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Is Pope Francis a Heretic?
I want to call your attention first to this from respected Vatican journalist Edward Pentin:
The well-known and respected Dominican theologian Father Aidan Nichols has put his name to an historic open letter to bishops claiming Pope Francis is guilty of heresy and calling on them to formally correct him.
The letter, released on April 30, the feast day in the traditional calendar of St. Catherine of Siena — the 14th century saint famous for her criticism of Pope Gregory XI — states that Francis has on occasions “knowingly and persistently” denied what he knows is divinely revealed Church teaching.
Such words and actions, the signatories continue, “amount to a comprehensive rejection of Catholic teaching on marriage and sexual activity, on the moral law, and on grace and the forgiveness of sins.”
They add that they have taken this measure “as a last resort to respond to the accumulating harm caused by Pope Francis’s words and actions over several years, which have given rise to one of the worst crises in the history of the Catholic Church.”
The signatories call on bishops to investigate the claims they put forth, and then correct Pope Francis by calling on him “to reject these heresies.”
If he should “persistently refuse,” they call on the bishops to declare that Francis has “freely deprived himself of the papacy.”
Pope Francis has not been without controversy over doctrine during his papacy. From his encyclical letter on stewardship of the environment, Laudato Si, to his post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation on marriage and the family, Amoris Laetitia, to his interviews with the Italian atheist Eugenio Scalfari, Pope Francis has seemed to want to live up to what he infamously told a small group of friends: “It is not to be excluded that I will enter history as the one who split the Catholic Church.”
In questioning the Pope on doctrine, we first had the dubia, a set of five questions from 4 Cardinals of the Church asking for clarification on some points of doctrine in Amoris Laetitia. Then came a letter from clergy and scholars to the college of cardinals of the Church pointing out the “heresies” the authors found in Amoris Laetitia. Then came a filial correction letter to the Pope, expressing grave concern about many papal pronouncements, but stopping short of claiming heresy.
But this newest letter is different:
“We limit ourselves to accusing him of heresy on occasions where he has publicly denied truths of the faith, and then consistently acted in a way that demonstrates that he disbelieves these truths that he has publicly denied,” the authors state.
They clarify that they are not claiming Pope Francis has “denied truths of the faith in pronouncements that satisfy the conditions for an infallible papal teaching.”
“We assert that this would be impossible, since it would be incompatible with the guidance given to the Church by the Holy Spirit,” they state.
In light of this situation, the authors call upon the bishops of the Church to take action since a “heretical papacy may not be tolerated or dissimulated to avoid a worse evil.”
Pope Francis may just ignore this as he has ignored all that has proceeded, but it is hard to see how he can.
Stay tuned.
Father Aidan Nichols Signs Open Letter Charging Pope Francis With Heresy https://t.co/HicjdNEubE
— Edward Pentin (@EdwardPentin) April 30, 2019
Open Letter to Bishops published on the liturgical feast of two Dominicans: Pope St. Pius V (new calendar) who proclaimed Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church, and St. Catherine of Siena (traditional calendar), Doctor of the Church: https://t.co/WCKybXK68g
— Diane Montagna (@dianemontagna) April 30, 2019
Published in Religion & PhilosophyFr Fessio of Ignatius Press coming out of retirement to underscore this document and to urge the Holy See not to ignore it.
Unprecedented.
Might this indicate that the conservative Old Guard has finally faced reality and is taking the gloves off? https://t.co/MjRkPd1GYv
— Regina Magazine (@ReginaMagOnline) April 30, 2019
One of original twelve was arguably in league with Satan, but that didn’t mean the entire Church was corrupt. If I were a devout Catholic, the thing I could not accept would be a pope changing 2000+ years of Church teaching. At that point, short of Divine Intervention, I’d wash my hands of it completely and consider becoming a Jew.
Not really. No one gets to sit in judgment of the pope except succeeding popes. Pope Honorius I was declared a heretic and was anathematized, so it’s happened before. But, for those of us in communion with the Church it’s a waiting in patience, penance, and lamentation game. I suppose that’s what’s meant by “practicing” the faith.
Ha! That image made me laugh.
As to your question, there isn’t one. The Council of Constance ended the Great Western Schism when there were 3 rival popes/anti-popes by paving the way for the election of a new pope, but technically one of the 3 resigned — so there’s still an ongoing debate over whether even an Ecumenical Council has the authority to depose a pope.
Sadly the Church is the Pope and the Pope is the Church. Thus the Church now holds that things I thought of as sins are now acceptable. Homosexuality, Adultery, Fornication, things I was taught were sins are now practiced by the clergy. The Church has now moved on. While I have not. It now seems that I am the heretic, even though my values and beliefs have not changed. Thus the world moves on and I go to hell.
In that I don’t believe in Satan I tried to explain how institutions become corrupt, self serving and increasingly distant from the original mission. Over the centuries, the Church has gone perhaps 180 degrees off from its mission.
And what is its mission?
Analysis: Serious and unserious allegations of papal heresy
https://twitter.com/PetriOP/status/1123751333067206657
Can. 1372 A person who makes recourse against an act of the Roman Pontiff to an ecumenical council or the college of bishops is to be punished with a censure.
Can. 1373 A person who publicly incites among subjects animosities or hatred against the Apostolic See or an ordinary because of some act of power or ecclesiastical ministry or provokes subjects to disobey them is to be punished by an interdict or other just penalties.
Jimmy Akin defines many of the terms in use regarding this discussion and after laying out his case sums things up thusly:
Hmmm, I just pasted from an article in my previous comment and this is missing for some reason – at least I see a large blank area that should contain this:
I thought TnT ably addressed these complaints against the letter, starting at about 50 minutes.
To summarize:
Francis’s “defense” is to stay quiet. Although he appears to persist in these errors (four filial corrections including the dubia unanswered), his silence is the passive form of weaponized ambiguity and allows defenders to continue attacks on his critics. It seems diabolic to me. But, God has a plan and I have to believe He will bring good out this. If the Church can be born out of the Crucifixion of our Lord, it can certainly survive Francis.
Haven’t had a chance to listen yet. Thanks for posting the video.
And to let his minions and sycophants carry out the agenda.
Yep. TnT aren’t in agreement with calling Francis a heretic. They think that was a mistake to put that accusation in the first paragraph of the letter. Instead, they’re staying faithful to the Church and its teachings while “resisting” Francis’s heretical ideas. Who knew we’d be calling ourselves The Resistance??
Well, at least he hasn’t lost his base.
Those crazy whacky Germans again. When will Pope Francis do his job of defending the faith and call these nut jobs heretics?
#DefendTheFaith
Represent the Body of Christ in the world.
Dorothy Cummings McLean has a good roundup of those who support, have reservations about, and strongly oppose the Open Letter accusing the pope of heresy:
Leading Catholics react to Open Letter accusing Pope Francis of heresy