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If Francis is a Heretic, What should Canonically happen to him?

Did Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) say that Francis is a heretic?  

On June 3, 2003 the then Cardinal Ratzinger (and future Pope Benedict), head of the Congregation for the Faith, said that the endorsement of  "homosex civil unions" was against Catholic teaching, that is heterodoxy:

"Those who would move from tolerance to the legitimatization of specific rights for cohabiting homosexual persons need to be reminded that the approval or legalization of evil is something far different from the toleration of evil... The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions."
(Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, "Considerations Regarding Proposals to give Legal Recognition to Unions between Homosexual Persons," June 3, 2003)

Gloria.tv reported:

"Francis made on October 21 his latest declaration in support of [immoral] homosex civil unions, admitting that he has always stood up for them. This is true." [https://www.gloria.tv/post/J4jp2BJtWgpv3s8DiS2ThH2dk]

If Francis is a heretic, what should canonically happen to him?

If it is true that Francis is an explicit heretic then the teaching of St. Francis de Sales comes into play. 

Doctor of the Church St. Francis de Sales totally confirmed beyond any doubt the possibility of a heretical pope and what must be done by the Church in such a situation:

"[T]he Pope... WHEN he is EXPLICITLY a heretic, he falls ipso facto from his dignity and out of the Church, and the Church MUST either deprive him, or, as some say, declare him deprived, of his Apostolic See."
(The Catholic Controversy, by St. Francis de Sales, Pages 305-306)


Saint Robert Bellarmine, also, said "the Pope heretic is not deposed ipso facto, but must be declared deposed by the Church."
[https://archive.org/stream/SilveiraImplicationsOfNewMissaeAndHereticPopes/Silveira%20Implications%20of%20New%20Missae%20and%20Heretic%20Popes_djvu.txt]

The renowned scholar Arnaldo Xavier de Silveira who was one of the top experts in modern times of the subjects of papal validity and heretical popes gave a brief overview of his authority on this matters:

"In the 1970 Brazilian edition of my study of the heretical Pope, in the French edition of 1975 and in the Italian in 2016, I stated that on the grounds of the intrinsic theological reasons underpinning the Fifth Opinion I considered it not merely probable but certain. I chose not to insist on the qualification 'theologically certain' for an extrinsic reason, namely, that certain authors of weight do not adopt it.43 This was also the opinion of the then Bishop of Campos, Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer, as expressed in a letter of 25th January 1974, when he sent my work to Paul VI, asking him to point out any possible errors (which never took place), expressly stating that he referred to the study 'written by lawyer Arnaldo Vidigal Xavier da Silveira, with the contents of which I associate myself .'”

[https://www.scribd.com/document/374434852/Arnaldo-Vidigal-Xavier-Da-Silveira-Replies-to-Fr-Gleize-on-Heretical-Pope]

Here is what de Silveira says in his book "Implications Of New Missae And Heretic Popes (Page 176)" on the subject of heretical popes:

"Conclusion

"Resuming: We believe that a careful examination of the question of a Pope heretic, with the
theological elements of which we dispose today, permits one to conclude that an eventual Pope heretic would lose his charge in the moment in which his heresy became 'notorious and publicly divulged'."

"And we think that this sentence is not only intrinsically probable , but certain , since the reasons
allegeable in its defense appear to us as absolutely cogent. Besides, in the works which we have
consulted, we have not found any argument which persuaded us of the opposite. "

"(1 ) The second opinion referred by Saint Robert Bellarmine - See pp. 1 56 ft.

(2) The first subdivision proposed by us to the fifth opinion referred by Saint Robert Bellarmine - See p. 170.

(3) The second subdivision which we proposed to the fifth opinion - See p. 170.

(4) The third subdivision which we proposed on the fifth opinion. - See p. 1 70.

(5) The fourth opinion referred by Saint Robert Bellarmine . - See pp. 161 ff.

(6) We transcribe that long argumentation on pp. 1 64 ff. - See also note 2 of p. 1 64.

(7) One ought not to see shades of conciliarism in the principle that ecclesiastical organisms, as the Council, can omit a pronouncement declaring the eventual cessation of functions of a Pope heretic, as long as these organisms do not claim for themselves any right other than that enjoyed by any one of the faithful. For motives of mere convenience or courtesy, it could behoove these organisms to make such a declaration, in the first place; but this priority would not constitute for them a right of their own, or even less exclusive."
[https://archive.org/stream/SilveiraImplicationsOfNewMissaeAndHereticPopes/Silveira%20Implications%20of%20New%20Missae%20and%20Heretic%20Popes_djvu.txt]

Dr. John R. T. Lamont, philosopher and theologian, explains the procedures of how Francis's papacy could cease if he is declared a heretical pope by the Church:

"Some... argue that the dubia and other criticisms of Amoris Laetitia that have been made already suffice as warnings to Pope Francis, and hence that he can now be judged to be guilty of the canonical crime of heresy..."

But for juridical purposes – especially for the very serious purpose of judging a Pope to be a heretic – they do not suffice. The evidence needed for a juridical judgment of such gravity has to take a form that is entirely clear and beyond dispute. A formal warning from a number of members of the College of Cardinals that is then disregarded by the Pope would constitute such evidence."


"The possibility of a Pope being canonically guilty of heresy has long been admitted in the Church. It is acknowledged in the Decretals of Gratian There is no dispute among Catholic theologians on this point – even among theologians like Bellarmine who do not think that a Pope is in fact capable of being a heretic..."

"It is to be hoped that the correction of Pope Francis does not have to proceed this far, and that he will either reject the heresies he has announced or resign his office..."


"Removing him from office against his will would require the election of a new Pope, and would probably leave the Church with Francis as an anti-Pope contesting the authority of the new Pope. If Francis refuses to renounce either his heresy or his office, however, this situation will just have to be faced."


To read the whole article click below:


[http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2016/12/article-considerations-on-dubia-of-four.html?m=1]

Finally, unambiguously, Cardinal Burke, in an interview with the World Catholic Report, said that if a pope "formally profess heresy...  he would cease...to be the Pope": 

Cardinal Burke: If a Pope would formally profess heresy he would cease, by that act, to be the Pope. It’s automatic. And so, that could happen.

CWR: That could happen.

Cardinal Burke: Yes.

CWR: That’s a scary thought.

Cardinal Burke: It is a scary thought, and I hope we won’t be witnessing that at any time soon.

CWR: In hindsight, with all of the controversy that has surrounded this, should you have kept these concerns to yourself and just waited for His Holiness to answer your dubia?

Cardinal Burke: No, not at all, because the faithful and priests and bishops have the right to have these questions answered. It was our duty as cardinals, when the Pope made it clear that he would not respond to them, to make them public so that the priests and the lay faithful who had these same doubts might know that their doubts are legitimate and that they deserve a response.

CWR: Some consider you to be an enemy of Pope Francis. How do you see yourself in relation to him?

Cardinal Burke: I am a Cardinal of the Church, and one of the Pope’s principal co-workers. I have absolute respect for the Petrine office. If I didn’t care about him and his exercise of the Petrine office, I would just remain silent and let everything go as it is. But because in conscience I believe he has an obligation to clarify these matters for the Church, I made it known to him, not just on this occasion, but on other occasions. The publication of the dubia was done with complete respect for his office. I am not the enemy of the Pope.

CWR: Back to this question about the Pope committing heresy. What happens then, if the Pope commits heresy and is no longer Pope? Is there a new conclave? Who’s in charge of the Church? Or do we just not even want to go there to start figuring that stuff out?

Cardinal Burke: There is already in place the discipline to be followed when the Pope ceases from his office, even as happened when Pope Benedict XVI abdicated his office. The Church continued to be governed in the interim between the effective date of his abdication and the inauguration of the papal ministry of Pope Francis.

CWR: Who is competent to declare him to be in heresy?

Cardinal Burke: It would have to be members of the College of Cardinals.[https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2016/12/19/cardinal-burke-no-i-am-not-saying-that-pope-francis-is-in-heresy/]

Note: The Catholic Monitor implores all CM readers to now or as soon as possible to "Contact Governor Brian Kemp and DEMAND that he IMMEDIATELY call a special session of the legislature":

  1. Call him at 404-656-1776

  2. Email him at brian.kemp@georgia.gov or use this contact form.

  3. Message him on Facebook and Twitter. 

    Also, please ask your friends and family to "Contact Governor Brian Kemp and DEMAND that he IMMEDIATELY call a special session of the legislature" and their elected officials now

    "[LifeSite says] "It’s imperative... that ordinary citizens contact their elected officials now all the way up until January 6. Politicians usually respond when their offices are inundated with phone calls"

"Click here to access LifeSite’s Voter Voice initiative so you can find your representative’s phone number."

"I sincerely hope all of my American readers will head those words. Your country is at stake! There is no more crucial time than right now. God love you." [https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/act-now-contact-your-representative-to-ensure-election-integrity-on-january-6]

Note: Gateway Pundit, the real leader of the patriot media, shows how you can fight against the BIDEN STEAL and "not take... it anymore" from swing states legislators:

All you have to do is open the links below and copy the list to your email, draft your message and send.  You can send these to any state and you don’t need to reside in that state. 

 

 

 

 

  • State of PA House eMail Addresses: <All hidden behind contact-forms>
  • State of PA Senate eMail Addresses (partial ): https://pastebin.com/aYRDJVwM

 

 

Below is also a list of state legislatures in some of the key swing states the Biden campaign is trying to steal:

Arizona Legislature https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/

Georgia General Assembly http://www.legis.ga.gov/en-US/default.aspx

Michigan Legislature https://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(cc0hs5oao0b4zn55a2na5kh4))/mileg.aspx?page=home

Pennsylvania Senate https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/mbrList.cfm?body=S&sort=alpha

Pennsylvania House https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/mbrList.cfm?body=H&sort=alpha

Wisconsin Senate https://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/

Wisconsin House https://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/

Please feel free to contact the Republican congressmen and women in these states and let them know your concerns and demand they stop Big Tech, Big Media, Foreign Countries and the corrupt Democrats from stealing this election. [https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/easy-contact-lists-state-legislatures-six-key-states-just-copy-email-draft-message-let-know-feel-biden-steal/]

Important Note: The publisher of the Catholic Monitor has made a pledge to wear the Brown Scapular and say the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary everyday for a Rosary Lepanto-like victory for President Trump. He asks all CM readers to make this pledge.

"THE HOLY ROSARY, MOST POWERFUL WEAPON AGAINST THE ENEMY OF GOD AND MAN... Saint Pius V ordered the faithful to recite the Rosary to impetrate victory from God in the epic battle of the Christian Armada against the Turk in the waters of Lepanto: still today, at noon each day, the bells ring in our cities to recall [the victory of] October 7, 1571... Let us pray for the United States of America; let us pray for our President; let us pray for his victory, that the Lord God of Hosts – Dominus Deus Sabaoth –will grant that he may know how to place himself under God’s protection." -  Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò

Note: Please put President Trump, Steve Bannon, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, all the Republican state and national legislators as well as Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Justice Neil Gorsuch in the following Prayer of Command against "satanic forces":

Prayer of Command of  Exorcist Fr. Chad Ripperger:

In His Name and by the power of His Cross and Blood, I ask Jesus to bind any evil spirits, forces and powers of the earth, air, fire, or water, of the netherworld and the satanic forces of nature.  By the power of the Holy Spirit and by His authority, I ask Jesus Christ to break any curses, hexes, or spells and send them back to where they came from, if it be His Holy Will.  I beseech Thee Lord Jesus to protect us by pouring Thy Precious Blood on us (my family, etc.), which Thou hast shed for us and I ask Thee to command that any departing spirits leave quietly, without disturbance, and go straight to Thy Cross to dispose of as Thou sees fit.  I ask Thee to bind any demonic interaction, interplay, or communications.  I place N. (Person, place or thing) under the protection of the Blood of Jesus Christ which He shed for us. Amen
 
Note: Intel Cryptanalyst-Mathematician on Biden Steal: "212Million Registered Voters & 66.2% Voting,140.344 M Voted...Trump got 74 M, that leaves only 66.344 M for Biden" [http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2020/12/intel-cryptanalyst-mathematician-on.html?m=1]
  
Voter fraud attorney Sidney Powell's renowned statistician, Dr. William Briggs stated that the "conservative" SCOTUS Justices did a Pontius Pilate by "cuck[ing]. There is no other word for it. Their entire argument for rejecting the suit brought Texas and joined by almost half the States was Nyah nyah nyah!" [https://wmbriggs.com/post/33854/]
 
Will Kavanaugh, Barrett and Gorsuch in the upcoming "Kraken"case cowardly run away from it as they did with the Texas case and be accomplices in the United States becoming the next totalitarian impoverished Chinese Communist satellite like Venezuela by not joining the fight for truth and justice against the massive voter fraud that is attempting to destroy America?  
 
 (Will US be Venezuela?: Ex-CIA Official told Epoch Times "Chávez started to Focus on [Smartmatic] Voting Machines to Ensure Victory as early as 2003": http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2020/12/will-us-be-venezuela-ex-cia-official.html)
  
The famed Bishop Rene Gracida answered the above question, which Kavanaugh, Barrett and Gorsuch must answer to God now and at the the hour of their death, saying America is in a battle for its very survival as a, free and independent, God fearing nation:

"This month’s battle for the republic is tremendous and earth-shaking. The only comparable moments in our history are those moments before the American Civil War and those days leading up to George Washington’s battles against the British." [https://abyssum.org/2020/12/03/this-months-battle-for-the-republic-is-tremendous-and-earth-shaking-the-only-comparable-moments-in-our-history-are-those-moments-before-the-american-civil-war-and-those-days-leading-up-to-ge/]

Bishop Gracida was a courageous WWII airman, monk, friend of Pope John Paul II and the “Savior of EWTN” as Raymond Arroyo called him in his book who at 96 looks like his is in his 70’s, is mentally sharper than most men 40 years younger than him and looks by a large margin younger than Pope Benedict XVI or Francis.

Gracida is declaring that America is in a battle between good and evil.

Pray an Our Father now for the grace to know God's Will and to do it.

Pray an Our Father now for President Donald Trump, the legal teams including Sidney Powell and justice in the United States of America.

Pray an Our Father now for the restoration of the Church as well as the Triumph of the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary

 

 

Comments

Chris C. said…
Assuming that Pope Francis is in fact a heretic, one concern and obvious question will be as to the validity of any formal decisions or pronouncements he has made since the heresy became manifest. Would appointments of bishops and cardinals be thereby rendered null and void for example?
James Larrabee said…
In regard to this quote from St. Francis de Sales:

“[T]he Pope… WHEN he is EXPLICITLY a heretic, he falls ipso facto from his dignity and out of the Church, and the Church MUST either deprive him, or, as some say, declare him deprived, of his Apostolic See.”
(The Catholic Controversy, by St. Francis de Sales, Pages 305-306)

The translation of this passage is incorrect. The same edition (Tan) from which this is excerpted gives in an appendix the original French. The correct translation would be (omitting the first few words): "... he falls ipso facto from his dignity out of the Church, and the Church must either DEPRIVE HIM, AS SOME SAY, OR DECLARE him deprived, of his Apostolic See." (words capitalized to show the change)

The words "as some say" belong with the former possibility (he must be deprived), not the latter (declare him deprived). This may seem to be a minor difference (though it does not excuse the error of the translator). However, the clear implication appears to be that St. Francis considers the latter opinion, which is that of St. Robert Bellarmine and the more or less unanimous opinion since, to be the definitive one, and is only mentioning the first because it was held by some authors. Thus, the correct position of the qualifying phrase is important, though for the author's polemical purpose in this pamphlet, it was not necessary for him to go into this particular aspect of the question. The semi-Conciliarist idea that a pope can be deposed, in the literal sense, has no support at all (even implicit) from the three Doctors of the Church since the Council of Trent (St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Alphonsus de Liguori).

A point of less importance, which might be considered just a stylistic flourish on the translator's part. The word "and" following "he falls ipso facto from his dignity" does not occur in the French. So the exact translation is "he falls ipso facto from his dignity out of the Church." I think this expresses more vividly that falling from his dignity and falling out of the Church are one and the same action. The manifest heretic falls out of the Church by his own act; his dignity is attached to the Church, not to himself; he cannot take it with him when he departs from the Church, any more than when he dies.

At any rate, if St. Francis de Sales had wished to write "and," he could have done so.

The French text runs as follows: "Or quand il est hérétique exprès ipso facto il tombe de son grade hors de l'Eglise et l'Eglise le doit ou priver comme disent quelques uns, ou le declarer privé de son siège apostolique ..." (p. 388 of Tan Books edition, 1989; photostatic reprint of the original: London: Burns and Oates, and New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1886, as v. III of the series "Library of St. Francis de Sales.")

One can only wish that every Catholic would study this truly golden book, and then consider by what possible stretch of the mind Vatican II and all its fruits can be considered Catholic.

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