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Friday, June 21, 2024

Do We Defy the Authority of the Church if We Disobey the Pope's Demands?

I'll answer a question with a question, two questions in fact. Was it wrong for Catholics to disobey the pope when he said everyone should get the COVID jab? Were Catholics who refused to obey the pope challenging the authority of Holy Mother Church?

Simple answer to both questions: NO! NO! HELL NO!

One of my readers commenting the other day, seems to think we owe obedience to the pope about everything he says. Here's the relevant part of his comment:

Regardless of what one thinks about Bugnini, the mass and sacraments have the approval of Pope St. Paul VI. The problems we have with the so called traditional movement are rooted in disobedience to the authority of the Church. 1 Sam 15:22 states: " ..to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams."

That statement seems to me to be nonsense. I attend the SSPX chapel every Sunday. The order endorses everything the Church teaches when it conforms to the unchanging doctine and sacred tradition of the Church. What they reject are novelties that cast into confusion these same doctrines. The Novus Ordo dilutes the sacrificial nature of the Mass. Instead it emphasizes the meal aspect to the degree that the Offertory Prayer has been turned into a Jewish meal blessing. Diluting the Sacrifice of the Cross as atonement for sin and turning it into the equivalent of "Bless us, O Lord,...." was not an insignificant change.

Let me be clear. I do not question the validity of the Novus Ordo or the new sacramental rites. It does not follow, however, that, out of obedience, I am required to throw the previous rites onto the trash heap of history. Neither am I required to accept a new interpretation of the sacrament of Holy Eucharist , one that allows those living in fornicating or adulterous unions to approach for Communion. And yet that's what the pope told the Argentinian bishops when they asked for clarification about their guidelines based on Amoris Laetitia. That is Holy Father hogwash!

So what does the Church teach about obedience? There are numerous catechisms written throughout the history of the Church that address that question. Some are worth their weight in gold. Some, like the Dutch Catechism written by heretics after Vatican II (1966 publication), are only fit for the latrine! 

St. Peter Canisius wrote this in his Large Catechism published in 1555

We do owe faith and obedience unto those only who, being lawfully ordained and sent by bishops, do profess the sound doctrine of the Church. But of others we must carefully beware, as of enemies and pestiferous persons.5

The Catechism of the Council of Trent is another reliable source. This is particularly interesting in view of the position of the sedevacantists that Francis is not really pope:

While it may seem strange, we are not excused from highly honoring [wicked pastors] even when they show themselves hostile and implacable toward us.… However, should their commands be wicked or unjust, they should not be obeyed, since in such a case they rule not according to their rightful authority, but according to injustice and perversity.6

[See more at Crisis Magazine and Tradivox]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) seems to be silent on this issue of obedience to the pope. In fact, the word "infallibility" doesn't appear in the index. Most of the entries on authority (the fourth commandment) have to do with parental and civic authority. The omission of these issues does not increase my confidence in a book that is being altered regularly to reinterpret doctrine on capitol punishment, homosexuality, etc.  While it remains on my bookshelf, heavily highlighted with margin notes (I took a course from a previous pastor), it's not a catechism I rely on. Like the Dutch Catechism which its co-author Edward Schillebeeckx, O.P. summarized with, "There is no salvation outside the world," The CCC seems to be influenced by the world and its wokish principles, although certainly not to the same degree. 

Since I started with questions, I'll end with one. 

Can we disobey the pope? Of course and many saints, cardinals, theologians, etc. have laid down the conditions that apply including St. Thomas Aquinas, Cajetan, St. Robert Bellarmine, etc. 

Catholics need to know the faith. Tools for that are readily available in excellent catechisms. One of the best for today's Catholic is CREDO since it addresses some of the very crises we face. As Catholics, it's a work to which we are called. Pray first and then work. Ora et Labora. 

And don't forget to pray for the pope, the bishops, and your priests. As Fr. James Buckley used to tell us on retreat, they have "commando demons" tempting them. 

Lord Jesus, Head of the Universal Church, have mercy on us.

Our Lady, Queen of the Clergy, pray for us.

St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, pray for us.


11 comments:

  1. Bless Archbishop Vigano for tying the destruction of the Latin Mass and the "papacy" of Francis to Vatican II. He is lancing a huge boil.

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  2. Good thing we have the Oracle of Woodstock to authoritatively define Catholicism - as opposed to a supposedly legitimate pope.
    It seems you finally admit Amoris Laetitia is heretical.
    Can you point to other popes in history that officially taught heresy? I'll wait...

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  3. Ridicule and insults are Alinsky strategies. Go read the history of the popes during the dark ages. Amoris Laetitia wasn't heretical. The pope's letter to the Argentinian bishops about their guidelines was. Don't bother commenting any more. You've been uncivil and uncharitable one too many times. I'm not responding to any more of your rude comments. "Love is not rude!" (St. Paul)

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  4. I think they don’t mention it because Vatican I and the doctrines of papal primacy and supremacy don’t need clarification.

    If you run into logical contradictions you best check your assumptions.

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  5. Oh my goodness…..language! 🤣.

    I wish the SSPX chapel near us was larger. There is a good chance we will be heading there soon. Good post!

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  6. A Modernist is an “Ecumenist” apostate who has concluded that souls can achieve salvation without a baptism of water, desire or blood that enables entrance into the Roman Catholic Church. Every post-Vatican II “pope” was an Ecumenist Apostate. They are not Catholics because they do not profess that Catholic Church is the sole means of salvation as the Council of Trent did unequivocally. A Catholic must obey Pope Saint Pius V who proclaimed that there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church and that Protestant sects were means of damnation. A Catholic should flee and disobey an Ecumenist Apostate who believes that “the one Church of Christ is effectively present” in “other Christian Communities”:

    “To the extent that these elements are found in other Christian Communities, the one Church of Christ is effectively present in them. For this reason the Second Vatican Council speaks of a certain, though imperfect communion. The Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium stresses that the Catholic Church "recognizes that in many ways she is linked" 14 with these Communities by a true union in the Holy Spirit.
    IOANNES PAULUS PP. II
    UT UNUM SINT
    On commitment to Ecumenism
    CHAPTER I - THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S COMMITMENT TO ECUMENISM
    The way of ecumenism: the way of the Church

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  7. I have no idea if he even is the pope.

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  8. “Commenter” said: “1 Sam 15:22 states: " *..*to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

    So what’s in those dots of omission (…)? The entire verse - I Sam 15:22: “And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

    The object, the entire point of the verse was left out, of course. Those omitting dots thus allow the omitter and the reader to create any object in alignment with their personal biases and desires. Thereby, the entire verse is rendered its opposite meaning. None of the ceremony and sacrifice mean anything if God is not the one, supreme object of it all. Obedience that leads to such a place as that - gravely misplaced.

    So.

    *God* is the object - first, middle, last.

    A Catholic Pope is not the object - God is still the object of this verse and the entirety of our Christian faith. A Pope is God’s Vicar. The Pope points to God, leads along the one true path to God, protects and corrects those who might stray from the *one* path. But the Pope is not God. God is God. The Pope is God’s servant - servant of the servants of God.

    God is everything. The path that leads to God, guaranteed as true and unchanging through time and eternity, is the Pearl of Great Price for which we Christians will sell everything, die if we must.

    Another verse of relevance: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:”. John 10:27

    A Catholic knows the voice of their Lord, as well the voice of the counterfeit. And must thereby act accordingly.

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  9. No, to defy Jorge Bergoglio and his invalid Magisterium, is to affirm the Magisterial teaching of every validly elected Pope who is in communion with Christ and His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, which exists Through, With, and In Christ, In The Unity Of The Holy Ghost (Filioque). As a cardinal, Jorge Bergoglio had defected from Christ’s Church, and thus his election to the Papacy could not possibly be valid.

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  10. "Jorge Bergoglio had defected from Christ’s Church."

    Really, Anonymous. You know that how? What is in the internal forum of a man's conscience is known only to God and what he reveals to his confessor. I abhor many of the pope's actions, but I have no idea what was in his mind and heart when he was elected pope. It amazes me how many laymen have (like Protestants) declared themselves infallible when it comes to the status of the pope.

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