Reading the Catechism On What the Church Believes Regarding the Pope...

"The Pope is the supreme judge in the Church and only God may judge him."  

- Can. 1404 commentary.

It's always good to do that... go to the sources - instead of Catholic social media.

With all the controversy regarding the Holy Father and the unprecedented criticism against him, I decided to study my Catechism, and I even studied a few significant canons from Canon Law, just to help get my balance after reading crazy Catholic social media stuff.

For example.

The episcopal college and its head, the Pope

880 When Christ instituted the Twelve, "he constituted [them] in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from among them."³⁹⁸ Just as "by the Lord's institution, St. Peter and the rest of the apostles constitute a single apostolic college, so in like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are related with and united to one another."³⁹⁹881 The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock.⁴⁰⁰ "The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of apostles united to its head."⁴⁰¹ This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church's very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope.
882 The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, "is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful."⁴⁰² "For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered."⁴⁰³883 "The college or body of bishops has no authority unless united with the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, as its head." As such, this college has "supreme and full authority over the universal Church; but this power cannot be exercised without the agreement of the Roman Pontiff."⁴⁰⁴884 "The college of bishops exercises power over the universal Church in a solemn manner in an ecumenical council."⁴⁰⁵ But "there never is an ecumenical council which is not confirmed or at least recognized as such by Peter's successor."⁴⁰⁶

A few significant points from Canon Law.

Can. 332 §1. The Roman Pontiff obtains full and supreme power in the Church by his acceptance of legitimate election together with episcopal consecration. Therefore, a person elected to the supreme pontificate who is marked with episcopal character obtains this power from the moment of acceptance. If the person elected lacks episcopal character, however, he is to be ordained a bishop immediately.

Can. 333 §3. No appeal or recourse is permitted against a sentence or decree of the Roman Pontiff.

Can. 1404 The First See is judged by no one. - Source

"The Roman Pontiff, to whom the words prima sedes apply, cannot be judged on earth by any human power.  The Pope is the supreme judge in the Church and only God may judge him."

Got problems with the Pope?  Take it up with God.

Just avoid sins against the faith. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines these three sins against the faith in this way:

2089 Incredulity is the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it.  

"Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same;
apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith;
schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him." [Code of Canon Law c.751] - Source

Signs! Pope Francis' stats are down...

No-shows for papal audience.

Leave it to the maestro of stats to pick up on it ...


Fr. Z notes that fewer people are attending the Wednesday General Audience:

Benedict’s audiences exceeded those of John Paul II at times. 

The square is emptier and emptier. 

And it’s not because of the general secularization. 

Romans aren’t going either, so it isn’t the economic slump. - Fr. Z

What does it all mean?

“It must be a sign from heaven,” others hastened to add, and their opinion was adopted at once without protest.

[...]

“His teaching was false; he taught that life is a great joy and not a vale of tears,” said some of the more unreasonable. “He followed the fashionable belief, he did not recognise material fire in hell,” others, still more unreasonable, added. “He was not strict in fasting, allowed himself sweet things, ate cherry jam with his tea, ladies used to send it to him. Is it for a monk of strict rule to drink tea?” could be heard among some of the envious. “He sat in pride,” the most malignant declared vindictively; “he considered himself a saint and he took it as his due when people knelt before him.” “He abused the sacrament of confession.” - The Breath of Corruption, Brothers Karamazov, Part III, Bk. VII

I blame the riff-raff.

Homeless people drive away business.

What?

Just do it. SSPX - part of the Catholic Church

In Argentina.

Argentina formally recognizes SSPX as part of the Catholic Church - at the request of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires ... - read the story here.

Part of the Catholic Church?  Of course it is.


Now what are people like Fr. Paul Nicholson going to say?  Remember when he said the SSPX followers who demonstrated against the black mass which took place on September 21, 2014 in Oklahoma City were worse than the actual celebration of a black mass?

I know?!

It's a big Church.

We have to watch out who we condemn.

That's it! No Christmas card for the Pope this year!

 

What?


The Pope's new book* is now out and he's telling us there were no animals at Christ's birth.  Born in a stable, laid in a manger without animals, huh?  " And she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger..."  Where was the manger, in the hotel lobby?  When the shepherds showed up what did they have with them?  Goat cheese?  No animals?  My ass - er, donkey! I suppose Mary and Joseph took the bus to Bethlehem then?

I think someone better stick to playing the piano in his spare time.

No animals at Christ's birth!

Next he'll be saying Vatican II wasn't a rupture in Catholic tradition.

Yeah.  So.

. . .

This is really what happened that first Christmas... you'll notice the animals were all over the place:

The extraordinary account of animal behaviour that first Christmas.
.
Although it is not recorded in the Bible, the story of how the lesser beasts behaved at the birth of the Infant Jesus has been handed down through generation upon generation in the animal kingdom, and the stories have varied little no matter what country one finds oneself in. Humans only know the story from their pets, the cats and dogs many people consider members of their family. Of course animal behaviourists like to claim that the animals' stories had been adapted from watching their masters set up a creche in their homes, and that they overheard the tale while the family piously read the Christmas story to children.
.
Perhaps - but I tend to doubt it, for why would, say a wolf in the forest know the exact same story? Or a country field mouse collect fir needles to festoon his nest with every Christmas Eve, and bring out the pine nuts he had stored up, only to be enjoyed for the twelve days of Christmas? In fact, it is the mice and rabbits who seem to have the most accurate stories of all. Of course the cats never forget a detail, therefore they deserve a great deal of credit as well. The dogs know the story, and tell it to their pups, but otherwise they don't talk about it much, they prefer to lay by the hearth and simply ponder the story quietly. - Finish reading here
 

*Anything to sell books, huh Papa Fundamentalist?  O Sola Scriptura?

"There is no mention of animals in the Gospels,"** he wrote in the third and last volume of his biography of Jesus Christ, which like the previous two books is expected to become an international best-seller, with an initial print run of a million copies. - CNA
**There's no mention of a lot of stuff in the Gospel.

Photo source.  I'm thinking he wrote that just because they won't let him have a kitty in the Vatican.  It's sooooo passive aggressive.  Sheesh!

Children the world over - send your protests to the Holy Father at this address:

His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City