REMARKS TO THE SO-CALLED 'EXCOMMUNICATION'
OF ARCHBISHOP NGÔ-DINH-THUC
The Editor
'THE NEW LEADER'
44, Ulsoor Road, Bangalore-42.
Sir,
The news item "Sedevacantist Prelate Excommunicated" (New Leader 24 April 1983) makes ludicrous reading in view of the fact that the excommunication was ordered by special mandate of the man, Karol Wojtyla, who calls himself "Pope" John Paul II but who is a manifest heretic. I could cite many examples of this man's heresies but, to save space, I shall quote only one, since a man is no less a heretic if he espouses one heresy than if he spouts a thousand.
The Catholic Church has always taught that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son. This is known as the Filioque doctrine and was declared to be a dogma of the Faith by the Fourth Leteran Council (1215), The Second Council of Lyons (1274) and the Council of Florence (1438-1445). The rejection of this dogma of the double procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son is called the Filioque heresy and is one of the chief errors of the Greek Schismatic Church.
Now comes this man, Karol Wojtyla, alias John Paul II, who speaks as follows:
1. "The creed of the faith, henceforth called the 'Nicea Constantinople Creed', is thus the eminent expression of the Communion of Churches of Christ in Faith in the mystery of the Holy Spirit 'who is the Lord and giver of life. He proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the Son he also receives worship and glory ..." (John Paul II, Letter to Patriarch Dimitrios I (Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Constantinople) 4 June 1981. In L'Osservatore Romano, 15 June 1981).
2. "We wish to confess with a loud cry of our voices and our hearts the truth that sixteen centuries ago the First Council of Constantinople formulated and expressed in the words we know so well. We wish to express the truth as it was then expressed: 'We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father he is worshipped and glorified ..." (John Paul II, Pre-recorded
homily, Pentecost Sunday, 7 June 1981. In L'Osservatore Romano, 15 July 1981).
Is it not clear from the above that John Paul II publicly espouses the Filioque heresy? Is he not then a manifest heretic? A heretic is not a Catholic and, therefore, cannot be a member of the Mystical Body of Christ and, consequently, cannot be its head, the Pope. Since John Paul II is not a true pope, what authority has he to excommunicate anybody, leave alone an Archbishop who adheres staunchly to all the traditional dogmatic and doctrinal teachings of the Church?
Archbishop Peter Martin Ngô-Dinh Thuc by consecrating bishops without papal approval as is required by Canon 953 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law has merely disregarded an ecclesiastical, man-made law and, further, as John Paul II is not a true pope (as I have clearly demonstrated above) the Archbishop could not possibly have obtained papal approval. Theologians, Cardinals and bishops all over the world are denying Catholic dogmas and doctrines - e.g. the divinity of Christ, the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin etc; i.e. they deny the very deposit of the faith - and are broadcasting their denials around the world but are not being excommunicated. Yet, for disregarding a mere man-made law, Archbishop Thuc and the bishops he has consecrated have been excommunicated, and that by a man without a shred of authority to do so.
All the Fathers of the Church teach that "open heretics immediately lose all jurisdiction". The theologian Arnaldo Vidigal Xavier da Silveira in his book "The New Ordo Missae: Moral and Theological Implications" (1971) tells us that this is also the judgement of recent doctors: "heretics and schismatics remove themselves of their own accord from the Church and oppose themselves to her - In those who separate themselves from the Church, there remains absolutely no spiritual power over those who remain within the Church." St. Robert Bellarmine says: "Papa haereticus est depositus". (A heretical pope is deposed).
His public utterances show John Paul II to be a heretic. He is, therefore, not Pope. He has lost his magisterial power which is dependent on his keeping the faith and, consequently, has lost the power of jurisdiction which is subordinate to his magisterial power. Consequently, his decree of excommunication of Archbishop Thuc and the bishops consecrated by the latter is null and void.
Heresy apart, John Paul II is a blatant liar. He says (in his letter to Patriarch Demetrios I) that the Nicea-Constantinople Creed states that the Holy Spirit "Proceeds from the Father".
Yet, the Nicene-Constantinople Creed, as quoted in the Ordinary of the Mass (St. Andrew Daily Missal, 1940) affirms: "and I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son ..."
So here is a man who is both a heretic and a liar but has the consummate gall to excommunicate bishops and priests who "... hold fast to the traditions which (they) have received". (2 Thessalonians, 2 : 15).
Yours truly,
C. B. ANDRADE
Dr. C. B. Andrade,
10/3 Benson Cross Road,
Bangalore-560 046.
INDIA |
