By Bro. Michael Dimond, O.S.B.
Read more of Benedict XVI’s Recent Heresies

Benedict XVI, Telegram to Seraphim, Bishop of the Orthodox Church, on the passing of Schismatic “Orthodox” Bishop H.B. Christodoulos, January 28, 2008: “Deeply saddened by the news of the untimely death of His Beatitude Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, I express to you, to the Holy Synod and all the faithful my earnest condolences, assuring you of my spiritual closeness to all those who mourn the passing of this distinguished Pastor of the Church of Greece… I and Catholics around the world pray the Orthodox Church of Greece will be sustained by the grace of God in continuing to build on the pastoral achievements of the late Archbishop and that in commending the noble soul of His Beatitude to our Heavenly Father’s loving mercy you will be comforted by the Lord’s promise to reward his faithful servants. Please accept, Your Eminence, this expression of my closeness in prayer to you and your Brother Bishops as you guide the Church in this time of transition. With fraternal affection in the Lord, Benedictus PP. XVI ” (L’Osservatore Romano February 6, 2008, pages 12.)

This short telegram is jam-packed with heresy. As some of you know, we have proven before that Benedict XVI has signed joint declarations with “Orthodox” schismatics in which he declares them to be “pastors in the church of Christ.” In this heretical telegram, Benedict XVI declares that the deceased schismatic Christodoulos was the “Archbishop of Athens and All Greece” (something he has also done before). Many of you probably may not know that, in the country of Greece, there are bishops who claim to be Catholic and accept Benedict XVI as a valid pope. But Benedict XVI has declared repeatedly in the past, and does so again here, that the openly schismatic “Orthodox” bishop was the true “Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.” Benedict XVI gives the schismatic the title of jurisdiction by calling him “Archbishop.” To declare that someone is a true archbishop is to declare that this person is part of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. This is, therefore, an outrageous heresy by Benedict XVI. Even though the “Orthodox” schismatics have validly ordained bishops and priests, they openly deny numerous Catholic dogmas, including papal infallibility. They are outside the Catholic Church. The Orthodox Church is just like the Protestant Churches, with the exception that they have some valid sacraments and valid priests. So to call a schismatic an archbishop and a distinguished pastor of the Church is to be a schismatic.

Benedict XVI then goes on to say that “I and Catholics around the world pray the Orthodox Church of Greece will be sustained by the grace of God in continuing to build on the pastoral achievements of the late [schismatic] Archbishop.” This statement is so heretical that there are almost no words to describe it. Think deeply about what Benedict XVI is saying. Benedict XVI declares that he and the other “Catholics” around the world pray that the openly schismatic Church “will be sustained by the grace of God” in continuing to build on the “pastoral achievements” of the late schismatic. Benedict XVI is therefore saying that all Catholics pray that the schismatic church will continue to promote its schism and be strengthened in schism. He then declares that the schismatic bishop was a “faithful servant” of the Lord. He then caps off his amazingly schismatic telegram by stating to the other openly schismatic “Orthodox” bishops: “you guide the Church.”