The reforming Pope Innocent III, who is best known for promoting the restoration of the Church through St. Francis and St. Dominic, it appears thought that popes like Pope Celestine V and Pope Benedict XVI couldn't resign. Innocent apparently taught the papacy is like the sacrament of marriage between the the pope and the Church:
The sacrament between the Roman pontiff and the Roman church perseveres so firm and unshakable that they cannot be separated from one another ever, except by death. The Apostle says that after her husband dies, a wife “is released from the rule of her husband.” A husband joined to his wife, does not seek a release, does not leave her, and cannot be dismissed, for “it is according to his Lord that he either stands or falls—and it is the Lord who judges. [lhttps://isidore.co/CalibreLibrary/Innocent%20III,%20Pope,%201160-1216/Between%20God%20and%20Man_%20Six%20Sermons%20on%20the%20Priestly%20Office%20(7288)/Between%20God%20and%20Man_%20Six%20Sermons%20on%20the%20Pr%20-%20Innocent%20III,%20Pope,%201160-1216.pdf & https://books.google.com/books?id=N-tUO77IircC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=The+sacrament+between+the+Roman+pontiff+and+the+Roman+church+perseveres+so+firm+and+unshakable+that+they+cannot+be+separated+from+one+another+ever,+except+by+death.+The+Apostle+says+that+after+her+husband+dies,+a+wife+“is+released+from+the+rule+of+her+husband.”+A+husband+joined+to+his+wife,+does+not+seek+a+release,+does+not+leave+her,+and+cannot+be+dismissed,+for+“it+is+according+to+his+Lord+that+he+either+stands+or+falls—and+it+is+the+Lord+who+judges.&source=bl&ots=N64pCi_Dit&sig=ACfU3U3H26qGwDcZQdtna_2iZR4rxIhUvw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi0jrTetZT6AhWSKUQIHTI9DlgQ6AF6BAgEEAM#v=onepage&q=The%20sacrament%20between%20the%20Roman%20pontiff%20and%20the%20Roman%20church%20perseveres%20so%20firm%20and%20unshakable%20that%20they%20cannot%20be%20separated%20from%20one%20another%20ever%2C%20except%20by%20death.%20The%20Apostle%20says%20that%20after%20her%20husband%20dies%2C%20a%20wife%20“is%20released%20from%20the%20rule%20of%20her%20husband.”%20A%20husband%20joined%20to%20his%20wife%2C%20does%20not%20seek%20a%20release%2C%20does%20not%20leave%20her%2C%20and%20cannot%20be%20dismissed%2C%20for%20“it%20is%20according%20to%20his%20Lord%20that%20he%20either%20stands%20or%20falls—and%20it%20is%20the%20Lord%20who%20judges.&f=false]
Medieval scholar Dr. Edmund Mazza seemed to show that Pope Benedict XVI may have thought similarly:
Through my research what I’ve discovered is that Joseph Ratzinger, the darling of the parity of Vatican II, and of the post-Vatican II church, he is on record on multiple occasions as saying that what really counts is your sacramental, ontological munus, and not the canonical juridical office... Let me introduce a quote from Joseph Ratzinger from Principles of Catholic theology from 1987, available from Ignatius press. Basically he says, “I disagree with those who teach that “The papacy is not a sacrament that it is only a juridical institution, but this juridical institution has set itself above the sacramental order.” [ https://www.thecatholicmonitor.com/2021/10/dr-mazza-centuries-of-saints-and.html]
If Pope Innocent III and Pope Benedict are right that the papacy to like the sacrament of marriage to the Church, does that mean that Francis's papal non-sacramental marriage is adulterous & invalid?
If Pope Innocent was right in what he taught, is it possible that Celestine was in substantial error in thinking he could resign and the apparently evil Boniface VIII only became pope upon the death of Celestine? Here is a brief history of the two from the Yale Law Library:
Some sources say Celestine's decision to resign was his alone, while others say Cardinal Benedetto Gaetani, the future Boniface VIII, goaded and tricked him into resigning. All agree that Boniface drafted the papal constitution authorizing a pope's resignation. Boniface was elected pope immediately afterward, in December 1294. Celestine tried to return to a hermit's life, but he died as Boniface's prisoner in 1296...
... Both Boniface and Celestine make appearances in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. Dante places Boniface in the eighth circle of Hell, reserved for those guilty of simony. Dante's exile from Florence was a direct result of Boniface VIII's political machinations, and Boniface was "Dante's most reviled theological, political, and personal enemy" (Danteworlds (link is external)
It seems like there are possibly some parallels between the historical Celestine/Boniface situation and the present Benedict/Francis situation with some claiming Benedict was forced to resign and that Benedict may be a prisoner in the Vatican.
Finally, If it true that Innocent taught that popes can't resign then does the weight of magisterium authority come into play in this matter as in the case of "Amoris Laetitia cannot supersede the encyclical Veritatis Splendor."
Villanova University theologian Jessica Murdoch explains magisterium authority:
"Responding faithfully to the trans-temporal magisterium of the Church (and not just to the magisterium of one's own time) requires holding in view two other principals of interpretation. First, 'the minor gives way to the major.' Second, the 'one gives way to the many.'.. Thus, Amoris Laetitia cannot supersede the encyclical Veritatis Splendor... One must privilege the harmony of the many pontificates in union with each other, and their unanimity with the Fathers and Doctors of the Church over the one seemingly dissonant voice." (First Things, "Creeping Infallibility," 9-27-16)
The article shows that to disbelieve papal teachings that are dissonant from every single magisterium teaching in the history of the Church is the only way not to "call into question the teaching authority of previous popes and the entire fabric of Catholicism."
Resisting such dissonant papal teachings, as Amoris Laetitia, is the only way not to bring about "dissolution, confusion, and death" into the Church.
In the same article, Murdoch said:
"By contrast, doctrinal evolution in which a new teaching sublates and eliminates the earlier teaching in a quasi-Hegelian fashion breeds dissolution, confusion, and death. [https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2016/09/creeping-infallibility]
Pray an Our Father now for the sins of Francis's Amoris Laetitia.
Pray an Our Father now for the restoration of the Church as well as the Triumph of the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Stop for a moment of silence, ask Jesus Christ what He wants you to do now and next. In this silence remember God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost - Three Divine Persons yet One God, has an ordered universe where you can know truth and falsehood as well as never forget that He wants you to have eternal happiness with Him as his son or daughter by grace. Make this a practice. By doing this you are doing more good than reading anything here or anywhere else on the Internet.
Francis Notes:
- Doctor of the Church St. Francis de Sales totally confirmed beyond any doubt the possibility of a heretical pope and what must be done by the Church in such a situation:
"[T]he Pope... WHEN he is EXPLICITLY a heretic, he falls ipso facto from his dignity and out of the Church, and the Church MUST either deprive him, or, as some say, declare him deprived, of his Apostolic See."
(The Catholic Controversy, by St. Francis de Sales, Pages 305-306)
Saint Robert Bellarmine, also, said "the Pope heretic is not deposed ipso facto, but must be declared deposed by the Church."
- "If Francis is a Heretic, What should Canonically happen to him?": http://www.thecatholicmonitor.com/2020/12/if-francis-is-heretic-what-should.html
- "Could Francis be a Antipope even though the Majority of Cardinals claim he is Pope?": http://www.thecatholicmonitor.com/2019/03/could-francis-be-antipope-even-though.html
- LifeSiteNews, "Confusion explodes as Pope Francis throws magisterial weight behind communion for adulterers," December 4, 2017:
The AAS guidelines explicitly allows "sexually active adulterous couples facing 'complex circumstances' to 'access the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.'"
- On February 2018, in Rorate Caeli, Catholic theologian Dr. John Lamont:
"The AAS statement... establishes that Pope Francis in Amoris Laetitia has affirmed propositions that are heretical in the strict sense."
- On December 2, 2017, Bishop Rene Gracida:
"Francis' heterodoxy is now official. He has published his letter to the Argentina bishops in Acta Apostlica Series making those letters magisterial documents."
Pray an Our Father now for the restoration of the Church by the bishops by the grace of God.
Election Notes:
- Intel Cryptanalyst-Mathematician on Biden Steal: "212Million Registered Voters & 66.2% Voting,140.344 M Voted...Trump got 74 M, that leaves only 66.344 M for Biden" [http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2020/12/intel-cryptanalyst-mathematician-on.html?m=1]
- Will US be Venezuela?: Ex-CIA Official told Epoch Times "Chávez started to Focus on [Smartmatic] Voting Machines to Ensure Victory as early as 2003": http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2020/12/will-us-be-venezuela-ex-cia-official.html
- A Hour which will Live in Infamy: 10:01pm November 3, 2020:
What is needed right now to save America from those who would destroy our God given rights is to pray at home or in church and if called to even go to outdoor prayer rallies in every town and city across the United States for God to pour out His grace on our country to save us from those who would use a Reichstag Fire-like incident to destroy our civil liberties. [Is the DC Capitol Incident Comparable to the Nazi Reichstag Fire Incident where the German People Lost their Civil Liberties?: http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2021/01/is-dc-capital-incident-comparable-to.html?m=1 and Epoch Times Show Crossroads on Capitol Incident: "Anitfa 'Agent Provocateurs'":
Pray an Our Father now for the grace to know God's Will and to do it.
Pray an Our Father now for America.
Pray an Our Father now for the restoration of the Church as well as the Triumph of the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary
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