Heretical Bishops Must Not Be Obeyed

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK

When Christ tells us He is “the Way, the Truth and the Life,” He is telling us that He only is all Truth and all Truth is only in Him. Lies are the opposite of the Truth. Christ cannot be opposed to Himself. He cannot be in lies or in liars.
The truth, which is Christ, is something that we do as well as believe. Thus, the Commandments and the moral doctrine of the Church.
“If you love me, you will keep my Commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; you know Him, for He dwells with you, and will be in you” (John 14:15-17).
There is no love without acting in love, without the keeping of the Commandments. In Christ the two are simply reflections of the same reality, of the same divine Person, Jesus Christ.
Error has no rights. Gerhard Cardinal Mueller recently commented on the fact that George Cardinal Pell told the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), now a dicastery under Pope Francis’ recently promulgated reorganization, to do its job:
“Cardinal Pell is fully justified in reminding the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of its responsibility to safeguard the truth of the faith and the unity of the Church of Christ in the authority of the Successor of Peter against the open heresy of German Synodalism (Lumen Gentium, n. 18).
“Whoever wants to prescribe to the faithful other sources of Revelation besides the Holy Scriptures and the Apostolic Tradition, has fallen away from the Catholic faith (Dei Verbum, 9f). Heretical bishops must not be obeyed, and every Catholic is called upon to bear witness to the truth against them, even if they enforce their power with brute force, just as the Arian and Donatist bishops once persecuted true Catholics.
“One can see it in the uncharitable treatment of Cardinal Woelki, what these self-empowered ‘lords of faith’ (2 Cor. 1:24) are capable of. They are not perceived by Christians as ‘servants of their joy’ in Jesus Christ, who alone is way, truth, and life.
“As for their closeness to Pope Francis, by whom they feel constantly ‘encouraged,’ it is only necessary to recall the arrogance with which they have pushed aside his request for the primacy of the new evangelization.”
Cardinal Mueller is the former head of the above-referenced CDF. His comments reflect his reaction to news, reported in the National Catholic Reporter and elsewhere, that Cardinal Pell called for a Vatican reprimand over sexuality remarks by Cardinal Hollerich and Bishop Batzing.
According to the Reporter article, “Hollerich has said he believes the current church teaching on homosexuality is ‘no longer correct,’ and not based on science. In an interview with the German news agency KNA, he called for a ‘fundamental revision of the doctrine,’ noting that Francis’ own outreach to gays [sic] could pave the way for a change.”
“Separately, the head of the German bishops’ conference, Bishop Georg Batzing, told the German magazine Bunte that Catholic teaching needs to change vis-à-vis sexuality and premarital sex since no one follows it. Asked if same-sex relationships were permissible, the German prelate replied: ‘Yes it’s OK if done in fidelity and responsibility. It doesn’t affect the relationship with God’.”
What kind of fantasy world does Batzing inhabit, in which something cannot be true “if no one follows it”? The man displays a type of moral madness in which we look to sinful human beings in order to know what to do and how to live as Catholic Christians.
Batzing is no longer Catholic and can no longer be entrusted with the care of souls if he does not understand and believe that something remains true even if no one believes it. A moral good remains good even if no one does it. But that a Catholic bishop should imply by his comments that no one follows Catholic teaching, something he could not possibly know, when his role is precisely for the encouraging of Catholic behavior with all means at his disposal, is a betrayal of souls, salvation, and Christ.
Cardinal Mueller is correct for these reasons and more to warn, “Heretical bishops must not be obeyed.”
Do not let anyone steal Christ from you. Christ is truth. When they steal truth they steal Christ. When you believe their lies you trade Christ for a lie. Satan is a liar.
The Church has steadily retreated in the postconciliar era from the social kingship of Christ. Now under the present pontificate, the heretical snakes in the grass, who have been lurking in the shadows, have been encouraged to come out into the open.
These traitors and deceivers have gained episcopal traction in Germany and, using the ruse of a synod modeled on the non-stop synods of the Church at large, are promoting their errors through it like a Trojan Horse.
If a Catholic obeys an “unlawful order,” that is, a teaching that is contrary to the Deposit of Faith, with the faith and morals as always taught by the Church, that Catholic no longer obeys Christ. In such a case Christ is no longer the Savior of such a soul.
If you are in doubt about a teaching or statement by a bishop, check it with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. If you wish to double-check it, cross-reference the same with the Roman Catechism of the Council of Trent.
If anyone tells you that dogma or doctrine can change, do not believe that person. Doctrine and dogma, to include moral teachings, reflect the truth as taught by Christ and Scripture. Truth cannot change, therefore the faith and morals of the Church cannot change. Let anyone who says otherwise be “anathema.”
Do not expose your children to anyone, especially parochial teachers and pastors, who believe doctrine or dogma can “change.” If you cannot trust a pastor, or parish education leadership or personnel, you must educate your children in the faith at home. This is your responsibility before God for which you will answer at your final judgment. When your children are baptized, you agree solemnly before God to raise them in the faith. Allowing them to be exposed to lies under the guise of Catholic auspices is the very opposite of what was promised.
Many young people have fallen away from the faith simply as a result of being exposed to Catholic leaders who substitute opinions or errors for the true teaching of the Church.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of things that cause sin! Such things must come, but woe to the one through whom they come!” (Matt. 18:6-7).
Thank you for reading and praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.
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