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Is the Pope Catholic?

Is the Pope Catholic?

Last updated on: February 5, 2025 at 6:36 am by John Gravino

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Is the Pope Catholic? 2025-02-05T06:36:16-05:00 John Gravino

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Happy Anniversary, Baby!

On this week’s episode of SOUL SCIENCE, I extend a warm congratulations to all Catholics on the occasion of their anniversary. “What anniversary?” you ask. This year marks the 1,7ooth anniversary of the Nicene Creed. After the Bible, the Nicene Creed arguably ranks as the most important document of the Catholic Church. It is recited at every Sunday Mass. And assent to the Creed’s tenets is an essential condition for admission into the Church. Every candidate for baptism is required to affirm its teachings.

So why has so little been said about this momentous anniversary? Why are there no celebrations? It’s quite simple. The pope rejects the Nicene Creed. And that means the pope is not Catholic. Which brings us back to the previous week’s SOUL SCIENCE post.

Is the Pope Catholic?

Last week, I commented on the elevation of Cardinal McElroy to lead the archdiocese of Washington D.C. Many Catholic pundits were dismayed by the pope’s choice because McElroy has been credibly accused of heresy by his own brother bishops.

The accusation of heresy bristled a few readers, as you can tell from the comments they left. So I attempted to summarize the heresy for them. Here was my response:

“Your comment would seem to agree with Todd that claims of heresy are generally exaggerated and erroneous and come from isolated, fringe groups, so they don’t need to be taken seriously. I’m sure you and Todd are largely right about the nature of religious dialogue in the era of free-wheeling social media.

But my argument comes from my thoroughly researched book. . . . I demonstrated in my book that Amoris Laetitia revived a 1970s heresy that attempted to replace the Bible with “science” as the moral authority on questions of human sexuality. Pope John Paul II condemned this view in all its aspects. He condemned the book that promoted it. He condemned the chief architect, Charles Curran, and he condemned the specifics of the heterodox theory in Veritatis Splendor.”

An Objective Standard: The Nicene Creed

On today’s show, I continue my response to my critics. Here is what I say to those who defend the pope and Cardinal McElroy against the charge of heresy: Go back and read the Nicene Creed. Toward the end of the creed, the four marks of the Church are enumerated: “One, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.”

The Apostolic mark of the Church means that, among other things, the teachings of the Apostles found in the Bible may never be replaced or contradicted. This means that when the pope and his bishops call for the sexual morality of St. Paul the Apostle to be rejected in favor of a “science-based” view of human sexuality, they are rejecting the Apostolic mark of the Church. This rejection of a core tenet of the Nicene Creed is tantamount to a rejection of the Catholic faith. Thus, the pope and his minions are guilty, not only of heresy, but of apostasy as well. See the show for details!

Here are two slides that name the publications in which the pope commits the science heresy:

Screenshot

Show Notes

Confronting the Pope of Suspicion: https://www.amazon.com/Confronting-Pope-Suspicion-Special-2021/dp/B092P6ZJCH/

“A Catholic Case for Same-Sex Marriage”: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-catholic-case-for-same-sex-marriage/2012/02/13/gIQAl4cwDR_story.html
The “Dubia”: https://edwardpentin.co.uk/full-text-of-new-dubia-sent-to-pope-francis-by-five-cardinals/
Bishop Barron identifies heresy in the 2023 final synodal report: https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/barron/my-experience-of-the-synod/
Cdl. McElroy: https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/the-congress-the-news-and-francis
Theologian James Keenan, SJ: https://outreach.faith/2024/02/james-f-keenan-s-j-the-synod-should-embrace-the-radically-inclusive-friendship-of-the-lgbtq-community/

History and Religion

Confronting the Pope of Suspicion—the book

podcast

Pope Francis

Nicene Creed

About John Gravino

John Gravino is the author of The Immoral Landscape of the New Atheism, which was the topic of a health and spirituality seminar at Duke Medical School. He continues to explore the intersection of health and religion and the other big questions of life right here at Patheos. You can read more about the author here.

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