It is common for Roman Catholic apologists to point to Sermon 131 of Augustine where we are told he said, “Roma locuta est, causa finita est!” (“Rome has spoken; the case is closed!”) According to such Roman apologists (e.g., Karl Keating), this is strong evidence that Augustine believed in a doctrine similar to the one dogmatized during Vatican I in 1870. To see how ahistorical such a view is, see my article, Discussion of Papal Infallibility.
Interestingly, Augustine never said/wrote such words; indeed, this is being readily admitted by more honest Roman Catholic apologists and scholars. Christopher M. Bellitto, in his work on the papacy, wrote the following:
51. But didn’t St. Augustine say something like, “Rome has spoken, so the matter is closed”?
This is not the precise phrase and the difference matters, because this quotation is often used as a proof-text. However, it is taken out of context and misunderstood as a complete statement of absolute papal authority. The passage is from a sermon Augustine preached in 417 during an extremely confusing time when he and other north African bishops were fighting a heresy called Pelagianism, named after the theologian Pelagius, who spent his career in Rome and the Holy Land. The theological issues were complex and the historical record is unclear. Boiled down, it appears Pelagius believed Adam’s sin was not passed down to all Christians, which meant that believers did not need baptism to wash away original sin; therefore, Jesus’ death and resurrection were not required for redemption. If believers wanted to get to heaven, they had to lead almost perfect lives on their own, putting God’s grace in a subordinate, even nonexistent position.
When two local synods in the Holy Land declared Pelagius was not a heretic, Augustine saw to it that another pair of local synods, this time in north Africa, condemned him. Looking to spread their important clarification of proper theology as widely as possible, the north African bishops sent public and private letters to Innocent I (401–17) in Rome, who concurred with the north African bishops’ decision against Pelagius and excommunicated him. Augustine happily announced the news in a sermon: “In this matter the decision of two councils have been sent to the apostolic see. Letters have come thence as well. The case is finished.” (Frend, The Rise of Christianity, 678)
The interpretation of this statement, however, was not settled. North Africa’s bishops, including Augustine, had probably looked to the bishop of Rome in the hope that his agreement with their condemnation of Pelagius would make their decision against the heresy apply to all of Christianity. Why? The answer is that Rome could trace its line back to the apostles, in this case Peter and Paul, while north Africa could not. Innocent, for his part, was pleased to receive the request because he took it as a sign that the north Africans were recognizing his authority over other bishops. As we have seen several times now, the north Africans cherished their independence, while deferring to a certain primacy in Rome that did not equal supremacy. Innocent may have seen the letters as implicit acknowledgments of his primacy as well as of his supremacy. One wonders what Augustine would have said had the Roman answer come back negating the actions of the north African bishops, who had sent their decision to Rome anticipating ratification and agreement, not as a formal appeal to a higher court. (Christopher M. Bellitto, 101 Questions & Answers on Popes and the Papacy [New York; Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 2008], 86-7)
Further Reading
J.E. Merdinger, Rome and the African Church in the Time of Augustine (Yale University Press, 1997)
