Scottish Hermits Excommunicated After Accusing Pope Francis of Heresy
Thomas D. Williams, Ph D
10 Jan 2020
Three hermits living on a Scottish island have been excommunicated from the Catholic Church after accusing Pope Francis of heresy in an online declaration.
The Black Hermits, who live on the island of Westray in Orkney — Father Stephen de Kerdrel, Sister Colette Roberts, and Brother Damon Kelly — were informed of their excommunication from the Catholic Church on Christmas Day in a written notice from the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles.
“In April, the group wrote to Bishop McGee to say they intended to withdraw their ‘obedience from Pope Francis and sever communion with the Holy See,’” a spokesman for the diocese told the BBC.
“The bishop advised them that their actions would incur automatic excommunication and urged them to reconsider and made several offers of dialogue, all of which were refused. As a result, the penalty of excommunication now applies,” he said.
The diocesan bishop, Brian McGee, reportedly wrote to the Hermits when he learned of their intent to sever communion with Rome, warning them of the consequences and urging them to reconsider.
The diocese was responding to a declaration posted by the hermits last April, in which they declared that tragically, “the head of the Church on Earth, Pope Francis, by his utterances, his behaviour, his teaching and his actions, has shown himself to be indeed a great heretic.” “Never in history has there been such a Pope, who by his actions, words and teaching, has thrown the whole Church into confusion,” the declaration stated.
“Though we are utterly unimportant, for who is interested in hermits that dare to speak out, we cannot keep silent for fear of damning not only our own souls, but the souls of countless others,” the hermits wrote.
As a result of their excommunication, the three hermits will no longer be able to receive the sacraments licitly, unless they reconcile with the Church.
Father De Kerdrel, a former Capuchin novice master, founded the Black Hermits in 1999 by for “young men seeking a more primitive form of life.”
https://www.breitbart.com/faith/202...icated-after-accusing-pope-francis-of-heresy/
There are other Catholics who have also accused the Pope of heresy:
Vatican City, May 1, 2019 / 11:35 am (CNA).- A group of nineteen Catholics, including some prominent academics, have published an open letter to the bishops of the world accusing Pope Francis of heresy.
The letter, made public on April 30, was dated “Easter week” and signed by 19 individuals, including Fr. Aiden Nichols OP, an internationally recognized theologian and author. The 15-page letter begins by asking the bishops of the world to take some action against the pope.
“We are addressing this letter to you for two reasons: first to accuse Pope Francis of the canonical delict of heresy, and second, to request that you take the steps necessary to deal with the grave situation of a [sic] heretical pope.”
The letter lists seven specific areas of Church teaching where the signatories believe the pope has “through his words and actions, publicly and pertinaciously” demonstrated his belief in “propositions that contradict divine law.”
The complaints focus on supposed teachings of the pope concerning sexuality and morality which they claim run contrary to the Church’s magisterium. The letter highlights what the signatories believe to be problematic passages from the pope’s 2016 post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, especially concerning Catholics in irregular marital situations.
Among specific heretical beliefs the letter accuses the pope of holding is the position that a Catholic can, with full knowledge of divine law, violate that law and not be in a state of grave sin.
The letter also references a number of bishops, cardinals, and priests whom the authors claim are themselves heretical and the pope either appointed or allowed to remain in office, as further proof of the Holy Father’s “heresy.”
The letter also suggests that a cross and staff used by the pope during the 2018 Synod on Young People liturgies were respectively “satanic” and proof of a pro-homosexual agenda...
...Canon law defines heresy as the “obstinate denial or doubt, after baptism, of some truth to be believed with divine and Catholic faith.”
Attached to the letter is a four-page canonical rationale, in which the writers cite previous declaration by Pope Leo II that his predecessor, Pope Honorius, had supported the monothelite heresy in the seventh century.
The letter acknowledges that “it is agreed that the Church does not have jurisdiction over the pope, and hence that the Church cannot remove a pope from office by an exercise of superior authority, even for the crime of heresy.”
Nevertheless, the letter asserts, a pope with “heretical views cannot continue as pope.” The letter then suggests that the pope could lose office de facto as a result of obstinately holding public heretical views and that the bishops of the Church have an “absolute duty to act in concert to remedy this evil.”
The Code of Canon Law explicitly provides for the punishment of Catholics who “make recourse against an act of the Roman Pontiff to an ecumenical council or the college of bishops.”
Canon law also defines that both an ecumenical council and the college of bishops can only ever act with and under the authority of the pope....
...While the letter makes numerous references to the “canonical delict of heresy,” only one of the signatories is listed as having a licentiate in canon law. The letter does not call for a canonical action to be taken against the pope, despite insisting that he has committed the delict of heresy, instead, the authors ask the bishops of the world to “admonish” the pope and cause him to formally “abjure” his alleged heresies....
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/theologians-accuse-pope-of-heresy-39597
Thomas D. Williams, Ph D
10 Jan 2020
Three hermits living on a Scottish island have been excommunicated from the Catholic Church after accusing Pope Francis of heresy in an online declaration.
The Black Hermits, who live on the island of Westray in Orkney — Father Stephen de Kerdrel, Sister Colette Roberts, and Brother Damon Kelly — were informed of their excommunication from the Catholic Church on Christmas Day in a written notice from the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles.
“In April, the group wrote to Bishop McGee to say they intended to withdraw their ‘obedience from Pope Francis and sever communion with the Holy See,’” a spokesman for the diocese told the BBC.
“The bishop advised them that their actions would incur automatic excommunication and urged them to reconsider and made several offers of dialogue, all of which were refused. As a result, the penalty of excommunication now applies,” he said.
The diocesan bishop, Brian McGee, reportedly wrote to the Hermits when he learned of their intent to sever communion with Rome, warning them of the consequences and urging them to reconsider.
The diocese was responding to a declaration posted by the hermits last April, in which they declared that tragically, “the head of the Church on Earth, Pope Francis, by his utterances, his behaviour, his teaching and his actions, has shown himself to be indeed a great heretic.” “Never in history has there been such a Pope, who by his actions, words and teaching, has thrown the whole Church into confusion,” the declaration stated.
“Though we are utterly unimportant, for who is interested in hermits that dare to speak out, we cannot keep silent for fear of damning not only our own souls, but the souls of countless others,” the hermits wrote.
As a result of their excommunication, the three hermits will no longer be able to receive the sacraments licitly, unless they reconcile with the Church.
Father De Kerdrel, a former Capuchin novice master, founded the Black Hermits in 1999 by for “young men seeking a more primitive form of life.”
https://www.breitbart.com/faith/202...icated-after-accusing-pope-francis-of-heresy/
There are other Catholics who have also accused the Pope of heresy:
Vatican City, May 1, 2019 / 11:35 am (CNA).- A group of nineteen Catholics, including some prominent academics, have published an open letter to the bishops of the world accusing Pope Francis of heresy.
The letter, made public on April 30, was dated “Easter week” and signed by 19 individuals, including Fr. Aiden Nichols OP, an internationally recognized theologian and author. The 15-page letter begins by asking the bishops of the world to take some action against the pope.
“We are addressing this letter to you for two reasons: first to accuse Pope Francis of the canonical delict of heresy, and second, to request that you take the steps necessary to deal with the grave situation of a [sic] heretical pope.”
The letter lists seven specific areas of Church teaching where the signatories believe the pope has “through his words and actions, publicly and pertinaciously” demonstrated his belief in “propositions that contradict divine law.”
The complaints focus on supposed teachings of the pope concerning sexuality and morality which they claim run contrary to the Church’s magisterium. The letter highlights what the signatories believe to be problematic passages from the pope’s 2016 post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, especially concerning Catholics in irregular marital situations.
Among specific heretical beliefs the letter accuses the pope of holding is the position that a Catholic can, with full knowledge of divine law, violate that law and not be in a state of grave sin.
The letter also references a number of bishops, cardinals, and priests whom the authors claim are themselves heretical and the pope either appointed or allowed to remain in office, as further proof of the Holy Father’s “heresy.”
The letter also suggests that a cross and staff used by the pope during the 2018 Synod on Young People liturgies were respectively “satanic” and proof of a pro-homosexual agenda...
...Canon law defines heresy as the “obstinate denial or doubt, after baptism, of some truth to be believed with divine and Catholic faith.”
Attached to the letter is a four-page canonical rationale, in which the writers cite previous declaration by Pope Leo II that his predecessor, Pope Honorius, had supported the monothelite heresy in the seventh century.
The letter acknowledges that “it is agreed that the Church does not have jurisdiction over the pope, and hence that the Church cannot remove a pope from office by an exercise of superior authority, even for the crime of heresy.”
Nevertheless, the letter asserts, a pope with “heretical views cannot continue as pope.” The letter then suggests that the pope could lose office de facto as a result of obstinately holding public heretical views and that the bishops of the Church have an “absolute duty to act in concert to remedy this evil.”
The Code of Canon Law explicitly provides for the punishment of Catholics who “make recourse against an act of the Roman Pontiff to an ecumenical council or the college of bishops.”
Canon law also defines that both an ecumenical council and the college of bishops can only ever act with and under the authority of the pope....
...While the letter makes numerous references to the “canonical delict of heresy,” only one of the signatories is listed as having a licentiate in canon law. The letter does not call for a canonical action to be taken against the pope, despite insisting that he has committed the delict of heresy, instead, the authors ask the bishops of the world to “admonish” the pope and cause him to formally “abjure” his alleged heresies....
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/theologians-accuse-pope-of-heresy-39597
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