The
Astounding Heresy in Benedict XVI’s Book The Meaning of Christian
Brotherhood
By Bro. Peter Dimond,
O.S.B.
*This is from my
continuing study of Benedict XVI’s books.
For those who don’t know, Benedict XVI is Joseph
Ratzinger.
The Meaning of
Christian Brotherhood by “Cardinal” Joseph
Ratzinger (Ignatius Press)
BENEDICT XVI SAYS THAT PROTESTANTISM IS
NOT HERESY
“Cardinal”
Joseph Ratzinger, The
Meaning of Christian Brotherhood, pp.
87-88: “The difficulty in the way of giving an answer is a profound one. Ultimately it is due to the fact that there is no appropriate category in
Catholic thought for the phenomenon of Protestantism today (one could
say the same of the relationship to the separated churches of the East). It is obvious that the old category of
‘heresy’ is no longer of any value.
Heresy, for Scripture and the
early Church, includes the idea of a personal decision against the unity of the
Church, and heresy’s characteristic is pertinacia, the obstinacy of him who
persists in his own private way.
This, however, cannot be regarded as an appropriate description of the
spiritual situation of the Protestant Christian.
In the course of a now centuries-old history, Protestantism has made an important
contribution to the realization of Christian faith, fulfilling a positive
function in the development of the Christian message and, above all, often
giving rise to a sincere and profound faith in the individual non-Catholic Christian,
whose separation from the Catholic affirmation has nothing to do with the pertinacia characteristic of
heresy. Perhaps we may here
invert a saying of St. Augustine’s: that an old schism becomes a heresy. The very passage of time alters the
character of a division, so that an old division is something essentially
different from a new one. Something
that was once rightly condemned as heresy cannot later simply become true, but
it can gradually develop its own positive ecclesial nature, with which the
individual is presented as his church and in which he lives as a believer, not
as a heretic. This organization of
one group, however, ultimately has an effect on the whole. The conclusion is inescapable, then:
Protestantism today is something different from heresy in the traditional sense,
a phenomenon whose true theological place has not yet been
determined.”
Well, there you have it. Benedict XVI not only tells us that
Protestants are not heretics, but that Protestantism itself is not
heresy. This is clearly
Benedict XVI’s worst and most explicit heresy so far, besides his teaching that
Christ may not be the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. This is such an incredible heresy that
there is absolutely nothing that anyone on earth can say to defend this
apostate. It is undeniable proof
that he is not a Catholic.
Heresy is a rejection of a dogma of
Catholic Faith. Protestantism is
the rejection of many dogmas of the
Catholic Faith. Protestantism is
not only heresy, but the most notorious and destructive collection of heresies
with which the Church ever had to contend.
Protestantism rejects many dogmatic Councils of the Catholic Church, as
well as dogmatic definitions on the priesthood, justification, the papacy, papal
infallibility, the sacraments, Our Lady, etc., just to name a few. Protestantism is heresy in every single
one of those areas. But Benedict
XVI tells us that Protestants are not heretics and that Protestantism is not
heresy. Incredible! This means that one can reject all the
Councils and dogmas of the Catholic Church and it is not even heresy. This proves that Benedict XVI is without
any doubt a complete heretic and not the Pope. Those who deny this are simply
liars.
Pope Pius XI, Rerum omnium perturbationem (#4), Jan.
26, 1923: “The saint was no less a person that Francis de Sales, Bishop of
Geneva and Doctor of the Universal Church.
Like those brilliant examples of Christian perfection and wisdom to whom We have just referred, he seemed to have been sent especially by
God to contend against the heresies begotten by the [Protestant]
Reformation. It is in these
heresies that we discover the beginnings of that apostasy of mankind from
the Church, the sad and disastrous effects of which are deplored, even to
the present hour, by every fair mind.”
A HERETIC CANNOT BE A VALID
POPE
It is a proven
fact that Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI) is a non-Catholic heretic. The Catholic Church teaches that a
heretic cannot be validly elected Pope, since a heretic is not a member of the
Catholic Church. Ratzinger, who is
now Benedict XVI, is a non-Catholic Antipope whose election was utterly null and
void.
Pope Paul IV, Bull Cum ex Apostolatus Officio, Feb.
15, 1559: “6. In addition, [by this Our
Constitution, which is to remain valid in perpetuity We enact, determine, decree
and define:-] that if ever at any time it shall appear that any Bishop, even
if he be acting as an Archbishop, Patriarch or Primate; or any Cardinal of the
aforesaid Roman Church, or, as has already been mentioned, any legate, or even
the Roman Pontiff, prior to his promotion or his elevation as Cardinal or Roman
Pontiff, has deviated from the Catholic Faith or fallen into some
heresy:
(i) the promotion or elevation, even if it shall have been
uncontested and by the unanimous assent of all the Cardinals, shall be null,
void and worthless;
(ii) it
shall not be possible for it to acquire validity (nor for it to be said that it
has thus acquired validity) through the acceptance of the office, of
consecration, of subsequent authority, nor through possession of administration,
nor through the putative enthronement of a Roman Pontiff, or Veneration, or
obedience accorded to such by all, nor through the lapse of any period of time
in the foregoing situation;
(iii) it shall not be held as partially
legitimate in any way…
(vi) those thus promoted or elevated shall be
deprived automatically, and without need for any further declaration, of all
dignity, position, honour, title, authority, office and
power….
10. No one at all, therefore, may infringe this document
of our approbation, re-introduction, sanction, statute and derogation of wills
and decrees, or by rash presumption contradict it. If anyone, however, should presume to
attempt this, let him know that he is destined to incur the wrath of Almighty
God and of the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul.
Given in Rome at
Saint Peter's in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 1559, 15th February, in
the fourth year of our Pontificate.
+ I, Paul, Bishop of the Catholic
Church…”
St.
Robert Bellarmine: “A pope who is a
manifest heretic automatically (per
se) ceases to be pope and head, just as he ceases automatically to be a
Christian and a member of the Church.
Wherefore, he can be judged and punished by the Church. This is the teaching of all the ancient
Fathers who teach that manifest heretics immediately lose all jurisdiction.”
(De Romano Pontifice, II,
30)
The
Catholic Encyclopedia, “Papal
Elections,” 1914, Vol. 11, p. 456: "Of course, the election of a heretic,
schismatic, or female [as Pope] would be null and
void."
(This article may be quoted, spread and
copied but the author’s name or our website: www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com
must be given. Copyright, Most Holy
Family Monastery, 2005.)
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