Who is the Pope?
The current pope is Pope John Paul II. The pope is the Bishop of Rome, and the leader of the Catholic Church. Working with the other bishops, the pope provides spiritual and and moral leadership to the Church. "When Christ instituted the Twelve, 'he constituted [them] in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from among them. Just as 'by the Lord's institution, St. Peter and the rest of the apostles constitute a single apostolic college, so in like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, and the bishops , the successors of the apostles, are related with and united to one another.
Catholics believe that Jesus singled out one of the Apostles, Simon Peter, for special ministry among the other Apostles. "The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock.
The pope is a teacher and leader on all matters concerning faith and morals. With the help of bishops and theologians, the pope guides the Church. The pope teaches in a number of ways, and his statements have different levels of importance.
Infallible Statement. First, it is important to note that only God is infallible, that is, totally immune from error. The pope is not infallible; rather, at certain moments, the pope is empowered with divine assistance first promised to Peter. Put simply, the pope, in limited circumstances, makes statements we believe to be free from error.
Infallible statements are extremely limited, usually only a few words. Also, infallibility is not a constant state of the pope, but is true only when the pope is speaking as pastor and teacher of all Christians. It is not true every time the pope speaks.
Vatican I defined infallibility this way: "The Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra, that is, when carrying out the duty of the pastor and teacher of all Christians in accord with his supreme apostolic authority he explains a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, through the divine assistance promised him in blessed Peter, operates with that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer wished that His Church be instructed in defining doctrine on faith and morals; and so such definitions of the Roman Pontiff from himself, but not from the consensus of the Church, are unalterable.
These statements are rare, and they are very specific in nature. In fact, there have only been three infallible statements. First, the statement about infallibility; second, Catholics' belief that Mary was conceived without sin; and third, that Mary did not die but was assumed into heaven.
Dogmatic Statements. These would be statements about a particular area of Church Doctrine, where the pope acts as official teacher of the Church, or a statement made by an ecumenical council such as Vatican II.
Encyclical. This is a formal pastoral letter, and is the most common means for the pope to exercise his ordinary teaching role.