Is a Pope Necessary?

Excerpts taken from the Encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi of Pope Pius XII 1943
Chapter One
Is a Pope absolutely necessary to the world? To the Church? Is he ital to the existence of
the Church? Is the Church itself necessary?
Is a ruler in temporal affairs necessary! or is the "tate necessary? It depends on how one
considers the existence of man# Man existed before the "tate and lon$ before the Church! but how
can there be a commonwealth without a $oernment? The proper end of man is the %eatific &ision
of 'od in (eaen# )e must know! loe! and sere 'od in this life and thereby $ain eternal
happiness in heaen# %ut salation comes thou$h the Church! *+utside the Church there is no
salation,-.nam "anctam# %oniface &III -/012#3 It is necessary for man to be able to obtain this
end for which 'od created him! therefore both the Church and the "tate are necessary#
Man could not obtain heaen $uided by the +ld 4aw# "alation is necessary to man or he
lies in ain# 5rom the time of Christ! the Church is necessary because salation comes only
throu$h the Catholic Church6 /3 "anctifyin$ 'race throu$h the "acraments7 23 8uthority!and the
4aw#
1025# *The Church is the %ody of Christ# 8nd this can be deduced from the fact that +ur
4ord is the 5ounder! (ead! "upport! and "aiour of the Mystical %ody#, This expression brin$s
many beautiful thou$hts to mind! perhaps not the least of which is that because this Church is the
unchan$eable Mystical %ody of Christ! it is not sub9ect to chan$e in its constitution#,
1033# *In fact! after hain$ solemnly confirmed in his lofty function! the one whom (e had
preiously desi$nated as (is &icar! (e ascended into (eaen#, :(ain$ completed its constitution
with the desi$nation of its &icar! Christ left the rest to men# The office of &icar of Christ thou$h!
was to continue in the Popes# 8s the 5irst &atican Council -/;<13 affirms6 *If anyone assert that it is
not the institution of +ur 4ord =esus Christ! or of >iine ri$ht! that "t# Peter has PE?PET.84
successors in the office of "upreme Pastor oer the .niersal Church7 let him be anathema#,@
1018# *It is most certainly to be maintained that those who possess sacred power in the %ody
are the ones who constitute its primary and principal members! since it is throu$h them! accordin$
to the mandate of the >iine ?edeemer! that the $ifts of Christ! teacher! kin$! and priest are made
perpetual#, :If the $ifts of Christ are made perpetual in the hierarchy! then the hierarchy itself is
also perpetual#@
1041# *5or those who would remoe the isible (ead of the Church and break the bonds of
isible unity! obscure and deform the Mystical %ody of the ?edeemer#,
1058# *Christ is the (ead of the Church# (e is the "aiour of (is %ody# 5or these words
express a final reason why the name %ody of Christ must be $ien to the Church#,
1044# *##it must be maintained! althou$h this may seem so in the first place because the
"oerei$n Pontiff holds the place of =esus Christ!, :as "t# Paul says6 The (ead cannot say to the
foot! I hae no need of thee#@ *Moreoer! 9ust as our "aiour rules the church inisibly by (imself!
(e )ills to be helped :isibly@ in carryin$ out the work of ?edemption by the members of (is
Mystical %ody# This is not a result of (is poerty or (is weakness! but rather of the fact that (e
(imself willed it so#,
/
1052# *(e! Christ! lies in the Church! so that "he is like another person of Christ# This is
what the >octor of the 'entiles confirms when he writes to the Corinthians! when without sayin$
anythin$ further! he calls the Church! *Christ,! certainly in this imitatin$ the Master (imself! who
from heaen cried out to Paul as he was persecutin$ the Church! *"aul! "aul! why persecutest thou
Me#?, Nor are you i$norant &enerable %rothers! of the statement of 8u$ustine6 *Christ preaches
Christ#, :These beautiful and impressie statements about +ur 4ord and (is relationship to the
Church! and how (e needs (is members! demonstrate the necessity of (is chief memberAA(is &icar
on earth# )e hae said that the primary and principal members are they who possess power in the
%ody# The chief of these is the Pope# =esus $oerns (is Church in a isible and ordinary way
throu$h (is &icar who is part of the foundation#@
1064# *Therefore we deplore and condemn the icious error of those who dream of some
kind of a false church! a sort of society nourished and formed by charity to which! A not without
disdainA they oppose another society which they call 9uridical# %ut it is useless to introduce this
distinction! they do not understand that for this ery reason! the >iine ?edeemer willed the
assembly of men set up by (im to be an or$anised society! perfect in its kind and eBuipped with all
the 9uridical and social elements to perpetuate on this earth the sain$ work of the ?edemption#
:This Church combines the inisible mission of the (oly 'host! and the isible 9uridical function
receied from Christ7 (e said6 *?eceie ye the (oly 'host :spiritual! inisible@7 but also6, 8s the
5ather hath sent Me! I also send you :9uridical! isible#@ These essential 9uridical! social elements!
so necessary to the Church! cannot be confirmed without a Pope#@ *Therefore! there cannot be any
opposition or repu$nance worthy of the name between what is called the inisible mission of the
(oly 'host and the 9uridical function! receied from Christ! of the Pastors and >octors! for as in us
the body and the soulAAthey complete and perfect one another! and they proceed from one and the
same "aiour! who not only said as (e imparted the >iine "pirit! *?eceie ye the (oly "pirit!, but
also clearly $ae the order7 *8s the 5ather hath sent Me! so I also send you!, and a$ain! *(e that
heareth you! heareth Me#,
1068# *The ery ancient and constant teachin$ of the documents receied from the 5athers
shows us that the >iine ?edeemer to$ether with (is social %ody constitutes one Mystical Person!
or! as "t# 8u$ustine has it! the whole Christ#,:(ow is the whole Christ constituted in the Church
today! left without a Pope? +nly if we consider this an interAre$num and intend to elect a Pope! can
we consider that the Church is complete today#@
1070# *8boe all! it is absolutely necessary that there should be conspicuous to the eyes of
all! one "upreme (ead by whom mutual assistance of all in the prosecution of the end to be attained
may be directed# )e mean the &icar of =esus Christ on earth# 5or in the same way in which +ur
?edeemer sent the Paraclete! the "pirit of Truth! who actin$ in (is place should assume the
inisible $oernment of the Church! so (e ordered Peter and his successors! actin$ in (is Person on
earth! to proide a isible direction to the Christian community#, :%oth isible and inisible Church
are necessary# The papal Encyclical CMystici Corporis ChristiD makes it clear why the Church
cannot be continued without a &icar for a lon$ period of time# These impressie statements about
+ur 4ord and (is relationship to (is Mystical %ody and (is need of (is members demonstrate the
necessity of (is chief Member! (is &icar! on earth# The Pope CPius XII D said that the primary and
principal members are they who possess power in the %ody# The head of these is the Pope#@
Chapter Two
2
The Heresy of the Perennial Headless !"ephali"#
*The desire to operate actiely is to offend 'od who wants to be the only a$ent7 therefore it
is necessary to abandon oneself wholly in 'od and thereafter to continue in existence as an
inanimate body,#A The Euietist (eresy of Michael of Molinos! condemned by Pope Innocent XI!
:>F# /222#@
$ntrod%"tion& The 'e"t of the Headless (!"ephali")#
8fter the Council of Chalcedon! some $roups condemned by this Council be$an to wander
without a head or leader -8cephalic3 in certain Eastern re$ions# 5rom one of these $roups around
G01 8>! the doctrine of *Mono$ism, was ori$inated by Emperor (eraclius! which later! at the time
of Pope (onorius I became the Monothelistic heresy# Today the *8cephalic, or headless has
reappeared with another doctrine! but with the same denial of a &isible (ead in the Church! not
only as a conseBuence of the papal acancy due to public heresy! but also as a doctrine which
affirms the impossibility! the inalidity and the unlawfulness of the specific 9uridical means of
terminatin$ the acancy6 that is to affirm the perennial acancy! a church without a head -*non tenes
caput, Col7/! /H3# "uch a horrible heresy is sustained with clear psycholo$ical accents in the letter
of Noember <th! /HH1! *+f a Papal ElectionAA8 summary of our position :taken from %ritonsI
4ibrary@#
They set aside the teachin$s of $reat theolo$ians like Ca9etanus! &ittora! "t# ?obert
%ellarmino! %illot! etc! and the do$matic moral and 9uridical foundation of the Church! and they
boldly defend *our position, as if in the Church! it were licit for eeryone to freely propa$ate their
own opinions without payin$ attention to what the Catholic Church has always tau$ht# +ur
ob9ectie is not to document directly the doctrines of those famous theolo$ians! but to refute the
foolishness and the (eresy that is now bein$ spread -*sub specie pietas,3 under the mask of piety
:->s# ;1H 7>F J0J3
Those doctrines ori$inated in 5rance and hae ramifications in other countries# They are also
related to other heretical doctrines -like the *papa materialiterAKA papa formaliter, from 5r 'erard
des 4auriers and the 8bbe %arbara#3 )e beliee that een those who say that they are *united, with
the heretic dis$uised as pope# :althou$h they do not obey him at allA like the ""PX@
They deiate from their principal duty by inentin$ doctrines! and they contradict
themseles because they are afraid of fulfillin$ that duty in the extraordinary and unprecedented
circumstances currently existin$ in the Church# 8ll a$ree in the books and articles on the situation
of extreme need present within the Church7 they speak about the heresies that are freely propa$ated
at all leels! but they are fri$htened when they must define the conseBuences of such a situation for
the social order of the Church#
They attach themseles to human law by opposin$ diine superior norms! as if the intention
of the le$islator were to IMPE>E what is of absolute necessity for the existence of the Church6 the
hierarchy of (oly +rders and the hierarchy of =urisdiction#
This is the new "ect of the (eadless! without an hierarchy! without sacraments! without
Pope! without a solution# %ecause of the crimes of heretics who separate themseles from the
Church! they consider that the Church was destroyed or dama$ed in her 9uridical perfection and that
she does not hae *licit and alid means6 for her recoery#,
1* The '%ppletory +i,ht of the Ch%r"h
4et us briefly Buote some teachin$s about the "uppletory ?i$ht Cor remedial ri$htD in the
Church to elect a pope in situations where there is not an human law on the sub9ect :*&acatio
le$is,@ or where there is an human law that is not applicable due to the specific situation at the time!
the absence of the electors appointed by a human papal law! or the ne$li$ence of those electors to
0
apply it! or $enuine doubts concernin$ the identity of the desi$nated electors! or een due to the
impossibility of applyin$ human laws because of a schism or deiations! diisions! and heresies
amon$ the electors# )e will return at a later point to this doctrine# Presently! we only Buote some
sentences6
1*1 Ca-etan%s&
*by exception and by the suppletory manner of this power :that of electin$ a pope@!
corresponds to the Church and to the Council! either by the inexistence of Cardinal Electors! or
because they are doubtful! or the election itself is uncertain! as it happens at the time of a schism#,
->e comparatione autoritatis papa et concilii! C# /0 and C# !2;3
1*3 .illot .ellar/ino#&
%illot examines how the papal *election, would be implemented in an *extraordinary case,
when it would be necessary to proceed with the election! if it is possible to follow the re$ulation of
papal law! as was the case durin$ the 'reat )estern "chism#
+ne can accept! without difficulty! that the power of election could be transferred to a
'eneral Council# %ecause *natural law, prescribes that! in such cases! the power of a "uperior is
passed to the immediate inferior! because this is absolutely necessary for the surial of the society
and to aoid the tribulations of extreme need#, ->e Ecclesia Christi#3 A :%ellarmino6 Contoersiae!
>e Clericis! /#/ C# /1@# Therefore6 *non est dubitandum, Cone cannot doubtD! *one must accept
without difficulty, that the Church always has and will always hae! in any situation! een in the
most difficult and extraordinary one! alid and licit means of electin$ a pope# This is a conseBuence
of the notion of a *perfect society!, which the Church is# *Perennial acancy, is impossible in a
society which must last up to the end of times# let us now examine how the aforementioned %ritons
4ibrary people oppose this doctrine#
2* The 01tin"tion of the +i,ht to 0le"t a Pope
%ritons simply denies the power to elect a pope! in case of the lack of Cardinals#
/
That
article affirms that 'od cannot chan$e the human papal law! that 'od must *respect, the papal
laws! because upon conferrin$ the power to the popes! (e promised *to bind in heaen whateer
they would bind on earth#, 'od would be selfAbound and would be unable to chan$e the law
concernin$ Cardinals# 4ater they say that *theoretically!, *in abstraction,! they were in error
accordin$ to the authority of the theolo$ians# %ut! nonetheless! the authorsA %ritonsA affirm *the
correctness of this position -of the theolo$ians3 is not selfAeident as some mi$ht think! for it is not
antecedently impossible that the ri$ht of electin$ a pope should perish with the last Cardinal#,
Then! instead of acceptin$ the common doctrine of the theolo$ians! the authors oppose it
with the doctrine of the extinction in the Church of the power to elect a pope# Let they alle$e that
since *The Cardinals hae the ri$ht to preach! administer confirmation and resere the %lessed
"acrament in any diocese#, Neertheless! nobody would seriously ar$ue that if all Cardinals perish!
these ri$hts would pass directly to the %ishops,-sic3 -M 3
(ence6
2*1* Hierar"hy of 2aws
8 contin$ent of human laws cannot impede a necessary diine law! or that law would
become oid# The human laws on the di$nity of the Cardinals belon$ to this cate$ory! accordin$ to
common understandin$# Therefore! they cannot preent the election of a pope! because it is a
necessity of diine ri$ht! that is! it is essential to the Church# The ri$ht to elect a pope $ranted to the
Cardinals by the human laws of the popes comes from the absolute necessity for the Church by
/
5r# Pulermacher reports that %ritonIs had reersed their position#
J
diine ri$ht! and if this is not performed by those in char$e! then other people must perform it#
5urthermore! the other priile$es of the Cardinals concernin$ the territories for the administration of
the "acrament are already shared by the other Church ministers inside each diocese# 8nd! in cases
of extreme necessity! any minister of the "acraments! een an heretic! can administer the
"acraments! een beyond the territorial limits of their 9urisdictions# Therefore the ar$ument opposes
what is a contin$ent human law to a law of the necessary diine ?i$ht6 it suberts the hierarchy of
authority and of the laws between 'od and men#
2*2 3od4s Power of .indin,
The power of bindin$ and unbindin$ $ien by 'od to the shepherds of the Church is N+T
an absolute power that confers upon men the authority of bindin$ and unbindin$ 'odIs laws
themseles! in such a way that 'od is obli$ed to *respect, and *obey, any human law promul$ated
by a pope# If that were the case! any pope could chan$e the diine constitution of the Church and
eliminate all the diine precepts# *No one! but 'od (imself can $rant a dispensation from the
commandments that come from 'od#, -"t# Thomas! /A2!H<!J ad J3# *The pope cannot alter any law
of diine ri$ht! neither by dispensation nor by abro$ation# This is the conclusion of all theolo$ians!
without any debate whatsoeer#, -&itoria! *>e Potestate Papale et concilii! Prop#/3 Thus! that thesis
by %ritons is based on $ross 9uridical i$norance
2*3 5enial of +eason and 6aith
)hat is or what is not *eident, in matters of faith comes from ?eelation as interpreted by
the teachin$ or *Ma$isterium, of the Church and not throu$h the free opinion of each person# Een
in the natural order! in temporal society! it is obious to elect or appoint a ruler# In the supernatural
order of the Church! ?eelation tells us6 *.bi non est $ubernator populus coruet#, :)here there is
not $oernment! the people are doomed to destruction@ -Proerbs# //! /J#3 8nd the ma$isterium of
the Church teaches solemnly that Peter will always hae *perpetual successors,# :>s# 01N;7
>F#/;2N#@ Therefore! it is not ariable like the *situations, and the crimes of heretics# It is not
relatie to situational ariations#
3* Pra"ti"al $/possi7ility of a Papal 0le"tion
%ritons says7 *The norm of the suppletory power to elect a pope is theoretically possible! *a
theolo$ical possibility *in abstract#, ,(oweer it is practically impossible to exercise it# 8nd this is
so because the alidity of an election reBuires the consensus of all Catholics throu$hout the world#,
%ut! this consensus is impossible because! een amon$ the theolo$ians! there is not a consensus
about who would be the electors of the pope6 %illot and Ca9etanus say that the election corresponds
to the Council7 >om 'rea beliees that the electors are the members of the ?oman Cler$y7
%ellarmino thinks that they are the ?oman Cler$y and nearby bishops# %illot Buotes 5ranFelin! who
says that in the Council of Constance! 're$ory XII! who was the le$itimate pope! $ranted powers to
the Council! so the law of "uppletory ?i$ht was not used#
Therefore! without a $eneral a$reement! some Catholics would hae the ri$ht of re9ectin$
the elected pope# )ithout that a$reement! there would be ar$uments and schism# "o! the pope
would be doubtful and! therefore null# There is a *moral impossibility for a alid election#, There is
also the Buestion of whether the lay people should be allowed to participate in the election#
3*1 $/possi7ility and Possi7ility
8ny uniersal norm of action has the purpose of rulin$ the practice! it is a *norma a$enda,
and a simple abstract theory# Pius XII condemned the *"ituation Ethics, of the Modernists! where
the norm itself is altered accordin$ to the current *situation,6 *moral law includes necessarily and
uniersally all the concrete or particular cases in which its concepts are erified#, -8lloc# /;A1JA
/HN2# New Moral#3 Therefore! Canon 21 teaches that upon lackin$ a $eneral law or a particular law!
N
*norma sumenda est,###one should act accordin$ to the $eneral principles of law! of practice! and of
the common sentences of the >octors# *The 4aw, is not here for mere abstract sentence7 for it has
with the imperatie authority of the will of the le$islator# 8nd! in the case of the *>iine
4e$islator!, )ho made the diine constitution of the Church! and *wanted, that within (er! *popes!
shepherds and doctors,! would exist until the end of time#,->s 01N1#>F /;2/3 Therefore 'od
wanted electors up to the end of time# (e ordered electors wheneer a acancy would occur# 8nd
'od neer commands thin$s that could be impossible to be obeyed in practice! neither morally nor
9uridically# This affirms the =anseniusI heresy that 6 *"ome of 'odIs precepts are impossible -###3
because of the lack of $race that could make them possible, ->s 211/7 >F /1H2 3 Many moral and
9uridical precepts present difficulties to be obeyed! but none of them could be labelled as
*impossible,# )hat is a necessary do$ma in the diine constitution of the Church cannot be either
*morally, or *practically, impossible# :Therefore to claim that the line of popes has come to an end
before the end of time is to make oneself an heretic#@ Impossibility means an absence of means to
attain the end and a perfect society 9uridically has always the means to attain its final $oal in itself#
In this case the "uppletory ?i$ht tau$ht by the >octors is the *norma a$enda, indicated by Canon
21# which comes from the *$eneral principles of the law and the consensus of the >octors of the
Church#, Therefore! it is the law of 'od and of the Church6 +n lackin$ a specific law ! the Church
always proides a $eneric law for extraordinary cases! as in the case of the lack of electors
appointed by human law# In the 5irst &atican Council %ishop Oinelli! >efender of the 5aith! 9ud$ed
that probably there would neer be the case of an heretic :who was inalidly elected as a pope!@ but
he added6 *(oweer! 'od is neer absent in the necessary thin$s! therefore if 'od would allow
such a terrible eil! there would not be lackin$ ways of solin$ it#, -non deerunt media ad
proidendum3 CMsi# N2! //1HA"alaerry! >e Ecclesia Christi! &#/! p# GHGD
3*2 6alse $ne1isten"e of Consens%s
8bout the uniersal consensus of Catholics for a papal election! it is necessary to distin$uish
between the consensus and its cause# Neither is faith the ob9ect of free acceptance! nor the $eneral
principle of the 4aw which comes from >iine ?i$ht# "o! it is not a matter of free choice to beliee
or not to beliee in the necessity of a pope! in the existence of a *perpetual successor, of Peter! and
therefore in the existence of *perpetual electors,! and in the duty of electin$ a pope! when the "ee is
empty# This is not a matter of free choice een for the pope# 'od $ranted the pope the freedom of
rulin$ accordin$ to his law! or! in contin$ent matters! accordin$ to his prudence# Een in these later
cases he has the duty to follow the prudence of the 4e$islator rather than his personal prudence#
'od did not determine the form of the papal election! but the necessity of the papal election
continues to be of diine mandate and it is contrary to the faith to deny the possibility of the
election#
It is also false to state that Catholics do not hae a consensus about the $eneral principles of
the law! and about the necessity of the pope and his election# This consensus is a do$matic
conseBuence7 the truths of the faith come *non ex consensus Ecclesiae, but *ex se esse,:not from
the consensus of the Church but Cunable to be reformedD of themseles@ >s# 01<J7 >F /;0H# (ere
there is N+ freedom of opinion# There are *theolo$ical reasons, to beliee and to act this way# The
statement about the freedom of opinion belon$s to &atican II! as well as the *aeBualitas 9uridical, of
all reli$ions! which are the fruits of the Modernist a$nosticism#
)e hae in the Church of Christ a double unity that is *reBuired by diine ri$ht#, %efore the
unity of the rule and $oernment of the pope! exists the unity of faith! the *coetus fidelium,
Cassembly of the faithfulD! which is also united by the rule of the or$anisation ->s 001G7 >F# /;0;3#
Therefore! those who preiously did not belon$ to the *coetus fidelium,! do not hae the ri$ht to
G
participate in a papal election6 they hae neither an actie nor a passie oice in the Church# -Paul
I&! Cum ex 8postolatus3 :%oth of these unities are included in the Mark of the Church@
Those who do not accept canon 21! do not accept the diine principles of the 4aw of the
Church# Therefore! not to accept what is of a necessity for the means of the existence of the Church
is N+T T+ %E 8 C8T(+4IC# The Creed is the *firm and uniBue foundation in reli$ion oer
which the powers of hell will not preail#,:>s /N117 >F <;2@
(oweer! it is possible to unite the community of the faithful! not on the consensus of free
opinion! but on the $eneral principles of the 4aw! that are do$matically imposed on eeryone# The
Protestants will stay outside6 they neer participate in a true papal election# Those who follow them
are in the same circumstances# The elections in the first millennium of the Church were not inalid
because they ar$ued about contin$ent matters! that $enerate schisms# Neither did those facts preent
the elections# If the ciil society is able to a$ree on an electoral law in free matter! with much more
reason Catholics can# %ut one who does not consent to the principles and foundations of the Church
I" N+T 8 C8T(+4IC#
Consens%s a/on, Theolo,ians
This is what Ca9etan affirms# +pinions are not eBual and eBuialent! as if there were
nonexistent in the areas of reason and faith a criterion of distinction between truth and error in
matters of absolute necessity for the Church# If that were the case! the Church (erself would be
dependent on human contin$ent facts#
3*4 The Co%n"il of Constan"e
To alle$e that in the Council of Constance all papal laws were obsered because 're$ory
XII! accordin$ to the opinion of 5ranFelin! was the le$itimate pope and $ae authorisation to the
Council for the election of a pope! before his own resi$nation is a controersial matter! a present
position that was CnotD clear at the time of the 'reat )estern "chism# Therefore! een if this
statement could be proen today! that would not chan$e the doctrine of the "uppletory ?i$ht in
situations of impossible application of the papal law#
The ?i$ht does not come from sin$ular concrete facts! accordin$ to the teachin$ of Pius IX
->s 2HNH7 >F /<NH36 Buite the opposite! the concrete facts *must be, conformed and ruled by the
?i$ht# If the opposite were the case! we would hae the relatiist and positiist *?i$ht, of the
a$nostic democracies! of the atheists! of the 5rench ?eolution! and of &atican II# Therefore! if in
Constance! the Council would hae followed the papal laws on admittin$ *other electors, in
addition to the Cardinals! that only confirms that the norm of appointment of the electors is a mere
human ri$ht! and that! on lackin$ those electors! *the Church, has the power of electin$ a pope#
:8nd of selectin$ her own electors@
3*5 +i,ht to +e-e"t
In the Church! the *ri$ht, of adherin$ to reli$ious freedom! *the ri$ht of not fulfillin$ the
duty of followin$ and adherin$ to the truth!, is an a$nostic *ri$ht, and is precisely what &atican II
preaches! the foundation of all present heresies comin$ from this new *church, of &atican II# Een
in possible thin$s that are merely probable! it is not morally licit! accordin$ to Pope Innocent XI! to
follow the *least probable, and the *weak probability#, ->s 2/12A2/107>F //N2A//N03 Then!
whoeer tries to re9ect a pope elected accordin$ to the only existin$ means for the election!
followin$ the *norm, indicated by Canon 21! on doin$ so! that person is shirkin$ his moral duty and
departin$ from Catholic Church doctrine and the teachin$ of (er >octors! and so he becomes a
schismatic#
3*6 5o%7tf%l and 8%ll Pope
<
To affirm that a pope elected accordin$ to the suppletory norms that are founded on the
do$mas of the perpetuity of the Church! of the popes and of the hierarchy of 9urisdiction! is
*doubtful, for that reason! means the denial of the do$ma on which that doctrine is founded and the
*doubt, of the truths of the faith# -Canon /02N K 2#3 (e who *does not hesitate, to adhere to the
perennial headlessness of the Church! affirms *the ri$ht, of doubtin$ of those norms and is fallin$
into the same denials and doubts of the heretical Protestants# "o! that person accompanies the
heretics on affirmin$ the *nullity, of the election of such a pope and he is not a Catholic# Catholic
popes are neither elected nor alidated by heretics! in an ecumenical way# 8r$uments and existin$
schism in the elections durin$ the first millennium of the Church! when cler$y and people
participated! neither inalidated the elections nor made the pope doubtful or null#
3*8 Consens%s !/on, Theolo,ians
Thus it is not true that there is no consensus amon$ *Catholic, theolo$ians about the
perpetuity of electors of the pope and about "uppletory ?i$ht#
+n the opinion about which is the competent electoral colle$e! the Council or the ?oman
Cler$y! &itoria teaches6 *In any case when the (oly "ee is acant! payin$ attention only to the
diine ?i$ht! the election is the business of all bishops of Christendom, -Pro# 2/! ibidem3# It is
obious that the participation of the *?oman cler$y, as well as the *?oman people, is of human
ri$ht! and comes from a human law that was abolished by Nicholas II -*In nomine >omine#,3! and
totally by 8lexander II -*4icet,3# 8fter these decrees! the *?oman cler$y, for all purposes! is the
Colle$e of Cardinals# Therefore! when this is lackin$! the *?oman cler$y, is lackin$# "o if we pay
attention only to the diine ?i$ht -since in this case we hae a *acatio le$is,! that is the lack of a
specific law in the human ri$ht3 there is no doubt that the "uppletory ?i$ht of the first leel passes
to the Colle$e of residential %ishops! and if they are missin$! because of the same law! then to *ad
totam Ecclesiam,#
4* 5enial of the 8e"essity of the Pope
The central Buestion in the do$matic area in the %ritonsI article is the heretical statement
that in the Church a pope is not *absolutely necessary, because he is not *essential, to the existence
of the Church# Therefore! their conclusion is that *it is not necessary, to elect a pope#
The ar$ument is6 if the pope were *essential, and of *absolute necessity,! the Church would
cease to exist in any acancy because *plus et minus non mutat speciem, :species are not chan$ed
because of more or less Buantity#@ (oweer! the Church does not disappear in the short acancies at
the death of the pope7 so the pope is neither essential nor absolutely necessary! and a acancy of a
thousand years or een in perpetuity is possible# The lack of a pope is a handicap! an inconenience!
like the amputation of oneIs arm# (e is *ery useful,! but he is not necessary##:so says %ritonsMMA
this is sheer (E?E"L#@
4*1 8e"essity of the Pope
)ithout the pope! the do$matic and canonical *Ma$isterium, of the Church would not exist
and the Church would not be necessary for the salation of souls# %ut! +ur 4ord did not trust to
particular 9ud$ments the explanation of thin$s contained in the >eposit of the 5aith! but to the
*Ecclesiastical Ma$isterium#,->s 0;GGA0;G<3# Therefore! without a Pope! the Church would not
exist# It is not enou$h to accept the *empty position,! to accept the ma$isterium and the rulin$
norms of the faithful#
In the same way that the Church is perennial! the (ierarchy and the primacy of Peter are
also perennial! wrote "alaerry# -"acre Theol# "umma! &#I! p# N;J3# These are doctrines defined by
the 5irst &atican Council -/;<13! which declared *anathema, to those who deny that *Peter! in the
primacy oer the whole Church! has perpetual successors#, ->s# 01N;7>F# /;2N#3
;
)hat %ritonsI article says is a flat denial of that do$ma# The pope is the *foundation of the
Catholic Church! (ead and column of the 5aith! he always lies and presides and exercises the
9ud$ment#, 5rom him *the ri$hts of communion in the Church are comin$#, (e is the "upreme
"hepherd and >octor of the Church and *Christ willed in (is Church the existence of "hepherds
and >octors up to the end of times#, ->s# 01N1A01N;7 >F# /;2/A/;2N#3
"o we cannot help but classify as a heresy such a doctrine! which is opposed to the defined
truth of faith# (e rules the Church with a *liin$ oice*-4eo XIII! *"atis Co$nitum,7 Pius XI!
*Mortalium 8nimos,3# Then! it is absolutely false and heretical to state that the pope is only
conenient and useful! but not absolutely necessary in the Church that Christ *willed, and
*instituted,# 8 body cannot lie without a (ead# )here is the ad9ectie *Catholic,! used by %ritons
comin$ from? In the Council of Ephesus! "t# 4eo / tau$ht6 *Peter! een today and always! lies and
exercises 9ud$ement in his "uccessors#,->F# //23
The Council of Trent teaches the necessity of the hierarchy of (oly +rders and also of *the
canonical mission, that comes from Peter# ->s#/<G<A/<<<7 >F# HG1AHG<3 :(ow shall they preach
unless they be sent?@ Pius &I teaches that the denial of the power that comes from Peter is an heresy
->s# 2G107 >F# /N10 3# 4eo XIII affirms that the Church should last *sine ulla intermissione in
perpetuitate temporum, Cwithout interruption till the end of timeD *if the Church would not last! it
would not been founded in perpetuity! and this is a$ainst truth!,A *the church founded on Peter will
neer fail#, *Er$o Ecclesiam suam >eus idcirco commendait Petro! ut perpetuo incolumen tutor
inictis conseraret#, -"atis Co$nitum#A 4eo XIII3# 8nd Pius XI said 6 *It cannot happen that the
Church does not exist today and in all times as completely as the same Church that existed in the
times of the 8postles#, -Mortalium 8nimos3#
6*1 P%rpose of the 0le"tion
The duty of Catholic Morality on endin$ the acancy is to obey the diine norm! to unite
under one $oernment those who already hae the same faith! those who already belon$ to the
*coetus fidelium,# :>istinction here about membership rather than *coetus fidelium, is necessary#@
The present ob9ection affirms that the fulfillment of such duty *exacerbates the diisions, -already
existent3 and that as a conseBuence would not reach the desired $oal# )ell! those who are already
hopelessly diided before any election! either about the traditional doctrines or the acancy itself
-Canons /;;! /;; P J! 22G/ P 2! 22GJ###3! een after repeated warnin$s! are either (eretics or
"chismatics! and they should be le$ally considered so -Canon 20/N 3# The ob9ection tries to
maintain an *ecumenical Church,! diided partially in the faith! with eBual ri$hts and freedom for
opposite opinions# It opposes concrete facts to what should be by >iine ?i$ht# Neertheless! the
Church does not consult the Protestants to elect a pope# Pius XI denies the Church *is diided in
different areas, because some hae $one away from her -Mortalium 8nimos3# Thus such an
ob9ection is based on the Ecumenism of &atican II and the (eresy of ?eli$ious 5reedom# It makes
an alliance of the *free interpretation, of the prophetic reelation with a false idea about the Church#
It denies the doctrine of Catholic Morality#
6*3 $ndi9id%al and 'o"ial !"tion
It is not an *indiidual, and *officious, action! the one performed by people in a$reement
with the doctrinal duties and ChurchIs laws# +ntolo$ically all human actions are *indiidual,
actions and personal initiaties! een those of the popes! cardinals and bishops# (oweer! morally
and 9uridically their actions are ruled by norms of the public 4aws of the Church! which confer
them ri$hts and duties or suppletory *authority to act7, *The actions of the faithful are spiritually
united in the unity of $oernment# Canon 21 obli$es all Catholic people to act in a determined way6
*norma sumenda est#,Cthe norm should be takenD# Then! such acts are in a$reement with the Public
H
4aws of the Church# They are not selfAappointed! those who act in a$reement with those laws! but
those who act by their personal interpretation of the ?eelation! conertin$ the duty of *actin$, into
the duty of *not actin$,# The duty of *personal sanctification, cannot be fulfilled when we exclude
our social duties# )hen the appointed electors exist! it is up to them to fulfil that duty7 when they do
not exist! this is the duty of the *whole Church#,
6*5 :hat is really ne"essary
*)hat is really necessary7 is what must be done7, what is included in the duty of our
sanctification is the *fulfilment of all duties, and not only of those freely chosen by *our own
9ud$ement, -Titus# 0! /1 3! or selected by the opinions of other people# %ritons follows the heresy
what )ycliff preached6 *Post .rbanum &I non est aliBuis recipiendus in papam sect iendum est
more $raecorum! sub le$ibus propoiis#, ->s#//NH7 >F# N;H3 C8fter .rban &I! nobody should be
accepted as pope! but eeryone should lie in the ways of the 'reeks! and under their own laws#D
%ritons only chan$es the name of the last pope! but their article maintained that heretical norm in its
entirety! in spite of its bein$ condemned by the Council of Constance#
7* The 5%ty of !7stention of !"tions ;7y .ritons<
%ritons say6 *'od does not prohibit us to do what is in our reach7 but one should beliee
that! in the present crisis! the duty is the abstention of practical actions! we must pray exclusiely!
until 'od interenes#A It was the prudence of Noah in buildin$ the 8rk under 'odIs command#
Christ disapproed the action of Peter in the 'arden of +lies#A *+ne must re9ect without hesitation
the endin$ of the crisis by practical initiatie7 the crisis cannot be soled at the natural leel because
it is too bi$# It was produced by 'od for a specific $oal and it will not end until this $oal will be
reached# )e should not frustrate the diine plan by natural means! by a conclae# +ne already took
place and it was a failure :Parallels with Pisa! Constance##@ To be orthodox without popes!
shepherds! sacraments! Mass! etc###the uniBue solution is prayer# )e beliee that the crisis will only
be ended by Enoch and Elias! who will extin$uish the acancy! with 'odIs interention and the
death of the 8ntichrist# .ntil then7 *only prayer instead of action6, the sole solution is prayer# It is
not Euietism! the abstention of the duty of actin$! and it is not a$ainst the sentence of "t# I$natius#
The crisis cannot be soled by natural resources! by practical interention! because it transcends the
natural order! it is extraordinary# It is a lack of faith to affirm that it will be ended by any other way#
Ca9etanus confirms6 *)here there is not a natural resource! as in the case of a bad pope! only prayer
is the ri$ht and specific remedy7 efficacious panacea when human means are inexistent# )ell this it
the present case# Then as now! only prayer is the means# )e are few! without authority and full of
errors,
7*1 6ree $nterpretation
If Noah built the 8rk by a direct reelation from 'od! today 'odIs ?eelation orders us to
act accordin$ to the doctrine and laws of the Church! and not waitin$ for a *new reelation, about
the papal election! about "acraments and 9urisdiction of %ishops# It is a Modernist (eresy to say
that *the reelation! ob9ect of the faith! was not completed by the 8postles#, ->s 0J2/7 >F# 212/3
but that it is *the interpretation of reli$ious actions made by human mind#, ->s# 0J227 >F# 21223#
This I" Exactly what %ritons does# Nobody Buestions either the excellency and efficacy of prayer!
or the duty of prayin$! but the existence of other duties# "t# Pius & did not excuse the %attle of
4epanto a$ainst the Muslims trustin$ only in prayer# 8nd the crisis was bi$ and extraordinary then#
>urin$ the 8rian heresy! popes were elected7 and at the time of the 'reat )estern "chism nobody
thou$ht to put an end to the crisis only by prayer! without an election# They deny the existence of
the specific means! the possibility of electin$! by adoptin$ the heretical doctrine that the pope is
N+T necessary A to the faith#
/1
7*2 5i9ine Plan
To affirm that actin$ is *to frustrate the diine plane, is a false doctrine# 'od does not want
sins! apostasies! and heresies :or extended acancies in the hi$h offices of (is Church#@ (e permits
that they occur! but (e does not hae a *plan, to aoid those happenin$s# Morally he does not want
them to happen while physically (e allows the happenin$ of sins# 'od is not the 8uthor of crimes!
een when (e prophesies them because of (is diine wisdom and knowled$e# "o! the diine will is
that the Catholic faithful act accordin$ to the diine duties and laws! and not a$ainst them# The
exe$esis of 'odIs way of actin$ and of (is will is $ien by the Infallible Church in (er laws and
not by the free interpretation of the *plans, of 'od#
7*3 'o"ial =%ietis/
%ritons repeats *ipsis litteris, the Euietist doctrine of Molinos! een limitin$ it to the present
social duties# Molinos wrote6 *&elle operari actie est >eum offendere! Bui ult esse ipsis solus
a$ens#, ->s 22127 >F# /2223 :To want to operate actiely is to offend 'od! )ho wants to be
(imself the sole a$ent#@ Pope Innocent XI condemned this heresy# Neertheless! %ritons repeats the
same words concernin$ the social leel# They repeat the sentences of Euesnel6 *In anum! >omine!
praecipis si tu non das Buod praecipis,! and *$ratia non est aliud Buam oluntas dei 9ubentis et
facientis Buod 9ubet#, ->s 2J10A2J//7 >F# /0N0A/0G/#3 C4ord Thou orderest in ain! if Thou dost
not $ie that what Thou orderest7 The $race is nothin$ else that the will of omnipotent 'od )ho
commands and does what (e commands#D Clement XI also condemned this false doctrine# The
Council of Trent condemned the doctrine of 4uther6 *5aith and confidence in 'od are enou$h!
without works#, ->s# /NG26 >F# ;223 *nihil omnio a$ere et passie se harbere#,->s /NNJ7 >F# ;/J3
C8bsolutely nothin$ makes and behaes in a merely passie way7D salation *sine conditione
obserantiae mandatorum, ->s# /N<17 >F# ;013 Cwithout the condition to obsere the
commandments#D Therefore! that doctrine of the exclusieness of prayer and confidence in 'od is
opposed to the fulfilment of social duties! it does not seem a Catholic doctrine but similar to the
*faith, of 4uther#
7*6 Catholi"s :itho%t !%thority
&itoria wrote6 *Notem est in 9ure Buod non oportet ut electores habeant autoritatem ad Buom
eli$unt,->e Potest# Ecclesiae ?ec#2 3 CIt is obious in 4aw that it is not necessary for the electors to
possess authority for which they are electin$#D Those who elect a ciil ruler do not hae his
authority# Those who elect an 8bbot do not hae the 8bbotIs authority# Neither do the Cardinals
possess the papal authority -&acante "ede 8post# Canon /#3 Peter did not leae a law on how to
apply the papal power to a person when the appointed electors would not exist7 the Church
possesses the suppletory authority of the orthodox bishops! who receied it from the (oly 5ather#
%ut een if those bishops lacked! because of the same law of substitution! that authority would be
passed necessarily to the whole Church! not in order to dele$ate power to a pope as the ministerial
(ead of the Church ->s 2G12A2G107 >F# /N12A/N103! but only to choose the man who! *9ure
diino,! will exercise the power that comes from 'od# In *acatio le$is,! the *only way aailable
would be the election by the Church#, -&itoria3# If nobody else had the *authority, to choose the
person who would occupy the position from which comes the authority for eerybody! the "ee!
from which the ri$hts-###3 for all proceed, ->s# 01N<7>F# /;2J3 by canonical mission-Canon /1H3!
then the Church would hae died indeed# %ut this is impossible! so the lo$ical conseBuence is that
there are *Catholic electors, with the necessary and sufficient *authority, to carry out a alid
election in any crisis! een in the present one# If in fact there hae been wron$ and badly prepared
*elections, without preious re$ulation by those who profess the same faith -and only from them3
that does not mean that elections could not and should not take place with adeBuate preparation!
//
only preiously excludin$ those who hae selfAexcluded themseles from the con$re$ation of the
faithful people# If there were some who erred! not eerybody always and uniersally is errin$ as
well#
Con"l%sion& The 5%ty of >nity
)e cannot foresee or prophesy future eents! we hae neither receied special reelation!
nor are we the Illuminati nor the $nostics# )e do not know either when Elias or Enoch will come!
nor how they will act! nor if 'od will conert those who are merely wanderin$! scattered amon$ the
millions of *Catholics, of the New Church! or een if throu$h them! one day there will be the
election of an orthodox pope# These are only *possibilities, that only 'od knows# )e can only
$rasp the doctrines of the safe and perennial ?ock of Peter! based on the do$mas of the perpetuity of
the Church! of the hierarchy! of the pope! of the "hepherds and >octors! of the power of (oly
+rders and 9urisdiction and of the ?i$ht of the Church# )e do not inent new doctrines to 9ustify
*unity, with an heretical *pope,! neither do we reco$nise his permanency as *alid, either
*formally, or *materially!, to 9ustify the separation from the obedience of a pope who is considered
*alid,7 we do not inent doctrines about the situation of need! illicitness of the sacraments!
perennial acancy! impossibility of a papal election! or eschatolo$ical exe$esis# In one point those
prophesies are ery clear7 that there will be many *false prophets, at the end Times! and they will
announce that Christ is here or there# Christ warned us so that we will not beliee in them! and we
will perseere in the same doctrines that hae been always tau$ht# 8mon$ these doctrines is the one
about *perpetual successors, of Peter and the existence of *shepherds, up to the end of times#
It is an heresy to state a *$eneral darkness, of the doctrine ->s 2G/17>F# /N1/3 in the
Church where *lux lucet in tenebris, -4o#/! /N3# %ut! *broken from the links of the isible unity! the
forms of the Mystical %ody of Christ are darkened! so that it can be neither seen nor found by those
who ask for the port of salation#, -Pius XII! Myst# Cor#Christi3# Thin$s of the Church *are seen by
the one who beliees, and are isible *for those who adhere to the ri$ht faith and not for the others,
-"t# Thomas# "#T#2A2! /AJ! and ad 03# Passin$ from the doctrines of the Church to practical action!
since those who profess our faith and belon$ to the same *coetus fidelium, are dispersed throu$hout
the world! as lon$ as the lack of ordinary 9urisdiction is not eliminated because of that dispersion!
that is merely physical and not doctrinal! it would be useful to $ather those people in a society that
could sere for the better knowled$e of the faith and of the persons who profess it! and that could
help to prepare the necessary base for the end of the acancy# The unity of $oernment reBuires a
preious unity in the faith and in mutual charity! a distinctie Mark of the true Church#
4aus et 'loria >eo Nostro
>r# (omero =ohas
This was written in /HH/ in reply to %ritonQs Catholic 4ibrary 4etter number <# Martin
'wynne and =ohn >aly of 4ondon! En$land wrote 4etter Number < as a rebuttal of the book! )ill
the Catholic Church "urie the Twentieth Century? %y T "tanfill %enns and >aid %awden# This
book was written to call for a papal election# It was written in /H;H and published =anuary 2N! /HH1
/2