Francis: It Seems Formal Heresy To Me.

Evil Clown strikes again!

 

This little effort is read by a couple of thousand people every day, which is, I think, the number of people that the parish priest of a normal, or biggish, parish, will reach. Obviously I am not a priest, nor a theologian come to that, and I am sure those who read me take this into account when evaluating what I read. Still, this is one of those days when I feel particularly keenly that one day I will have to answer for what I have written, and must therefore pay much attention not to stray from the straight and narrow. Do not, therefore, expect from me any statement that goes beyond what I have the right to say, because that would be the way to Sedevacantism.

Visit Louie Verrecchio's site, and watch the two videos about the latest papal speech on Christian Unity and Mr Verrecchio's comment on the same. Notice, also, how the bad seeds already planted by the mentality of V II are now undergoing a sort of genetic mutation under Francis, and the wrong perspective is becoming a wrong ideology openly defended as such.

This was not an off-the-cuff comment. This is a video message Francis decided to record in Spanish exactly because it is the language of which he has full control.

This was also, with all certainty, proofread by other people, as not only the nature of the document but the obvious remarks of the man abundantly prove.

Francis' attempt to hide behind his finger, saying that he “might” be saying something nonsensical or even heretical, shows in fact all the arrogance of this allegedly so humble man: he knows – because he has been warned, of course; but he knows in any case – that what he is about to say might be heretical, but he says it anyway, defends it as the truth, says it is the way God thinks. He feels like saying it, therefore he does. What he feels trumps Catholic Truth, because he knows how God thinks.

This seems, to me, formal heresy all right. Granted, he has not said he knows that what he is about to say is heretical, but he professes it anyway; but he has said something which I cannot consider any less grave: he knows what God thinks and therefore he says it, and he does not care whether this homemade truth is heretical or not.

The blood chills. A Pope goes public worldwide and says he just does not care whether what he says is heretical or not. He will say it anyway, and will present it to you as God's opinion, compared to which the matter whether this opinion is heretical or not sinks into utter irrelevance because hey, God and Francis can't be wrong so Catholicism must be.

In my eyes there is no difference with Luther's famous – real or attributed – statement “here I stand, I can do no other”. Francis is very clearly saying that he is aware of the possible consequences, and just does not care. This is the very definition of heretical rebellion, and would be rebellion even in the case – that does not apply here – that what Francis says happens not to be heretical. But in this case what Francis says is heretical, so we have not only the open intention of putting oneself above the truth of the Church, but the acting upon it.

I fully agree with Mr Verrecchio that this must be challenged by those members of the hierarchy who care for orthodoxy. Cardinals first, probably, but certainly every bishop should feel challenged to admonish the Pope to “clarify” (polite for “retract”) his statement, or declare himself a heretic.

Mind, though, that it is not for me to declare that the Pope is a formal heretic and therefore – say I, out of my own authority given to me by the Mundabor Mini Me Sedevacantist Quasi Church Of Catholic Truth – not the Pope anymore. But it certainly for me to say that declarations have been made that have a very strong smell of formal heresy, and the Bishop and Cardinals should feel the duty to publicly challenge the Pope on this and call him to change his ways or face the consequences, which would then be trial and possible deposition as abundantly discussed on this blog (see also the bar above).

This challenge to the Pope is something that, it seems to me, every Cardinal and bishop should feel as a duty at this point, because the challenge to Catholicism is, this time, openly proclaimed in full defiance of it.

Unavoidably – and Mr Verrecchio very fittingly points out to this – this will cause in many prelates and priests unpleasant reflections concerning the bad seeds planted by V II. But there can be no doubt that this here is an incursion into fully new territory, the territory of heresy publicly proclaimed in open opposition to Catholic teaching; this is a completely different animal from badly formulated encyclicals which have heretical elements in them whilst claiming to upheld Catholic truth in toto.

At least, this time we will not be plagued by the usual “he does not know” comments. He knows very well. He says so himself.

He just does not care.

M