--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know that the pope's infallible, but…" description: "\"I know that the pope's infallible, but that doesn't mean he can't make mistakes.\" — Stephen Colbert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/stephen-colbert-503_failure_i-know-that-the-pope-s-infallible-but-th_2707355.png" --- # I know that the pope's infallible, but that doesn't mean… ![“I know that the pope's infallible, but that doesn't mean he can't make mistakes.” quote by Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/stephen-colbert-503_failure_i-know-that-the-pope-s-infallible-but-th_2707355.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/stephen-colbert-503_failure_i-know-that-the-pope-s-infallible-but-th_2707355.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/stephen-colbert-503_failure_i-know-that-the-pope-s-infallible-but-th_2707355.png) > “I know that the pope's infallible, but that doesn't mean he can't make mistakes.” [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even a pope’s infallibility doesn’t prevent human error. **In simple terms:** Pope can err. Key Takeaway Question authority, accept human fallibility. Themes authority faith error Mood skeptical humorous Type satirical critical When to use this quote - religious discourse - leadership - media critique Key Concepts theology political satire Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance respect and critique? - What safeguards prevent errors? A Different Perspective Blind faith can ignore accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Infallible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infallible/) [Infallible Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infallible-doesn-2780603/) [Know Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-pope-2780604/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Making mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-mistakes/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pope/) [Pope Infallible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pope-infallible-521782/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [We like security: we like the pope to be infallible in matters of faith, and grave doctors to be so in moral questions so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-like-security-we-like-the-pope-to-be-infallible-in-matters-of/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Perhaps I had better inform my Protestant readers that the famous Dogma of Papal Infallibility is by far the most modest pretension of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/perhaps-i-had-better-inform-my-protestant-readers-that-the-famous/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [My favorite time in the cycles of public life is the time when the Pope is dead and they haven't elected a new one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/my-favorite-time-in-the-cycles-of-public-life-is-the-time-when-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [The greatest empiricists among us are only empiricists on reflection: when left to their instincts, they dogmatize like infallible popes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-greatest-empiricists-among-us-are-only-empiricists-on-reflection/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Reason, it is true, is DICTATOR in the Society of Mankind; from her there ought to lie no Appeal; But here we want a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/reason-it-is-true-is-dictator-in-the-society-of-mankind-from-her/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [I read in the newspaper that the Catholic Church finally decided that it had been theologically improper to try to convert the Jews. 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