Insanity and the Counter-Syllabus
Presented below is a quote from Quanta Cura, an encyclical letter from Ven. Pope Pius IX. The pope boldly condemns the central tenets of liberalism, and invokes his Apostolic authority.
Vatican II has been described as a "counter Syllabus," referring to Ven. Pius IX's Syllabus of Errors. Is it fair to inquire whether Vatican II actually overruled the Apostolic authority of Ven. Pius IX?
And, from this wholly false idea of social organization they do not fear to foster that erroneous opinion, especially fatal to the Catholic Church and to the salvation of souls, called by Our predecessor of recent memory, Gregory XVI, insanity; namely, that "liberty of conscience and of worship is the proper right of every man, and should be proclaimed and asserted by law in every correctly established society; that the right to all manner of liberty rests in the citizens, not to be restrained by either ecclesiastical or civil authority; and that by this right they can manifest openly and publicly and declare their own concepts, whatever they be, by voice, by print, or in any other way."
... each evil opinion and doctrine individually mentioned in this letter, by Our Apostolic authority We reject, proscribe, and condemn; and We wish and command that they be considered as absolutely rejected, proscribed, and condemned by all the sons of the Catholic Church.
Comments (1)
This seems to get to the heart of, what seems to me to be, the core of the Protestant's objection to the Catholic Church.
They resent authority.
Catholics are bound by what the Church teaches. But they insist that they may decide for themselves what the Bible means.
They leave the Rock and build their houses on sand. Whenever their beliefs shift, they can shift to another church that agrees with their views. If they can't find one they may need to create a new one.
They decry Papal Infallibility but don't realize that the doctrine of infallibility does not free the Pope to teach whatever he likes. Rather, it constrains him from teaching anything that was not handed down by the Apostles. That's the real gripe. They want the Church to accept their values even as their values change day to day.
The above applies as well to liberal 'Catholics' of the modernist bent.
Posted by Clement | March 8, 2008 7:59 PM
Posted on March 8, 2008 19:59