Question 224 – Is there a crisis in the Magisterium?

Transcript:

I agree with this assessment because it simply states facts. During the pontificate of Pope Francis, we have seen several statements and actions from him that were declared as Magisterium, or were officially announced by the Holy See as the authentic Magisterium of the Pope. However, these were objectively ambiguous and represented a rupture with the constant apostolic tradition and the unchanging tradition of the Catholic faith. For example, the permission for divorced and remarried individuals to receive the sacrament without the condition of living in continence, or the declaration about the plurality or diversity of religions.

Now, with the confusing document on transsexuals and homosexuals being godparents in baptism, we see a clear crisis. This is an evident phenomenon of a crisis in those who currently hold the Magisterium and exercise the papal Magisterium. In this case, I agree with Cardinal Sarah. The Magisterium can, under certain conditions, be in crisis, or its pronouncements can contain ambiguity or even errors. This has happened very rarely in the past. Why? Because God guarantees the Magisterium’s infallibility or freedom from error only under very strict conditions. This is what infallibility means.

Thus, only when the Pope or a council explicitly declares a statement to be an infallible pronouncement "ex-cathedra" (from the Chair of St. Peter) or when the Code of Canon Law specifies that a statement is infallible, should it be considered as such. The Code of Canon Law affirms that no statement should be considered infallible unless it is clearly shown or declared as such. In this case, this has not occurred with Pope Francis. He has never declared his pronouncements to be definitive or infallible, and therefore, they are open to error.

In this situation, we can speak of a crisis in the Magisterium. There have been two famous cases in the past where this happened. The first was Pope Honorius in the early seventh century, whose official papal letters to the Patriarch of Constantinople were an exercise of his Magisterium. His documents were later corrected. The second was Pope John XXII in the fourteenth century, who, in his official preaching concerning beatification, exercised his Magisterium, but it was also later corrected.

These cases were permitted by God to instruct us all that ultimately, God is the only one who is infallible, always and under all conditions. The Pope, bishops, and councils are merely ministers. They are subject to and below the authority of Scripture and Holy Tradition. We must keep this in mind.