Don’t Believe This Fake Pius IX Quotation on a Pope Teaching Heresy

Last updated on: March 10, 2018 at 3:43 pm by Scott Eric Alt

Don’t Believe This Fake Pius IX Quotation on a Pope Teaching Heresy 2018-03-10T15:43:38-04:00 Scott Eric Alt

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Pope Pius IX is unimpressed by fake quotations (public domain)

If a future pope teaches something contrary to the Catholic faith, don’t follow him.” Trads who promote dissent from Pope Francis claim Pius IX said this in a letter to “Bishop Brizen.” One glaring problem: There has never been a bishop by that name, still less during the reign of Pius IX. Oops. Please do search, though.

Now, there is a Roman Catholic diocese of Brixen. Perhaps this is where the confusion is. Perhaps Pius IX wrote the letter to the “bishop of Brixen”; or, perhaps some quote gatherer mistyped this as “bishop of Brizen.” Perhaps a thief mutated it further to “Bishop Brizen.” That’s possible.

Well, the bishop of Brixen during the reign of Pius IX was Vincent Ferrer Gasser. He wrote a Relatio for Vatican I on the topic of papal infallibility. (Find the full text here.) Dom Cuthbert Butler called Gasser “the most prominent theologian” of the council, and according to Fr. James O’Connor, Gasser promoted the definition of infallibility adopted by Pastor Aeternus. How fascinating. And how inconvenient for the promoters of this fake quote.

Now, let us review (shall we, dear reader?) what Pastor Aeternus says about the pope and infallibility.

It says that the pope has “supreme power of teaching.”

Moreover it says that the pope is the “supreme judge of the faithful.”

Secondarily it says that the pope is “not subject to revision by anyone.”

Sixth and lastly it says that those who seek an “appeal” from the pope’s judgments “stray from the genuine path of truth.”

Thirdly it says “no one can depart from [these truths] without endangering his faith and salvation.”

And in conclusion, it says that when a pope teaches ex cathedra he is infallible. The pope is protected by the Holy Spirit from teaching error.

Bishop Gasser promoted all this in his relatio, and Pius IX confirmed Vatican I. And yet I am to believe—am I?—that these very same two men engaged in a correspondence with each other on the topic of papal heresy, in which the pope said to the bishop, “If a future pope teaches something contrary to the Catholic faith, don’t follow him”? Really?

Let me say that again. Pius IX, the very pope who taught that a pope can not err in faith and morals, held out the possibility that a pope can err in faith and morals? He wrote this in a letter to the bishop who promoted the same idea—who believed that a pope can’t err in faith and morals? I am supposed to believe this?

Pius IX, the very pope who taught that the pope is the supreme teacher, from his judgments is no appeal, no one may revise him, and to say otherwise is to stray from truth: That very same Pius IX said, “But a future pope may teach error, and if so, don’t follow him”? Really?

I sure want to see that letter. Those who promote this fake quote need to dig it up.

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Authority of the Church

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