cathedra

Example Sentences

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Popes wield such power that they can speak ex cathedra — literally, from the papal throne — to make infallible pronouncements on morality that the faithful must obey.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2025

The last time a pope issued an ex cathedra decree was in 1950, when Pius XII made the assumption of Mary into heaven an article of faith.

From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2021

It is a conviction descended, ex cathedra, from Robert Penn Warren, in his spare masterpiece, “Tell Me a Story.”

From The New Yorker • May 20, 2019

Which Catholics believe in the primacy of the Pope's teachings, when he is not speaking ex cathedra?

From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2018

The one thing apparently impossible to him was to speak ex cathedra from heights of scientific erudition and attainment.

From The Letters of William James, Vol. II by James, William