Michael J. Matt @Michael_J_Matt “With the strong possibility that we may have a papal conclave in the near future, many serious Catholics are contemplating the prospect of an openly heretical cardinal being elected to replace Francis. As disastrous as Francis’s hostile occupation of the papacy has been, at least it seems that many of the cardinals at the 2013 conclave might not have known he was a heretic . This would probably not be the case at the next conclave: if Francis’s allies succeed in advancing a man cut from the same heretical, anti-Catholic cloth, everyone will have a fairly good sense of how catastrophic it will be. If that happens, it seems that we will face something far worse than the mere continuation of a disastrous status quo. All throughout salvation history, and in every aspect of our spiritual lives, we see that God judges us based on whether or not we know the moral consequences of our actions. We deserve far worse punishments when we commit evil with full knowle...