MARCH 5, 2017
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH UNDER POPE FRANCIS IN SCHISM
What is schism?
CCC #2089:"Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him."
Canon 751: “Heresy is the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.”
Canon 1364 §1: “an apostate from the faith, a heretic, ora schismatic incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.”
The phrase “latae sententiae” means a judgment or sentence which is 'wide' (latae) or widely applied; it refers to a type of excommunication which is automatic.
Such a sentence of excommunication is incurred “by the very commission of the offense,” (CCC 2272) and does not require the future particular judgment of a case by competent authority.
Apostasy, heresy, and schism are all offences which incur a sentence of excommunication automatically.
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Sedevacantists, for example, are schismatics
Wernz and Vidal maintain that a Catholic who questions the validity of a pope on the basis of a defect in his election is not to be considered a schismatic.
A. Sedevacantists don't merely question the Pontiffs election, they simply reject (thus asserting) that heindeed is notPope.
Nevertheless the fact that a universally accepted Pope is Pope, is generally affirmed by all standard Catholic Apologetics textbooks as de fide. St. Alphonsus says: "It is of no importance that in past centuries some Pontiff was illegitimately elected or took possession of the Pontificate by fraud; it is enough that he was accepted afterwards by the whole Church as Pope, since by such an acceptance he would become the True Pontiff" (Verita della Fede. Vol VIII. p720). The same is affirmed by Cardinal Billot (Tract. De. Eccl. Christi. Tom 1,pp. 612-613).
An extract from “A detailed look at some of the more common objections put forward by Sedevacantists”
By Fr. Raymond Taouk SSPX
Schism in the Church has been prophesied by visionaries including stigmatist Marie-Julie Jahenny:
Disobedience to the Pope—a Last Schism or Great Apostasy
In the “Breton Stigmatist” (pp. 34-35) we find the following text dated October 1882, a revelation given to Marie-Julie stating that bishops disobedient to the Pope will bring about the infamous and blasphemous ‘new’ religion:
Our Lord: “The heart of the diocese of (…) (place not revealed?) will revolt and will not be pacified. Its cries and menacing words will make the strong tremble. In the days when the gloom of the great vengeance will surround the people with struggles and conflicts, this pastor (The Bishop of...?), like the others will not submit to orders of the Roman Pontiff. ... When the power of mortal men—soiled, corrupt men who are threatened with a terrible death—when this power will order a frightful religion in the whole Kingdom....I see only a small number enter this religion that will make the whole world tremble.... From the height of My glory, I see joining with alacrity this guilty, infamous, sacrilegious religion. I see Bishops joining... On seeing these many, many Bishops...Ah! My Heart is wounded to death—and the whole flock following them, all of it without hesitation, hastening to damnation and hell, My Heart is wounded to death as at the time of My Passion... Others will follow these French Bishops... If I tell you that to found this infamous and accursed religion, the Bishops and priests will not leave off at the second call. You may be sure, my children, that the bishops and priests will not be in favour of the one I have destined to raise up your country, there will be very, very few in favour of him... . They will be against the King....” (The promised Great Monarch).
In another text dated November 1882, there is a warning that the greatest attack to the Church before the chastisements will begin when the bishops will demand to separate themselves from the Pope and create a huge schism:
“The crowd roars around the Vicar of Jesus Christ. A meeting of the Fathers of the Church will form his councils against the Father of the universe. It (a written declaration) will be presented, at the hands of the governor to which the Holy Father, a piece written and worked on by hands that, many times, will hit the Body of Christ (The Church). This written piece will include three things…
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Shortly before he died, St. Francis of Assisiwarned his followers of the coming troubles, saying:
1. The time is fast approaching in which there will be great trials and afflictions; perplexities and dissensions, both spiritual and temporal, will abound; the charity of many will grow cold, and the malice of the wicked will increase.
2. The devils will have unusual power, the immaculate purity of our Order, and of others, will be so much obscured that there will be very few Christians who will obey the true Sovereign Pontiff and the Roman Church with loyal hearts and perfect charity.
At the time of this tribulation a man, not canonically elected, will be raised to the Pontificate, who, by his cunning, will endeavor to draw many into error and death.
3. Then scandals will be multiplied, our Order will be divided, and many others will be entirely destroyed, because they will consent to error instead of opposing it.
4. There will be such diversity of opinions and schisms among the people, the religious and the clergy, that, except those days were shortened, according to the words of the Gospel, even the elect would be led into error, were they not specially guided, amid such great confusion, by the immense mercy of God.
5. Then our Rule and manner of life will be violently opposed by some, and terrible trials will come upon us. Those who are found faithful will receive the crown of life; but woe to those who, trusting solely in their Order, shall fall into tepidity, for they will not be able to support the temptations permitted for the proving of the elect.
6. Those who preserve in their fervor and adhere to virtue with love and zeal for the truth, will suffer injuries and, persecutions as rebels and schismatics; for their persecutors, urged on by the evil spirits, will say they are rendering a great service to God by destroying such pestilent men from the face of the earth, but the Lord will be the refuge of the afflicted, and will save all who trust in Him. And in order to be like their Head, [Christ] these, the elect, will act with confidence, and by their death will purchase for themselves eternal life; choosing to obey God rather than man, they will fear nothing, and they will prefer to perish rather than consent to falsehood and perfidy.
7. Some preachers will keep silence about the truth, and others will trample it under foot and deny it. Sanctity of life will be held in derision even by those who outwardly profess it, for in those days JESUS CHRIST WILL SEND THEM NOT A TRUE PASTOR, BUT A DESTROYER."
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Schism
General ideas, moral character, and penal sanctions
Schism (from the Greekschisma, rent, division) is, in the language oftheologyandcanon law, the rupture ofecclesiasticalunion andunity, i.e. either theactby which one of thefaithfulsevers as far as in himliesthe ties which bind him to thesocialorganization of theChurchand make him a member of themystical body of Christ, or the state of dissociation or separation which is the result of thatact. In this etymological and full meaning the term occurs in the books of theNew Testament. By this nameSt. Paulcharacterizes and condemns the parties formed in the community ofCorinth(1 Corinthians 1:12): "I beseech you, brethren", he writes, ". . . that there be noschisms among you; but that you beperfectin the samemind, and in the samejudgment" (ibid., i, 10). The union of thefaithful, he says elsewhere, should manifest itself in mutual understanding andconvergentactionsimilar to the harmonious co-operation of our members whichGodhath tempered "that there might be noschism in the body" (1 Corinthians 12:25). Thus understood,schism is a genus which embraces two distinctspecies:hereticalor mixedschism andschism pure and simple. The first has its source inheresyor joined with it, the second, which mosttheologiansdesignate absolutely asschism, is the rupture of the bond of subordination without an accompanying persistenterror, directly opposed to a definitedogma. This distinction was drawn bySt. JeromeandSt. Augustine.
"Betweenheresyandschism", explainsSt. Jerome, "there is this difference, thatheresypervertsdogma, whileschism, by rebellion against thebishop, separates from theChurch. Nevertheless there is noschism which does not trump up aheresytojustifyits departure from theChurch(In Ep. ad Tit., iii, 10).
AndSt. Augustine: "Byfalse doctrinesconcerningGodhereticswoundfaith, byiniquitousdissensionsschismatics deviate from fraternalcharity, although theybelievewhat webelieve" (On Faith and the Creed9). But asSt. Jeromeremarks, practically and historically,heresyandschism nearly always go hand in hand;schism leads almost invariably to denial of thepapalprimacy.
Schism, therefore, is usually mixed, in which case, considered from amoralstandpoint, its perversity is chiefly due to theheresywhich forms part of it. In its other aspect and as being purelyschism it is contrary tocharityandobedience; to the former, because it severs the ties of fraternalcharity, to the latter, because theschismatic rebels against the Divinely constitutedhierarchy. However, not every disobedience is aschism; in order to possess thischaracterit must include besides the transgression of the commands of superiors, denial of their Divinerightto command. On the other hand,schism does notnecessarilyimply adhesion, either public or private, to a dissenting group or a distinctsect, much less thecreationof such a group. Anyone becomes aschismatic who, though desiring to remain aChristian, rebels against legitimate authority, without going as far as the rejection ofChristianityas a whole, which constitutes the crime ofapostasy.
Formerly a man was rightly considered aschismatic when he disregarded the authority of his ownbishop; hence the words ofSt. Jeromequoted above. Before himSt. Cyprianhad said: "It must be understood that thebishopis in theChurchand theChurchin thebishopand he is not in theChurchwho is not with thebishop" (Epist., lxvi, 8). Long before,St. Ignatius of Antiochlaid down this principle: "Where thebishopis there is the community, even as whereChristis there is theCatholicChurch" (Smyrnæans8.2). Now through the centralizingevolutionwhich emphasizes the preponderant role of thesovereign pontiffin the constitution ofecclesiasticalunity, the mere fact of rebelling against thebishopof thedioceseis often a step towardschism; it is not aschism in him who remains, or claims to remain, subject to theHoly See. In the material sense of the word there isschism, that is rupture of thesocialbody, if thereexisttwo or more claimants of thepapacy, each of whom has on his sidecertainappearances ofrightand consequently more or less numerous partisans. But under these circumstancesgood faithmay, at least for a time, prevent a formalschism; this begins when thelegitimacyof one of thepontiffsbecomes so evident as to render adhesion to a rival inexcusable.Schism is regarded by theChurchas a most serious fault, and is punished with thepenaltiesinflicted onheresy, becauseheresyusually accompanies it. These are:excommunicationincurredipso factoand reserved to thesovereign pontiff(cf."Apostolicæ Sedis", I, 3); this is followed by the loss of all ordinaryjurisdictionand incapacity to receive anyecclesiastical beneficesor dignities whatsoever. To communicatein sacriswithschismatics, e.g., to receive thesacramentsat the hands of theirministers, to assist atDivine Officesin theirtemples, is strictly forbidden to thefaithful.
Sometheologiansdistinguish "active" from "passive"schism. By the former they understand detaching oneself deliberately from the body of theChurch, freely renouncing therightto form a part of it. They call passiveschism theconditionof those whom theChurchherself rejects from herbosombyexcommunication, inasmuch as they undergo this separation whether theywillor no, having deserved it. Hence, this articlewilldeal directly only with activeschism, which isschism properly so-called. It is nevertheless clear that so-called passiveschism not only does not exclude the other, but often supposes it in fact and theory. From this point of view it is impossible to understand the attitude ofProtestantswho claim to hold theChurchtheyabandonedresponsible for their separation. It isprovedby all thehistoricalmonuments and especially by the writings ofLutherandCalvinthat, prior to theanathemapronounced against them at theCouncil of Trent, the leaders of theReformationhad proclaimed and repeated that theRoman Churchwas "theBabylonof theApocalypse, thesynagogueofSatan, thesocietyofAntichrist"; that they must therefore depart from it and that they did so in order to re-enter the way ofsalvation. And in this they suited theactionto the word. Thus theschism was well consummated by them before it wassolemnlyestablished by the authority which they rejected and transformed by that authority into ajustpenalsanction.
Schism in the light of Scripture and tradition
Asschism in itsdefinitionand full sense is the practical denial ofecclesiasticalunity, the explanation of the former requires a cleardefinitionof the latter, and toprovethenecessityof the latter is to establish the intrinsicmaliceof the former. Indeed the texts ofScriptureandTraditionshow these aspects of the sametruthto be so closely united that passage from one to the other is constant and spontaneous. WhenChristbuilt onPeteras on an unshakablefoundationthe indestructible edifice of HisChurchHe thereby indicated itsessentialunityand especially thehierarchicalunity(Matthew 16:18). He expressed the same thought when He referred to thefaithfulas aKingdomand as a flock: "Other sheep I have, that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd" (John 10:16).Unityoffaithandworshipis more explicitly indicated by the words outlining thesolemnmission of theApostles: "Going therefore, teach ye all nations;baptizingthem in the name of the Father, and of theSonand of theHoly Ghost" (Matthew 28:19). These variousformsofunityare the object of theprayerafter theLast Supper, whenChristpraysfor His own and asks "that they may be one" as the Father and theSonare one (John 17:21, 22). Those who violate thelawsofunityshall become strangers toChristand hisspiritualfamily: "And if he will not hear theChurch, let him be to thee as theheathenandpublican" (Matthew 18:17).
Infaithfulimitation of hisMaster'steachingSt. Pauloften refers to theunity of the Church, describing it as one edifice, one body, a body between whose members exists the same solidarity as between the members of thehumanbody (1 Corinthians 12;Ephesians 4). He enumerates its various aspects and sources: "For in oneSpiritwere we allbaptizedinto one body, . . . and in oneSpiritwe have all been made to drink" (1 Corinthians 12:13); "For we, being many, are one bread, one body, all that partake of one bread" (1 Corinthians 10:17). He sums it up in the following formula: "One body and oneSpirit; . . . oneLord, onefaith, onebaptism" (Ephesians 4:4-5). Finally he arrives at thelogicalconclusion when heanathematizesdoctrinalnovelties and the authors of them (Galatians 1:9), likewise when he writes toTitus: "Amanthat is aheretic, after the first and second admonition, avoid" (Titus 3:10); and again when he so energetically condemns the dissensions of the community ofCorinth: "There are contentions among you. . . . every one of you saith: I am indeed ofPaul; and I am of Apollo; and I ofCephas; and I ofChrist. IsChristdivided? WasPaulthen crucified for you?
Or were youbaptizedin the name ofPaul?" (1 Corinthians 1:11-13). "Now, I beseech you, brethren, by the name ofour Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be noschisms among you; but that you beperfectin the samemind, and in the samejudgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10).St. Lukespeaking in praise of the primitivechurchmentions its unanimity ofbelief,obedience, andworship: "They were persevering in thedoctrineof theapostles, and in the communication of the breaking of bread, and inprayers" (Acts 2:42). All the firstEpistleofSt. Johnis directed against contemporaryinnovatorsandschismatics; and the author regards them as so foreign to theChurchthat in contrast to its members "the Children ofGod", he calls them "the children of thedevil", (1 John 3:10); the children "of the world" (iv, 5), evenAntichrist(ii, 22; iv, 3).
The samedoctrineis found in all the evidences ofTradition, beginning with the oldest. Before the end of the first centurySt. Clementwriting to theChurchofCorinthin order to restore peace and harmony strongly inculcates thenecessityof submission to the "hegoumenos" (Epistle 1.3), "to the guides of oursouls" (lxiii, 1), and to the "presbyters" (xlvii, 6; liv, 2; lvii, 1). It is, says he, a "gravesin" to disregard their authority as theCorinthiansare doing (xliv, 3, 4, 6; xlvii, 6); it is adutytohonourthem (i, 3; xxi, 6). There must be no division in the body ofChrist, xlvi, 6. The fundamentalreasonof all this is the Divinely institutedhierarchicalorder. The work ofChristis in fact continued by theApostles, who are sent byChristas He was sent byGod(xlii, 1, 2). It was they who established the"episcopi"anddeacons" (xlii, 4) and decided that others should succeed them in theirministry(xliv, 2). He thus explains the gravity of thesinand the severity of the reproaches addressed to the fomenters of the troubles. "Why should there be among you disputes, quarrels, dissensions,schisms, andwar? Have we not one and the sameGod, one and the sameChrist? Is it not the samespiritofgracethat has been poured out upon us? Have we not a commonvocationinChrist? Wherefore, divide and separate the members ofChrist, be atwarwith our own body, be so foolish as to forget that we are members of one another?" (xlvi, 5-7).St. Ignatiusinsists no less forcibly on thenecessityofunityand the danger ofschism. He is the first author in whom we findepiscopalunityclearly outlined, and he beseeches thefaithfulto range themselves about the "presbyters" and thedeaconsand especially through them and with them about thebishop: "It is fitting that you be of onemindwith thebishop, as you are, because your venerable presbyterium is attached to thebishopas the strings to the lyre" (Ephesians 6:1); "you must not take advantage of the age of yourbishop, but, being mindful of the power ofGod the Father, you should show him every manner of respect, as do theholypriests" (Magnesians3.1). Thebishopis the centre and pivot of theChurch: "Where he is there should the community be" (Smyrnæans11.1). Thedutiesof thefaithfultowards thehierarchyare summed up in one: to be united to it in sentiment,faith, andobedience. They must be always submissive to thebishop, the presbyterium, and thedeacons(Ephesians2.2, 5.3 and 20.2;Magnesians2, 3.1, 6.1-2, 13.2;Trallians2.1-2 and 13.2;Philadelphians7.1;Smyrnæans8.1;Polycarp6.1).Jesus Christbeing the word of the Father and thebishopbeing in thedoctrineofChrist(enIesouchristou gnome) it is fitting to adhere to thedoctrineof thebishop(Ephesians 3:2;4:1); "Those who belong toGodandJesus Christally themselves with thebishop.Brethren, be not deceived; whosoever follows aschismatic shall not inherit theKingdom of Heaven" (Philadelphians3.2-3). Finally, as thebishopis thedoctrinaland disciplinary centre so he is theliturgicalcentre: "Let thatEucharistbelawfulwhich isconsecratedby thebishopor one deputed by him. . . . It is forbidden tobaptizeor celebrate theagapewithout thebishop; what he approves is what is pleasing toGod, in order that all that is done may be stable and valid" (Smyrnæans8.1-2).