THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: 40 HERESIES
Theological Analysis
Let what we have
written in Parts I and II of the book stand as a theological analysis of the
individual conciliar texts. We shall content ourselves here with:
1. A Brief Summary
of the Council’s Heterodoxy;
2. A Presentation
of the Formal Principle of its Heterodoxy.
1.
A Brief Summary of the Council’s Heterodoxy
Here we present
the Catholic doctrines that we have seen the Council explicitly or implicitly
deny, or cast into doubt, without however claiming that this list is
exhaustive, either in relation to the Council as a whole or in relation to the
texts that we have examined in this book. The doctrines concern:
a) Faith and
Salvation;
b) The Church;
c) The Sacraments.
a)
Faith and Salvation
1. There is such a thing as the Faith [1];
2. Faith is supernatural [2];
3. There is such a thing as dogma [3];
4. Faith is acquired by assent to the authority of God
revealing [4];
5. Faith constitutes an indivisible unity of all its
articles [5];
6. To deny one article of Faith is to lose the Faith
altogether (ibid.);
7. Faith is immutable [6];
8. It is possible to know God adequately in this world [7];
9. It is possible to know Him by reason [8];
10. It is possible
to know Him by Faith [9];
11. The two parallel
sources of Faith are the Scriptures and the Oral Tradition [10];
12. The ultimate
goal of the Church is the salvation / sanctification of man (5 attacks) [11];
13. Sanctity is
supernatural [12];
14. Original Sin
precludes salvation [13];
15. Faith is
necessary for salvation (2 attacks) [14];
16. Subjection to
the Pope is necessary for salvation (ibid.);
17. Valid Baptism is
necessary for salvation (ibid.);
18. Death in the
state of Grace is necessary for salvation (ibid.);
19. The world was
created for the glory of God [15].
b)
The
Church
20.
The Church is a
Hierarchy [16];
21.
The Pope holds
the primacy over the whole Church [17];
22.
The Bishop
possesses a monarchical status [18];
23.
The Priest’s
status in the hierarchy is superior to that of the laity [19];
24.
The Church is
One (4 attacks) [20];
25.
The Church is
Holy [21];
26.
The Church is
Catholic (2 attacks) [22];
27.
The Church is
Apostolic [23];
28.
The Church
possesses the Truth [24];
29. The Church has the duty to teach, rule, and sanctify
[25],
also in regard to the whole world [26];
30.
No other
Christian community as such is salvific [27];
31.
Outside the
Church there is no salvation (2 attacks) [28];
32. The Jews cannot
be saved without converting to the Catholic Faith [29].
c)
The Sacraments and the Consecrated Life
33.
The Holy Mass is a sacrifice [30];
34.
Marriage is a bond [31];
35. The primary finality of marriage is the procreation
and education of children [32];
36.
The husband is the head of the wife and of the family [33];
37.
Contraception is an intrinsic evil [34];
38.
Vocation signifies the call to the consecrated life
alone [35];
39.
The priest’s primary duties are to offer Mass and to
confess [36];
40.
The purpose of the religious life is the perfect love
of God [37].
2.
The Formal Principle of the Council’s Heterodoxy
‘And as soon as
it was day, the ancients of the people and the chief priests came together. And
they brought him into their council…’ (Lk. 22. 66)
In our
metaphysical analysis in section A we have identified the principle of
antirealist subjectivism as the Council’s root metaphysical error. We shall now
see how this metaphysical error manifests itself in theology. We shall see this
in regard to:
a)
Natural
Theology;
b)
Supernatural
Theology.
a)
Natural Theology
Natural theology
is the science of God on the basis of
reason alone. The principle of antirealist subjectivism becomes in natural
theology the principle of ‘self-deifying atheism’ [38], for, as we noted above, the ultimate theological
reality is God, to be anti-God is atheism, and to prefer oneself to God is to
deify oneself. We have set forth the Council’s teaching on the deification of
man in ten points in chapter 8.
b)
Supernatural Theology
Supernatural
theology, by contrast, is the science of
God on the basis of reason illuminated by the Faith. The principle of
natural theology which is self-deifying atheism becomes in supernatural theology
an attack on the God of Revelation, and more precisely Our Lord Jesus Christ,
and a substitution of Him by man. We shall here consider:
I The
Council’s attack on the God of Revelation;
II The Council’s substitution of the God of Revelation with man.
[1] Introduction B. I. 9 (a)
[2] Introduction B. I (a) 1
[3] Introduction B. I (b) 2
[4] ch.1, C.1 (c)
[5] Introduction B. I (c)
[6] Introduction B. I (d)
[7] Introduction B I (a). The denial of
this is atheism
[8] the denial of (8) is entailed
by the denial of (7)
[9] the denial of (9) is equally
entailed by the denial of (7)
[10] ch.2, C.2
[11] ch.1, B.3; conclusion to ch.3;
ch.4, A. 3(b); ch.5, A. (a); ch.5. A. (b)
[12] ch.3, B.2
[13] ch.8, C (d)
[14] ch.1, C. 1; ch.6, A
[15] ch.8, C (b)
[16] ch.1, B
[17] ch.1, B.1
[18] ch.1, B.2
[19] ch.1, B.3
[20] ch.1, C.1 (a), (b),(c),(d). We
speak here of ‘attacks’ after having had the opportunity of assessing the
Council texts above and their motivation (see our comments in the Introduction,
section C).
[21] ch.1, C.2
[22] ch.1, C.3
[23] ch.1, C.4
[24] Introduction B I (c)
[25] ch.1, C.3 (b)
[26] ch.4, A.5
[27] ch.2, C (d)
[28] ch.2, A, conclusion; ch.8, C
(d)
[29] ch.3, A.4, an example of
doctrine (31)
[30] ch.7, conclusion
[31] ch.6, A.1
[32] ch.6, A.2
[33] ch.6 A.5
[34] ch.6 A.4
[35] ch.6 A.6
[36] ch.6 B.1 (b)
[37] ch.6 C. (c) i-iv
[38] a term used by the priest and philosopher Father Cornelio Fabbro
Next: Theological
Analysis - part 2: ‘The Council’s attack on the God of Revelation’
