The term neo-ultramontanism, however, was not coined until 1893, when it was used by one of its strongest adherents,[citation needed] the British lay convert William George Ward[1] and adopted by Cardinal Henry Manning.
They were concentrated in Western Europe, but did not manage to win the debate, which liberal historians attribute to their lack of theological and historical understanding of how the doctrine of infallibility was first proposed.
Pope Leo XIII never attempted to exercise infallibility and by the time of his death all the neo-ultramontane publications had been closed down or had changed their views on what was now "history" (the First Vatican Council and the debates within it).
However, some liberal theologians and historians have argued since the beginning of John Paul II's papacy that a view of papal infallibility analogous to that proposed by neo-ultramontanes has made a comeback.
This has been especially true since the controversy surrounding the aftermath of Ordinatio sacerdotalis in 1994[citation needed] and "On Not Inventing Doctrine", Nicholas Lash's article in The Tablet about that letter published a year and a half later.