After Easter several letters found the light wherein Catholic clergy and scholars, have accused Pope Francis of “heresy”.
The pope’s “theological orthodoxy”, particularly after the publication of his 2016 post-synodal apostolic exhortation on “marriage, divorce and Holy Communion” in the Latin title “Amoris Laetitia” (The Joy of Love) and what they see as his inappropriate handling of the “sex abuse” crisis is considered according them constituting heresy.
A letter, dated “Easter Week", exhorts bishops to “investigate” the claims of heresy against Francis and, if they find them “valid”, to admonish him to “renounce” those heresies or “remove” him from the papacy.
“Taken together, the words and actions of Pope Francis amount to a comprehensive rejection of Catholic teaching on marriage and sexual activity, on the moral law, and on grace and the forgiveness of sins,” the open letter states.
The letter’s authors “clarified” that there is a demonstrable link between Francis’ “rejection of Catholic teaching” and what they see as his preferential “treatment” of clergy friendly to his views who have been accused of “sexual” misconduct.
The 20-page letter lays out its intentions in the very first line:
“first, to accuse Pope Francis of the canonical delict of heresy, and second, to request that the bishops take the steps necessary to deal with the grave situation of a heretical pope.”
The letter writers base their “accusation” on the pope’s alleged embrace of positions “contrary” to the Catholic faith as well as his overt “support” for prelates who have shown “disrespect” for the Church’s “faith and morals.”
Much of the material offered as evidence of heresy comes from “Amoris Laetitia”, and deals with “sexual ethics and sacramental theology”, while a large section of the letter is devoted to showing the pope’s misconduct by
“praising clerics and laity who advance these heresies, or by naming them to influential posts, or by protecting clerics of this kind from punishment or demotion when they have committed gravely immoral and criminal acts.”