. Many of them have demonstrated that they are patriotic and good citizens, but the fact remains that as Roman Catholics they owe allegiance to the Pope of Rome. Isn't that true?" "Yes, he is the head of the Roman Catholic Church." "Do you not believe that it would be better to have your church organization complete in this country and have no foreign allegiance?" "I would think so if the pope were an ordinary man." "Mr. McBryan, will you please explain to me in what sense the pope is not an ordinary man?" "The pope is the vicar of Christ, and as such is infallible." "How did the pope get to be vicar of Christ?" "He is the lawful successor of St. Peter." "I deny that St. Peter was a pope. He never claimed to have any authority of an ecclesiastical nature not possessed by the other apostles. The other apostles did not recognize any such authority vested in him. Paul, in referring to a disagreement with him, said, 'I withstood him to his face.' If there were any power vested in him that was not shared by the other apostles the Bible makes no provision for a successor." "That's the way you Protestants interpret the Bible, but you are fallible and we have an infallible interpreter." "If we were to grant for the sake of argument that the pope is the successor of Peter, what makes him infallible?" "Why, I suppose that God makes him infallible just as he made St. Peter infallible." "Cardinal Gibbons says that the pope, as successor of St. Peter, by virtue of the promises of Jesus Christ, is preserved from error of judgment when he renders decisions on faith and morals," the minister quoted. "Isn't the cardinal right?" "On page 117 of 'The Faith of Our Fathers,' Cardinal Gibbons says, 'The infallibility of the popes does not signify that they are inspired. The apostles were endowed with the gift of inspiration, and we accept their writings as the revered Word of God. No Catholic, on the contrary, claims that the pope is inspired or endowed with Divine revelation properly so called.' Now if they are not inspired I would like to know just how they are infallible in judgment. The experience of humanity goes to show that the human mind is fallible and prone to error and that the election to an office, be it political or ecclesiastical, does not change the nature of his judgments." "I can't explain it but I believe it." McBryan spoke with positiveness. "All Roman Catholics believe that the pope is infallible, don't they, McBryan?" asked Wilson. "Sure they do. They wouldn't be Catholics unless they did."