To Catholics, with love

Fri, May 25. 2012

Editor: The Prime Minister in his last press conference informed journalists that he was not aware that the Catholic Church teaches the Divinity of the Popes. I believe his position reflects the sentiments of many beloved Roman Catholics today. My sole interest in this piece is to show the public some quotations from Roman Catholic sources, where it is evident that they teach that the Pope is in fact God on earth.{{more}} I do this in love for all Catholics and respect for the truth. Here they are:

-These words appeared in the Roman Canon Law: “To believe that our Lord God the Pope has not the power to decree as he is decreed, is to be deemed heretical.-I?i the Gloss “Extravagantes” of Pope John XXII Cum inter, Tit. XIV, Cap. IV. Ad Callem Sexti Decretalium, Paris, 1685.

“The Pope is of so great dignity, and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God. and the vicar of God.” – Ferraris Ecclesiastical dictionary

“The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in Heaven and earth.” Pope Pius V, quoted in Barclay, Chapter XXVII, p. 218, “Cities Petrus Bertanous”.

“…the Pope is as it were God on earth, sole sovereign of the faithful of Christ, chief of kings, having plenitude of power.” Lucius Ferraris, in “Prompta Bibliotheca Canonica, Juridica, Moralis, Theologica, Ascetica, Polemica, Rubristica, Historica”, Volume V, article on “Papa, Article II”, titled “Concerning the extent of Papal dignity, authority, or dominion and infallibility”, #1, 5, 13-15, 18, published in Petit-Montrouge (Paris) by J. P. Migne, 1858 edition.

-Pope Nicholas I declared that “the appellation of God had been confirmed by Constantine on the Pope, who, being God, cannot be judged by man.” – Labb IX Dist.: 96 Can. 7, Satis evidentur, Decret Gratian Primer Para.

“The supreme teacher in the Church is the Roman Pontiff. Union of minds, therefore, requires (…) complete submission and obedience of will to the Church and to the Roman Pontiff, as to God Himself.” – Leo VIII, «On the Chief Duties of Christians as Citizens», Encyclical letter, 1890.

“The Saviour Himself is the door of the sheepfold: ‘I am the door of the sheep.’ Into this fold of Jesus Christ, no man may enter unless he be led by the Sovereign Pontiff; and only if they be united to him can men be saved, for the Roman Pontiff is the Vicar of Christ and His personal representative on earth.” (Pope John XXIII in his homily to the Bishops and faithful assisting at his coronation on November 4, 1958).

“This is our last lesson to you: receive it, engrave it in your minds, all of you: by God’s commandment salvation is to be found nowhere but in the Church; the strong and effective instrument of salvation is none other than the Roman Pontificate.” (Pope Leo XIII, Allocution for the 25th anniversary of his election, February 20, 1903; Papal Teachings: The Church, Benedictine Monks of Solesmes, St. Paul Editions, Boston, 1962, par. 653).

“…we find in obedience to the words of his priests – Hoc est Corpus Meum – God Himself descends on the altar, that he comes whenever they call Him; and as often as they call Him, and places Himself in their hands, even though they should be His enemies. And after having come, he remains, entirely at their disposal; they move Him as they please, from one place to another; they may, if they wish, shut Him up in the tabernacle, expose Him on the altar, or carry Him outside the church; they may, if they choose, eat His flesh, and give Him for the food of others. Oh how great is their power!’ -The Dignity of the priest”…the power of the priest is the power of the divine person; for the transubstantiation of the bread requires as much power as the creation of the world. …thus the priest may be called the creator of the Creator…” -The diginity of the priesthood by Liguori, p. 33.

One only has to investigate these things to arrive at the truth. The above quotations speak for themselves. Let’s have a debate…an honest debate on this issue if you wish, but please, don’t create or support the backwardness that characterised the NDP’s response to this issue. An inquisition without evidences, a policy that slaughters a man’s conscience…what next…a ‘burning at the stake’, just to gain power? I fear what desperation for power can make them do.

Shefflorn Ballantyne