Posted on 03/04/2025 1:33:38 PM PST by ebb tide
Author and seminary professor Dr. Ralph Martin highlighted in a recent video the danger of the participation of heretical cardinals — like Robert McElroy — in the next papal conclave.
Last week, Dr. Martin pointed to an article by Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, in which the orthodox bishop called out the heresy of certain prelates and warned that such heresy incurs automatic excommunication.
As an example, Paprocki quoted from an article by McElroy in which the cardinal argued that the Catholic Church must permit unrepentant adulterers and active homosexuals to Holy Communion. Paprocki referred to McElroy’s condemnation of “a theology of eucharistic coherence that multiplies barriers to the grace and gift of the eucharist.”
McElroy wrote “as if no such barriers existed,” Paprocki noted. He continued:
They do exist, and they are a matter of divine revelation. The truth about eucharistic coherence that must be believed by divine and Catholic faith was articulated by St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians: “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord … For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself” (1 Cor. 11:27-29). This has been the constant teaching of the Church for the past 2,000 years.
“To invite people to receive without repentance without faith, it’s really a sacrilege, it’s really blasphemous in many different ways,” Dr. Martin remarked.
He pointed out that Paprocki also took aim at Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich’s claim that “homosexual acts are not sinful” and that same-sex unions should be blessed by the Church.
“Unfortunately, it is not uncommon today to hear Catholic leaders affirm unorthodox views that, not too long ago, would have been espoused only by heretics,” Paprocki remarked. “‘Heretic’ and ‘heresy’ are strong words, which contemporary ecclesiastical politeness has softened to gentler expressions such as ‘our separated brethren … ‘”
Paprocki stressed that such terms, however, are used for those who “reject essential truths of the faith … Thus, it is deeply troubling to consider the possibility that prelates holding the office of diocesan bishop in the Catholic Church may be separated or not in full communion because of heresy.”
The bishop maintained that both the statements cited above from Cardinals McElroy and Hollerich “would in fact involve heresy” because they constitute “the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt … of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith,” the canonical definition of heresy.
He further pointed out that canon 1364 states that “an apostate from the faith, a heretic, or a schismatic incurs a latae sententiae excommunication,” meaning such persons are automatically excommunicated “without any canonical process.”
Dr. Martin alluded to Paprocki’s warning that if the pope does not remove heretical cardinals from office or laicize them, “the unseemly prospect arises of a cardinal, excommunicated latae sententiae due to heresy, voting in a papal conclave.”
Not only has Pope Francis not dismissed these prelates from their office or from the clerical state, Dr. Martin noted, he has actively promoted them. McElroy was recently appointed archbishop of Washington, D.C., and both were personally chosen by Francis as voting members of the Synod on Synodality.
Speculation about the likely theological leanings of the next pope has been growing as Francis’ health worsens. LifeSiteNews’ Raymond Wolfe has pointed to Francis’ radical, heterodox American appointments to the College of Cardinals as indicative of his aspirations to usher in “a different Church” that “would all but destroy the Catholic Church as we know it.” According to Wolfe:
Their vision, much of it rooted in Francis’ controversial apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, includes dismantling the Church’s understanding of sin and conscience, overhauling Catholic teaching on homosexuality and the family, entrenching LGBT activism within the Church, and shielding homosexual abusers while crushing the faithful Catholic priests and laity who stand in their way.
McElroy alone has suggested that the Synod on Synodality will be a key part of reshaping even the “deposit of faith,” writing that the synodal process seeks “nothing less than a recasting of the culture of the church that will endure for generations,” and that “The deposit of faith is not an inert and abstract body of teaching.”
Considering that someone as practically heterodox as Francis has already been elected, and that since then he has only further stacked the College of Cardinals with like-minded men, many commentators anticipate that the next pope will be just as heterodox or worse.
Dr. Martin on Wednesday expressed his desire that, contrary to the prelates promoted by Francis, bishops would speak more clearly about the core of the Catholic faith and “what life is all about: It’s about dying in friendship with the Lord; it’s about having our sins forgiven; it’s about being freed from the power of the evil one; it’s about Resurrection from the dead.”
Ping
About 80% of the Cardinals who will vote (Cardinals “age out” of voting eligibility upon reaching the age of 80) in the papal conclave choosing the next pope were appointed by Francis. This percentage will only increase as Francis appoints additional new cardinals and more pre-Francis cardinals reach age 80 and become non-voting cardinals.
The next pope may be even worse than Francis.
But that’s a pope electing majority.
How does the Church ever recover from a gay commie majority of cardinals?
There has never been much doubt about that.
Bergoglio’s legacy will result in the implosion of the Catholic Church by Cardinals he has appointed who will select the next Bishop of Rome.
Speculation is pointless. Nobody really knows what goes on behind the scenes and what the Holy Spirit will do apart from the schemes of men. I’ve been alive for the installation of four Popes and the final choice has never been who people thought it would be. Let’s just pray and fast for a good Pope this time.
Expressing concern about an upcoming conclave, whenever it may happen, is not "speculation"; especially after the most recent, suspicious (St. Gallen) conclave and its results.
Agree that prayer and fasting is greatly needed at this time.
P.S. Nobody believes the Holy Ghost picks the popes.
Ralph Martin used to be a Charismatic Catholic. Now he sounds like +Vigano or the SSPX. This pontificate has really helped to wake people up.
Holy Spirit, cleanse Your Church. Send us good and faithful shepherds.
He can work miracles....
Nobody said He does. But He is always working, nonetheless.
People here (and elsewhere) are doing both. I was addressing the speculative part.
Unless He's arguing behind closed doors with the Father and Son.
Blasphemy: Pope Francis Makes Jokes About God
Pope Francis was speaking with a group of Catholic theologians regarding the complexity of unity and how to achieve union with so many disparities and disagreements. The Pope said that we must do what the Trinity does – argue behind closed doors but publicly give the appearance of unity:
“In the meeting, the pope jokingly likened this to the way the Holy Trinity functions. ‘Inside the Holy Trinity they’re all arguing behind closed doors…but on the outside they give the picture of unity.’ ”
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