The ignoble art of missing the point – the real arguments for Francis' non-papacy
Many try to frame themselves as moderates, and explain the crisis with reference to infallibility and thus avoid concluding that these men have not been true popes. But this overlooks some key points.
It is very common to treat the current situation as if it can be explained in terms of the infallibility (or otherwise) of papal acts.
This is typically an approach taken by conservatives and would-be “moderates”, who seek to position themselves as a balance between extremes. It is an approach also taken, regrettably, by some traditionalists.
Many such persons also get bogged down in arguments about whether a range of supposedly magisterial acts really constitute a reversal of some prior teaching.
Now, it is true that the departure from the received teaching of the magisterium on some matters (such as religious liberty) is important factor for concluding that we have been living in a long vacancy. But to discuss such issues, as well as the level of magisterial authority of a document such as Fiducia Supplicans, is to miss the point.
Similarly, to spend time arguing about the situations with Honorius, John XXII and so on, is to allow oneself to be distracted from the main problems. And without recognising a problem, we will not be able to recognise its solution.
The first problem is that we cannot take each problematic act in isolation, when we are all aware that they are part of a “whole”.
This “whole” – which has entailed new theologies, new catechisms, new moralities, new sacramental rites and a new conception of the Church – must be seen for what it is: a new religion.
The second problem is not just the existence of magisterial reversals at disputed levels of authority or infallibility, but rather evidence that the men responsible are not Catholics.
They are not “just bad Catholics”; they are non-Catholics.
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