This little work is an excerpt from Bellarmine's larger treatise On the Roman Pontiff, book 4, which follows after the assertion of what was already universally taught at that time, but not completely understood nor decreed by the Church's solemn magisterium, that the Pope was infallible in his teaching on faith and morals when teaching the whole Church. These chapters then, being 8-14 of that work, follow to test and prove this claim historically, wherein he posits exculpatory evidence against claims that 40 Popes had grievously erred in matters of faith. Much as with the doctrine of Papal infallibility itself, St. Robert Bellarmine does not endeavor to show the impeccability of Popes, rather that in matters of faith, where the Popes are actually authoritative, they did not err. Some matters treated here are the objection of certain Protestants, while others are even of Catholics who are confused on the decrees or behavior of certain Popes. These chapters were used as a blueprint at Vatican I by the fathers of that Council to further scrutinize these cases and be sure of the limits and nature of papal authority. Bellarmine thus lays out four basic propositions; Two of these Catholics must believe with divine faith per the subsequent decree of Vatican I (which was no less incumbent upon the believer in Bellarmine's time, though then it were the universal teaching of all theologians), namely that the Pope is infallible when judging matters of Faith and Morals and defining these as matters that must be believed by all the faithful. This particular distinction is important, for the Pope, outside of this very narrow category, does not enjoy infallibility, thus in private letters, private teaching, their acts, behavior, etc., Popes can give scandal, they can give opinions that are in fact false, but they cannot teach the whole Church and bind it to believe error. To quote Bellarmine himself: "For to this point no Pope has been a heretic, or certainly it cannot be proven that any of them were heretics; therefore it is a sign that such a thing cannot be." (On the Roman Pontiff, book 4, ch. 6.) In this treatise Bellarmine endeavors to show that this is the case.

In 1789, the French Revolution took place and launched a host of religious, political and social errors which the Popes for over 160 years wrote and legislated against. Yet most of these errors have today filtered down to the common man . . . with the result that most people now take for granted many fundamental assumptions that are positively false! But almost from the beginning of these errors, the Popes spoke out as with one voice, inveighing against them.

In 1789, the French Revolution took place and launched a host of religious, political and social errors which the Popes for over 160 years afterwards wrote and legislated against. Yet most of these errors have spread and today have filtered down to the common man... with the result that most people now take for granted many fundamental assumptions that are positively false! But almost from the beginning of these errors, the Popes spoke out as with one voice, inveighing against them. Today, as we see these errors bearing evil fruit, many thoughtful Catholics are returning to those Papal documents which condemned these modern errors, to examine what the Popes have said all along about them. Here, in one handy volume, are the best and most famous of those papal denunciations: - On Liberalism (Mirari Vos). Gregory XVI. 1832. - On Current Errors (Quanta Cura). Pius IX. 1864. - The Syllabus of Errors. Pius IX. 1864. - On Government Authority (Diuturnum Illud). Leo XIII. 1881. - On Freemasonry and Naturalism (Humanum Genus). Leo XIII. 1884. - On the Nature of True Liberty (Libertas Praestantissimum). Leo XIII. 1888. - On the Condition of the Working Classes (Rerum Novarum). Leo XIII. 1891. - On Christian Democracy (Graves de Communi Re). Leo XIII. 1901. - Syllabus Condemning the Errors of the Modernists (Lamentabili Sane). St. Pius X. 1907. - On Modernism (Pascendi Dominici Gregis). St. Pius X. 1907. - Our Apostolic Mandate (On the "Sillon"). St. Pius X. 1910. - The Oath Against Modernism. St. Pius X. 1910. - On the Feast of Christ the King (Quas Primas). Pius XI. 1925. - On Fostering True Religious Unity (Mortalium Animos). Pius XI. 1928. - On Atheistic Communism (Divini Redemptoris). Pius XI. 1937. - On Certain False Opinions (Humani Generis). Pius XII. 1950. After this book, the reader will be forced to conclude: "The Popes were right all along!" Only by heeding the advice and counsel of these enlightened Roman Pontiffs will the world be able to cast off its yoke of error and enjoy once more the true freedom Our Lord spoke of when He said, "If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32).

The stories of seven popes who ruled at seven different critical periods in the 600 years leading into the Reformation.