Limits of Infallibility

The Catholic Church's claim of infallibility is limited in scope. It is not applicable to just any subject, but specifically to matters of faith and morals closely connected to divine revelation. This means that the Church cannot infallibly teach on subjects like medicine, chemistry, or archaeology. For example, the theory of evolution, being a matter of science, is not a subject of infallible Church teaching. Infallible teaching occurs only under specific conditions, when the Magisterium definitively ends legitimate dispute on a subject. However, such instances are rare, with only one infallible definition made in the 20th century.