Can an Ecumenical Council “Fail”?
While the claim does not stand up to much historical scrutiny, the defense has been offered that attributing negative effects to an Ecumenical Council is equivalent to indicting the Holy Ghost for “failing” in his mission of guidance or “being absent” from that Council. Such an assertion reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of Divine Guidance promised to the Church. The Holy Ghost indeed guides the Church and, in certain situations, protects it from error but does not make, and has never made, any Council or Pope impeccable and guaranteed from making prudential errors. Whether a given Council has been a pastoral success or failure is not a matter of Catholic Doctrine. To say the Council led to a decrease in Mass attendance is not an indication of dissent. Even to say a Council was useless or ill-advised does not challenge the authority or indefectibility of the Church. In reference to several past Ecumenical Councils (specifically the Council of Ephesus in 449, the Seco
