As notuptome stated, Catholics believe that the Pope is only infallible only "ex cathedra" - when he is making official statements regarding church matters/beliefs, etc., otherwise, he's just as prone to errors as anyone else.
I'm not sure if this concept holds true of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs as well (??).
Just a note - Catholics do not worship Mary, nor do they pray to her - she, like the saints, does act as an intercessor, but no Catholic is required to ask for her intercession. Not saying I'm for or against the idea, just stating fact. That said, I think there's a very fine line between 'praying to Mary' and 'asking for her intercession.' And, yes, before sending a bazillion posts or opening up a can of worms, I'm aware of the Protestant concept of 'no intercessor but Jesus.'
As an aside, RC priests do not marry on the preface that Jesus was never married (well, guess it depends on who you talk to) - that said, Catholic priests who follow the Eastern Rite (i.e. Ukraine Catholic Church, Polish National Catholic Church) may marry before they are ordained. If their spouse dies after they are ordained, they may not remarry. Back in college my Russian teacher's father was the local Ukraine Catholic priest.
As far as a Pope goes - up until the late middle ages (I forget the year), the only requirement for the office was that the person had to be male and Catholic - that's it. I think a few early Popes were married. In many ways, in the early church, it was more a political office than a religious one - at one time, the Pope was more powerful than any emperor or king so many families from various families of nobility installed "their man" in the office (the 'di Fieschi' family, a line of Italian nobility, had a few Popes in it). he was looked at as a great and powerful ally to have in times of war.
Yes, Pre-Vatican II belief (not "official doctrine" as far as I know, but was certainly taught as if it were) was that there was no salvation outside the Catholic church. I suspect that's an old concept stemming from the days of the Protestant Reformation and was used as a sort of "scare tactic" to ensure that no one even thought of leaving.
That, of course, is not the view today, so that's why I don't think it was ever an official doctrine.
I'm not sure if this concept holds true of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs as well (??).
Just a note - Catholics do not worship Mary, nor do they pray to her - she, like the saints, does act as an intercessor, but no Catholic is required to ask for her intercession. Not saying I'm for or against the idea, just stating fact. That said, I think there's a very fine line between 'praying to Mary' and 'asking for her intercession.' And, yes, before sending a bazillion posts or opening up a can of worms, I'm aware of the Protestant concept of 'no intercessor but Jesus.'
As an aside, RC priests do not marry on the preface that Jesus was never married (well, guess it depends on who you talk to) - that said, Catholic priests who follow the Eastern Rite (i.e. Ukraine Catholic Church, Polish National Catholic Church) may marry before they are ordained. If their spouse dies after they are ordained, they may not remarry. Back in college my Russian teacher's father was the local Ukraine Catholic priest.
As far as a Pope goes - up until the late middle ages (I forget the year), the only requirement for the office was that the person had to be male and Catholic - that's it. I think a few early Popes were married. In many ways, in the early church, it was more a political office than a religious one - at one time, the Pope was more powerful than any emperor or king so many families from various families of nobility installed "their man" in the office (the 'di Fieschi' family, a line of Italian nobility, had a few Popes in it). he was looked at as a great and powerful ally to have in times of war.
Yes, Pre-Vatican II belief (not "official doctrine" as far as I know, but was certainly taught as if it were) was that there was no salvation outside the Catholic church. I suspect that's an old concept stemming from the days of the Protestant Reformation and was used as a sort of "scare tactic" to ensure that no one even thought of leaving.
That, of course, is not the view today, so that's why I don't think it was ever an official doctrine.
