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.

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

He is the one who can promulgate dogma and whose papal pronouncements when speaking “ex cathedra” — with the authority of the office — on questions of faith and morals are considered infallible.

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

Mr. Comey’s gnomic, ex cathedra distinction between Mrs. Clinton’s “extremely careless” handling of classified information and the “grossly negligent” standard that would have put her in legal jeopardy probably saved her candidacy.