Mel Gibson to Archbishop Vigano: 'You are a modern day Athanasius'

Actor and film director Mel Gibson has written a letter of encouragement to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò after the Vatican announced that the retired papal nuncio has been excommunicated.

BeyondWords (LifeSiteNews) — Editor’s note: The following letter from Mel Gibson to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò appeared first at the website of Italian journalist Aldo Maria Valli. It has since been promoted by Archbishop Viganò on X. LifeSite has also received direct confirmation from Mel Gibson that he did write the letter.

I know that you know he has no authority whatsoever – so I’m not sure how this will effect you going forward. I hope you will continue to say Mass and receive the sacraments yourself – it really is a badge of honor to be shunned by the false, post conciliar church.

You have my sympathies that you suffer publicly this grave injustice. To me and many others you are a most courageous hero.

As always, you have hit the nail on the head regarding the illegitimacy of Francis. You express the core problems with the institution that has eclipsed the true church and I applaud your courage in expressing that, but more than that in maintaining fidelity to the true Church!

You are a modern day Athanasius! I have all respect for the way you defend Christ and His Church. I agree with you 100% that the post conciliar church of Vatican II is a counterfeit church. This is why I built a Catholic church that only worships traditionally. You are welcome to come and say Mass there anytime.

Of course being called a schismatic and being excommunicated by Jorge Bergoglio is like a badge of honor when you consider he is a total apostate and expels you from a false institution.

Remember that true schism requires innovation, something you have not done but something that Bergoglio does with every breath.

He, therefore, is the schismatic! However he already ipso facto excommunicated himself by his many public heresies (canon 188 in the 1917 code).

As you already know he has no power to excommunicate you because he is not even a Catholic.

So rejoice! I am with you and I hope Bergoglio excommunicates me from his false church also.

Bergoglio and his cohorts have the clothes and the buildings, but you have the faith.

God bless and keep you. If you need anything just ask, I will try my best to help.

1. Maxime Bernier denounces ‘woke apparatchik’ now leading the Canadian military

2. Marjorie Taylor Greene goes viral with X post ‘The COVID vaccines are killing people’

Galatians 1:8-9 tells us "⁸ But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. ⁹ As we have said before, so say I now again, If any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema."

There is no doubt that a Catholic must remain in communion with a true pope. This presumes, of course, several things. First, of course, that there is a true pope. Second, it presumes that there is no reasonable doubt about the identity of the true pope, and that anyone claiming to be pope is, in fact, pope. This means that there is no legitimate doubt about the validity of the purported pope’s election, or whether or not he validly resigned, or otherwise (e.g., through heresy or apostasy) ceased to be pope. That this is true is supported by the fact that there are canonized saints who supported antipopes, convinced of the legitimacy of their claim to the throne. But what is absolute is that there must be an attitude of wanting to be in communion with the true pope, whoever he is. We cannot be pickers and choosers, based on whether or not we like the man or his policies.

All that being said, as we discern whether or how to respond to Archbishop Vigano's excommunication, it is important for all Catholics to understand that it is not schism, nor even a sin, to point out the limits of papal authority. It is not a schismatic spirit, or even a sin to contemplate and discuss whether a certain action of the pope falls within those limits. It is not schism, or even a sin to illustrate how a current pope might be exceeding those limits, or how in exceeding those limits he has himself broken with the faith. It is neither schism nor a sin to disobey a pope in those matters where he has exceeded those limits. In fact, it may very well be a moral obligation to disobey him in those circumstances. And it's not schismatic to refuse communion with someone you, in good conscience, believe to be a heretic or apostate, even if that person claims to be pope.

To illustrate these points, consider the following thought experiment. Let's suppose there is a pope who composes a new creed, orthodox in every way, and to promote use of the new creed among the faithful, he issues a papal bull excommunicating anyone who dares to say the old Apostle's Creed, even privately. I would hold that it is abundantly clear to anyone with an ounce of sense that that pope would be exceeding his authority. Thus, he can be disobeyed with a clear conscience, and any excommunication would be null and void, of no consequence.

Now let's suppose that the new creed contained a relatively minor, but clearly heretical error. (Is there really such a thing as a relatively minor heresy? But let's pretend for a moment.) How much more so would we be allowed, if not even obliged, to disobey him?

In the quote from Galations above, St. Paul was writing to all the Galatians. They did not all have advanced academic degrees in systematic theology, ecclesiology, or anything else. They were simple folk. The point is this... St. Paul was admonishing us to anathematize ANYONE, EVEN HIMSELF OR AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN, who preached a different Gospel. Certainly, that would include a pope who was not speaking ex cathedra. Implicit in his command is the assumption that they would be able to discern whether or not a given teaching is contrary to the Gospel. While there are certainly some things about the faith that require deep study to know whether they are orthodox (e.g., whether or not the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, or just from the Father) most, but not all, of those questions have been definitively answered with sufficient clarity that an ordinary, well-formed layman without degrees in theology, can assess a teaching's adherence to the faith.

So if a pope were, for example, to hold and to preach a clear heresy, for example, that homosexual activity is not a sin, or that homosexuals may marry each other, or that the Trinity isn’t true, or that Jesus Christ was not true God and true man, or God can make mistakes, or that the ten commandments are too hard for some people, or that sometimes it's OK to sin, or that unrepentant souls are annihilated rather than sent to Hell, or that something that was true before is no longer true, or any other clear heresy, then we are to “let him be anathema.” On the other hand, not all matters of faith and morals are so clear cut, so we must not be hasty in deciding that the pope is preaching heresy.

One of the marks of the true Church is that it is visible. If ordinary, reasonably well-formed Catholics could not judge whether most teachings are consistent with, or contrary to, the Gospel we have received, then the Church would not be visible. If we needed advanced degrees in ecclesiology, or sacramental theology, or any degree at all, to be able to discern whether the gospel being preached is the Gospel we have received, then the Church would not be visible. To believe otherwise is a form of Gnosticism, itself a heresy.

It is true that no one can judge the pope. However, it is also clear that the pope, whoever he is, must be Catholic. If he has excommunicated himself through apostasy (e.g., by worshiping a false god), or personal adherence to, and preaching of, clear heresy, it's difficult to explain how he can remain pope. And it seems to me, that since he will have abandoned his office, any judgment by others that he has done so is not judging the pope, but rather, whether or not a man who used to be pope still is. And in my mind, that's a huge difference.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.