Normally the Roman Catholic Church requires assent to all her teaching, whether that teaching comes from the universal episcopate of all the bishops or from the head of the bishops, the Pope, the Bishop of Rome.
With regard to papal teaching, the Catholics must adhere to all of it according to the Pope’s intention in giving it to the people, his “manifest mind and will.”
Can. 754 All the Christian faithful are obliged to observe the constitutions and decrees which the legitimate authority of the Church issues in order to propose doctrine and to proscribe erroneous opinions, particularly those which the Roman Pontiff or the college of bishops puts forth.Throughout history, there have always been Catholics who have wanted to dissent from the teaching of the popes. Anytime a cleric was accused and proved of heresy, it necessarily resulted in the break of communion, excommunication, deposition, or at least the removal of one’s name from the sacred diptychs. In the past new denominations came to life because of those not agreeing with the pope of Rome, getting followers behind them and as such creating a new 'church'.
Today, we can find theological “liberals” who do not like some of the “old fashioned” teaching of the Church, particular with regard to sexual matters, but at the same time we can find very conservatives who find there is too much liberty now and do not agree with a lots of sayings of this present pope, Francis I.
Some people find that the pope said wrong or even distasteful things with regard to pastoral discipline for those in irregular “marriage” unions as well as his recent teaching on the death penalty. Some theologians have argued that dissent from papal teaching in certain circumstances is allowed by the Church. One of the main magisterial documents they have appealed to is a document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith called Donum Veritatis (“On the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian”)
Throughout history the Roman pontiff has passed more than ones judgement on scientists, bishops and on people who had other ideas than him. Several popes went so far to call others to kill those who did not agree with the Roman Catholic church or did not want to accept the Roman popes power.
Those who were accused of heresy could fear the 'army' of the Catholic Church.
It is impossible to think popes are infallible when they agreed to have crusades and inquisitions as tools to gather power and material treasures.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider is saying that the Pope of Rome is untouchable, however much we can disagree with him, and that formal judgments and anathemas on a heretical Pope would have to be left to successors of future Ecumenical Councils (themselves ratified by the Pope).
The Roman Catholic teaching is said to rest on theological conclusion that Christ founded his church, not on himself, but on Peter; that Peter was the first pope of the Catholic Church. Though nowhere can they proof that Peter would have been infallible and that his (so called ) authority and infallibility would be passed from Peter to successors. That early tradition and Church history support the claim in principle; that these conclusions are confirmed by this terrible sanction imposed by the Church:
“All who refuse to assent to her teaching are threatened with eternal damnation.”This way the Roman catholic church could have power and control over a lot of people.
The dogma of infallibility was proclaimed by the Vatican Council in 1870 over violent opposition from within the ranks of the Hierarchy itself. Prior to the assembly no less than 162 bishops signified they were opposed to the proclaiming of such a dogma, and after the assembly was called more than two months were consumed with heated debates over the issue.
“Scarcely in any parliament have important matters ever been subjected to as much discussion as was the question of papal infallibility in the Vatican Council.”Today, more than half a century after the second Vatican council, announced by Pope John XXIII on Jan. 25, 1959, as a means of spiritual renewal for the church and as an occasion for Christians separated from Rome to join in search for reunion, the world saw first the newer popes breaking away what Pope John XXIII had established as a progressive pope. After Pope Benedict XVI wanted to step down the conservative bishops had hope the South American bishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio would continue the conservative direction.
The year 2013 was annus mirabilis (a “wonderful year”) for the Roman Catholic Church. On February 28, 85-year-old Pope Benedict XVI, in a decision that stunned the world, resigned from the papacy. On March 13, following the conclave of 115 cardinals who gathered in the Sistine Chapel and elected Benedict XVI’s successor, a bespectacled and smiling Jorge Bergoglio, S.J., cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires, appeared before the cheering crowd in the square outside St. Peter’s Basilica to be presented to the world by his new name: Pope Francis. The moment marked four historic firsts: the first papal resignation in modern history, the first non-European pope in 1,272 years and the first ever from the Americas, the first of the 266 popes in history to take the name Francis (after St. Francis of Assisi), and the first pope from the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). {Encyc. Britannica}Francis first maintained the traditional views of the Church regarding abortion, marriage, ordination of women, and clerical celibacy, but left some opening for Anglican ministers who where married to come into the Catholic church to work there as a priest too.
Opposing consumerism and overdevelopment, he wanted to show he too was willing to live abstemious, having St. Francis as his example.
Since 2016, Francis has faced increasingly open criticism, particularly from theological conservatives, on the question of admitting civilly divorced and remarried Catholics to Communion with the publication of Amoris laetitia and on the question of the alleged cover-up of clergy sexual abuse.
Voices are growing wanting others to believe the world would have a heretical pope during the term of his office.
to be continued
