BREAKING: 62 Scholars correct Pope Francis for "propagating heresies"

ROME, September 23, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – Expressing “profound grief” and “filial devotion,” Catholic clergy and lay scholars from around the world have issued what they are calling a “Filial Correction” to Pope Francis for “propagating heresy.”

The Filial Correction, in the form of a 25-page letter, bears the signatures of sixty-two Catholic academics, researchers, and scholars in various fields from twenty countries. They assert that Pope Francis has supported heretical positions about marriage, the moral life, and the Eucharist that are causing a host of “heresies and other errors” to spread throughout the Catholic Church.

The correction was delivered to the Pope at his Santa Marta residence on August 11, 2017. No similar action has taken place within the Catholic Church since the Middle Ages, when Pope John XXII was admonished for errors which he later recanted on his deathbed.

“With profound grief, but moved by fidelity to our Lord Jesus Christ, by love for the Church and for the papacy, and by filial devotion toward yourself, we are compelled to address a correction to Your Holiness on account of the propagation of heresies effected by the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia and by other words, deeds and omissions of Your Holiness,” the signers write in the letter.

“As subjects, we do not have the right to issue to Your Holiness that form of correction by which a superior coerces those subject to him with the threat or administration of punishment,” they state.

“We issue this correction, rather, to protect our fellow Catholics — and those outside the Church, from whom the key of knowledge must not be taken away — hoping to prevent the further spread of doctrines which tend of themselves to the profaning of all the sacraments and the subversion of the Law of God,” they add.

Advertisement The signers respectfully insist that Pope Francis condemn the heresies that he has “directly or indirectly upheld,” and that he teach the truth of the Catholic faith in its integrity.

They say that they make “no judgment” about the Pope’s culpability in propagating the seven heresies they list. They add that it is not their task to “judge whether the sin of heresy has been committed” whereby a person “departs from the faith by doubting or denying some revealed truth with a full choice of the will.”

The letter was made public today, six weeks after the signers received no response from the Pope.

The 62 clergy and lay scholars explain that, as believing and practicing Catholics, they have the right and duty to issue such a correction to the Pope “by natural law, by the law of Christ, and by the law of the Church” and that the correction in no way undermines Catholic teaching on papal infallibility.

The Catholic Church teaches that the Pope is infallible (incapable of error by a special gift of the Holy Spirit) when certain conditions are met. He teaches infallibly in his ordinary capacity when a doctrine is consistent, constant, and universal in relation to what the Church and other popes have always taught. Or in an extraordinary capacity, he teaches infallibly when he speaks “ex cathedra,” that is, when he speaks in the capacity of his office as Apostolic pastor and teacher for the purpose of defining a “doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the whole Church.” The Pope is not infallible in other matters, such as when he gives an off-the-cuff interview or presents his personal reflection on a given topic.

“We adhere wholeheartedly to the doctrine of papal infallibility,” the signers state, adding that in their opinion “neither Amoris Laetitia nor any of the statements which have served to propagate the heresies which this exhortation insinuates are protected by that divine guarantee of truth.” The signers’ opinion that the exhortation is not infallible magisterial teaching is backed by leading churchmen, such as Cardinal Raymond Burke.

The signers list a dozen passages from Amoris Laetitia that they say “serve to propagate seven heretical propositions.”

Included in the list is the “smoking” footnote 351 where the Pope writes that those living in an objective situation of sin can receive the “help of the sacraments” to grow in the life of grace and charity. Many have interpreted this to mean that civilly-divorced-and-remarried Catholics living in adultery can receive Holy Communion, and the Pope has endorsed guidelines allowing this. Also included in the list is the text pertaining to couples living in adultery who, the Pope writes, see their situation as “what God himself is asking” of them, despite falling short of the “objective ideal.”

The scholars say that these passages along with a number of “words, deeds and omissions” of the Pope are “serving to propagate heresies within the Church.”

According to the signers, the “words, deeds and omissions” of Pope Francis that promote heresy include:

Advertisement Refusing to answer the dubia (five yes-or-no questions) submitted by the four cardinals (two of whom are now deceased) asking him to confirm that Amoris Laetitia does not abolish five teachings of the Catholic faith.

Forcibly intervening at the 2015 Synod of the Family where he insisted on inserting into a midterm report a proposal (that did not receive sufficient votes) to allow communion for adulterers and a proposal that pastors should emphasize the “positive aspects” of lifestyles the Church considers gravely sinful, including civil remarriage after divorce and premarital cohabitation.

Endorsing an interpretation of the exhortation by Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schönborn that allows for Holy Communion to be given to adulterers.

Affirming the statement of the bishops of the Buenos Aires region that allowed Communion to be given to adulterers, stating that “there are no other interpretations.”

Appointing to positions of influence within the Church men who publicly dissent from Catholic teaching on the sacraments, including Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia and Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

Allowing guidelines for the diocese of Rome to be issued under his authority that permit adulterers to receive communion under certain circumstances.

Leaving uncorrected the publication in L’Osservatore Romano, the official journal of the Holy See, the Maltese bishops’ interpretation of Amoris Laetitia that allows communion for adulterers.

The Catholic clergy and lay scholars go on to list seven “false and heretical propositions” which they say Pope Francis “directly or indirectly” upholds through his “words, deeds, and omissions.” These seven propositions, listed below, are summaries of the positions which they attribute to Pope Francis and deem to be heretical.

A justified person has not the strength with God’s grace to carry out the objective demands of the divine law, as though any of the commandments of God are impossible for the justified; or as meaning that God’s grace, when it produces justification in an individual, does not invariably and of its nature produce conversion from all serious sin, or is not sufficient for conversion from all serious sin.

Christians who have obtained a civil divorce from the spouse to whom they are validly married and have contracted a civil marriage with some other person during the lifetime of their spouse, who live more uxorio [as husband and wife] with their civil partner, and who choose to remain in this state with full knowledge of the nature of their act and full consent of the will to that act, are not necessarily in a state of mortal sin, and can receive sanctifying grace and grow in charity.

Advertisement A Christian believer can have full knowledge of a divine law and voluntarily choose to break it in a serious matter, but not be in a state of mortal sin as a result of this action.

A person is able, while he obeys a divine prohibition, to sin against God by that very act of obedience.

Conscience can truly and rightly judge that sexual acts between persons who have contracted a civil marriage with each other, although one or both of them is sacramentally married to another person, can sometimes be morally right or requested or even commanded by God.

Moral principles and moral truths contained in divine revelation and in the natural law do not include negative prohibitions that absolutely forbid particular kinds of action, inasmuch as these are always gravely unlawful on account of their object.

Our Lord Jesus Christ wills that the Church abandon her perennial discipline of refusing the Eucharist to the divorced and remarried and of refusing absolution to the divorced and remarried who do not express contrition for their state of life and a firm purpose of amendment with regard to it.

The clergy and scholars state that these “propositions all contradict truths that are divinely revealed, and that Catholics must believe with the assent of divine faith.”

They add that it is “necessary” that such heresies be “condemned by the authority of the Church,” on account of the “great and imminent danger” they cause to souls.

As one of the signers explained to LifeSiteNews, St. Thomas Aquinas taught that faithful Catholics have a duty to correct an erring prelate. He quoted the following passage from the saint’s famous theological work Summa Theologiae:

If the faith were endangered, a subject ought to rebuke his prelate even publicly. Hence Paul, who was Peter’s subject, rebuked him in public, on account of the imminent danger of scandal concerning the faith, and, as the gloss of Augustine says on Gal. 2:11, Peter gave an example to superiors, that if at any time they should happen to stray from the straight path, they should not disdain to be reproved by their subjects. The signers conclude the letter, writing: “At this critical hour, therefore, we turn to the cathedra veritatis [seat of truth], the Roman Church, which has by divine law pre-eminence over all the churches, and of which we are and intend always to remain loyal children, and we respectfully insist that Your Holiness publicly reject these propositions, thus accomplishing the mandate of our Lord Jesus Christ given to St Peter and through him to all his successors until the end of the world: ‘I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren.’"

Advertisement One significant name in the list of signers is that of Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). He signed the letter after it had already been submitted to the Pope. It remains to be seen how Fellay’s agreement with the content of the filial correction will affect Pope Francis’ recent efforts to integrate the SSPX legally into the Catholic Church.

The filial correction comes after more than a year of the Pope not dialoguing or engaging with faithful Catholics who have approached him directly with serious concerns about how he is steering the Barque of Peter, the Church. The Pope has been sent letters, petitions, video messages, and official questions (the dubia), but all to no avail. Significant dates of attempts to dialogue with the Pope include:

September 29, 2015 – 791,000 Catholics (including 8 cardinals, over 200 bishops, and numerous priests, religious, and lay faithful representing 62 pro-family organizations) petition Pope Francis to end the “widespread confusion arising from the possibility that a breach has been opened within the Church that would accept adultery... and would virtually even accept homosexual unions.”

July 13, 2016 – 16 international life-and-family advocates plead with the Pope to “unambiguously speak the truth of the Catholic faith, to end doctrinal confusion, to restore clarity, and to be the Holy Father that Catholics need.”

July 11, 2016 – 45 Catholic scholars submit a letter to the cardinals and Eastern patriarchs of the Church asking them to petition the Pope to “repudiate a list of erroneous propositions” that can be drawn from Amoris Laetitia.

September 19, 2016 – Four cardinals (two of whom are now deceased) submit to the Pope five yes-or-no questions (dubia) asking if the exhortation conforms to perennial Catholic teaching on the moral life. The questions were never answered.

January 18, 2017 – Three Eastern European bishops launch a “spiritual crusade” urging the Pope to “revoke in an unequivocal manner” pastoral guidelines stemming from Amoris Laetitia that allow adulterers to receive Holy Communion.

April 25, 2017 – The four dubia cardinals unsuccessfully ask the Pope for a private audience to discuss “confusion and disorientation” within the Church after the publication of Amoris Laetitia.

The filial correction of the Pope comes at a time when reports have emerged that suggest a "formal correction" of the Pope from cardinals may be imminent.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the dubia Cardinals, outlined in August what such a correction would entail.

Advertisement “It seems to me that the essence of the correction is quite simple,” Burke told The Wanderer. “On the one hand, one sets forth the clear teaching of the Church; on the other hand, what is actually being taught by the Roman Pontiff is stated. If there is a contradiction, the Roman Pontiff is called to conform his own teaching in obedience to Christ and the Magisterium of the Church,” he said.

“The question is asked, ‘How would this be done?’ It is done very simply by a formal declaration to which the Holy Father would be obliged to respond. Cardinals Brandmüller, Caffarra, Meisner, and I used an ancient institution in the Church of proposing dubia to the Pope,” the Cardinal continued.

“This was done in a very respectful way and not in any way to be aggressive, in order to give him the occasion to set forth the Church’s unchanging teaching. Pope Francis has chosen not to respond to the five dubia, so it is now necessary simply to state what the Church teaches about marriage, the family, acts that are intrinsically evil, and so forth. These are the points that are not clear in the current teachings of the Roman Pontiff; therefore, this situation must be corrected. The correction would then direct itself principally to those doctrinal points,” he added.

Cardinal Burke added in an interview this month that the forthcoming formal correction would “require” the Pope to teach what the Catholic Church has always taught about marriage, the Eucharist, and the impossibility of ever justifying intrinsically evil acts.

His Eminence stated in a September 21 interview with Australia’s Catholic Outlook that he and remaining dubia Cardinal Walter Brandmüller will “take forward the important work of resolving the dubia.”

“The urgency of a response to the dubia derives from the harm done to souls by the confusion and error, which result, as long as the fundamental questions raised are not answered in accord with the constant teaching and practice of the Church. The urgency weighs very heavily on my heart,” he said.

The Filial Correction and its signatories, along with a summary statement and press release, can be viewed at www.correctiofilialis.org.

Note: The letter delivered to Pope Francis on August 11 contained 40 names. 22 more names have been added since that date.

Advertisement Dr. Gerard J. M. van den Aardweg European editor, Empirical Journal of Same-Sex Sexual Behavior

Prof. Jean Barbey Historian and Jurist, former Professor at the University of Maine

Philip M. Beattie BA (Leeds), MBA (Glasgow), MSc (Warwick), Dip.Stats (Dublin) Associate Lecturer, University of Malta (Malta)

Dr. Philip Blosser Professor of Philosophy, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Archdiocese of Detroit

Advertisement Salvatore J. Ciresi M.A. Director of the St. Jerome Biblical Guild, Lecturer at the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College

Fr. Linus F Clovis Ph.D., JCL, M.Sc., STB, Dip. Ed Director of the Secretariat for Family and Life in the Archdiocese of Castries

Prof. Matteo D'Amico Professor of History and Philosophy, Senior High School of Ancona

Dr. Chiara Dolce PhD Research doctor in Moral Philosophy at the University of Cagliari

Petr Dvorak Head of Department for the Study of Ancient and Medieval Thought at the Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague Professor of philosophy at Saints Cyril and Methodius Theological Faculty, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Christopher Ferrara Esq. Founding President of the American Catholic Lawyers’ Association

Advertisement Prof. Michele Gaslin Professor of Public Law at the University of Udine

Prof. Corrado Gnerre Professor at the Istituto Superiore di Scienze Religiose of Benevento, Pontifical Theological University of Southern Italy

Dr. Ettore Gotti Tedeschi Former President of the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), Professor of Ethics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan

Dr. Maria Guarini STB Pontificia Università Seraphicum, Rome; editor of the website Chiesa e postconcilio

Prof. Robert Hickson PhD Retired Professor of Literature and of Strategic-Cultural Studies

Prof. Isebaert Lambert Full Professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, and at the Flemish Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Fr Serafino M. Lanzetta STD Lecturer in Dogmatic Theology, Theological Faculty of Lugano, Switzerland; Priest in charge of St Mary’s, Gosport, in the diocese of Portsmouth

Advertisement Prof. Massimo de Leonardis Professor and Director of the Department of Political Sciences at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan

Msgr. Prof. Antonio Livi Academic of the Holy See Dean emeritus of the Pontifical Lateran University Vice-rector of the church of Sant'Andrea del Vignola, Rome

Prof. Roberto de Mattei Former Professor of the History of Christianity, European University of Rome Former Vice President of the National Research Council (CNR)

Fr Cor Mennen Lecturer in Canon Law at the Major Seminary of the Diocese of ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands) Canon of the cathedral chapter of the diocese of ‘s-Hertogenbosch

Prof. Stéphane Mercier Lecturer in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Louvain

Dr. Claude E. Newbury M.B., B.Ch., D.T.M&H., D.O.H., M.F.G.P., D.C.H., D.P.H., D.A., M. Med; Former Director of Human Life International in Africa south of the Sahara Former Member of the Human Services Commission of the Catholic Bishops of South Africa

Advertisement Prof. Lukas Novak Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, Charles University, Prague

Prof. Paolo Pasqualucci Professor of Philosophy (retired), University of Perugia

Prof. Claudio Pierantoni Professor of Medieval Philosophy in the Philosophy Faculty of the University of Chile Former Professor of Church History and Patrology at the Faculty of Theology of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Dr. John Rao Associate Professor of History, St. John’s University, NYC; Chairman, Roman Forum

Dr. Giuseppe Reguzzoni External Researcher at the Catholic University of Milan and former editorial assistant of Communio, International Catholic Review (Italian edition)

Prof. Arkadiusz Robaczewski Former Professor at the Catholic University of Lublin

Prof. Andrea Sandri Research Associate, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan

Dr. Joseph Shaw Tutor in Moral philosophy, St Benet’s Hall, University of Oxford

Dr Anna Silvas Adjunct research fellow, University of New England, NSW, Australia

Rev. Glen Tattersall Parish Priest, Parish of Bl. John Henry Newman, archdiocese of Melbourne; Rector, St Aloysius’ Church

Prof. Giovanni Turco Associate Professor of Philosophy of Public Law at the University of Udine Member Correspondent of the Pontificia Accademia San Tommaso d'Aquino

Prof. Piero Vassallo Former editor of Cardinal Siri’s theological review Renovatio

Advertisement Prof. Arnaldo Vidigal Xavier da Silveira Former Professor at the Pontifical University of São Paulo, Brazil

The revelation of the existence of this Filial Correction is nothing short of stunning, and should by all rights shake to the core the confidence of the faithful in the wisdom and judgment of this Pope when he is not acting with the grace of Papal Infallibility.

The actions of this Pope are completely unsurprising in light of his Leftism, and the typical disregard that Leftists have for tradition, the rule of law, or the norms of social structure. As committed Leftists in this country are concerned only with ends, ignoring the propriety of their means, this Pope has adopted as his own the goals of those who flout Church teachings on adultery and the sacraments of marriage and the Eucharist, and is ignoring the impassioned entreaties of all who would remind him of the one righteous path.

Many who know that I am an atheist might well be puzzled by my defense of the traditions of the Catholic Church. Truly, the history of the Church is mixed, and as human beings are fallible, many of those who have led the Church over the centuries have faltered in their calling. But in the end, the Church is a great and good entity, and to watch it being torn asunder by the same forces that are eating away at the foundations of Constitutional predominance in the United States is both alarming and distressing.

At this critical moment in history, as it is compelling to those of us in America who hold the Constitution dear to our hearts, it is every bit as imperative for all men and women of strong faith and traditional values within the Church to be unafraid of consequence and seize every opportunity to do the hard work of defending what they know to be good and true. These scholars are doing just that, and they should be recognized and admired for their courage.

‘Dr. Claude E. Newbury M.B., B.Ch., D.T.M&H., D.O.H., M.F.G.P., D.C.H., D.P.H., D.A., M. Med.
Former Director of Human Life International in Africa.’

I ran it through a Humanities/Theological translator and it came out as:

Dr. Claude E. Newbury (Smarter than you),
Former Director of Human Life International in Africa.

I wish there were enough cardinals who would go on the record that forced the REAL Pope out.

Benedict is still very much alive.

Before they evicted Benedict, they should have checked themself before they wrecked themself.

The real Pope *wouldn't* have lived forever.

They could have started this leftist, homosexuality who am I to judge, communion for everybody anti-Christian, anti-Catholic teachings crap AFTER Benedict passed.

They jumped the gun way too fast, and now Catholics are questioning their faith and wondering what the hell is going on.

I'm a cradle Catholic.

I admit there is a ton I disagree with regards to the faith

But I ALWAYS had reverence for the Pope.

No longer.

Francis seems to have "forgotten" basic Catholicism, elementary knowledge of the Bible,and worships at the altar of leftism.

Count me out on this guy.

“Annulment plus civil divorce assures a fair distribution of the marital assets”

I would say rather that it assures that spouses who deserve nothing will receive half or more of the marital assets, so long as they are of the preferred sex.

Marriage in our country is a travesty. When either party can demand a divorce for no reason, marriage has ceased to exist. What you have is nothing more than temporary cohabitation contracts, the only guarantee being that the husband will be horribly wronged if the wife turns out to be a moral leper.

It is a terrible offense for the Church to follow the corrupt culture of death down that sewer grate.

Well said. Thank you. So help me God.

I would say rather that it assures that spouses who deserve nothing will receive half or more of the marital assets, so long as they are of the preferred sex. Marriage in our country is a travesty. When either party can demand a divorce for no reason, marriage has ceased to exist. What you have is nothing more than temporary cohabitation contracts, the only guarantee being that the husband will be horribly wronged if the wife turns out to be a moral leper. It is a terrible offense for the Church to follow the corrupt culture of death down that sewer grate.

Marriage laws in this country are a whole lot better than in some other countries - and completely different than in ancient times. Used to be (and still is in some places) a man could divorce his wife whenever he wanted to (though she was not granted such a right) and leave her penniless even if she brought wealth into the marriage. Women were seen as property/chattel and children didn't fare much better. Christianity taught the ideals of marriage and equality in God's eyes.

Our society has slowly deteriorated and degenerated since the middle of the last century. You are correct that it started with liberalized divorce laws but before that came the acceptance of hetero-sex outside of marriage. Nowadays, it is thought of as normal for people to engage in sex as part of getting to know each other. Even young teens are caught up in it influenced by TV, movies and books. From this it is now "normal" to see homosexual activity in television programs and movies and anyone who would dare object to it or allowing same sex marriage is accused of bigotry and homophobia. Count in sexually transmitted diseases, unwed births, abortion, child abuse, neglect, poverty and abandonment and you can see where our so-called "progressive" society is headed.

ALL Christian churches - those that remain faithful to God's word and laws - must NOT fall into that same culture of death trap. I know I am not afraid of defending my views and I think we can only expect that this will lead to the world condemning us for being "backwards thinking". We will need to be strong and, above all, be an example of holy living to society. We must answer to God and not to man.

..This is 'the hall' building from the 'outside' at the vatican...some say it looks like the head of a snake

This is the 'inside'...which seats 6 thousand people...many say it looks like a snake....

And this is the sculpture where the Pope sits.....called the "Resurection"....

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