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Showing posts from March 6, 2022

Dr. Mazza: "The Pope might be above Canon Law (I’ve heard it both ways)—but he is certainly Not above Natural Law"

  The scholar Dr. Ed Mazza in a guest post on the Ann Barnhardt website wrote the "pope might be above canon law (I’ve heard it both ways)—but he is certainly not above natural law": In the case of Pope Benedict, the stakes couldn’t be higher. If his notion of the munus Petrinum was erroneous, then his resignation was invalid. Canon 188 of the New Code of Canon Law (1983) states explicitly that “a resignation made out of…substantial error” is invalid. This would mean Benedict is still the Head of the Catholic Church and that Jorge Bergoglio is “Antipope Francis.” Furthermore, it must be noted that for years-on-end critics of those who hold that Benedict is pope have accused them (among other things) of “not being trained canon lawyers.” Others have argued that Canon 188 does not matter anyway because the Pope as Supreme Legislator is “above canon law.” Still other prominent critics argue that because all the cardinals and 99% of the bishops of the Church have “