Deposition of the pope

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I agree, sexual abuse of a child under 18 should be reported to the police as a criminal matter. A local bishop can sort out any administrative discipline or referral to a higher level of action as necessary. Different state codes may word it to include even a penitent confessor relationship, when the words “or others” is used in circumstances of a mandatory complaint…which could not be tolerated in the sacrament of reconciliation.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Yeah, if the laity could remove Popes at will, Pope Paul VI probably would have been toast after Humanae Vitae and we’d have ended up with a Pope who allowed birth control, divorce and remarriage, women priests and probably other stuff.
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For me, a Pope should only be removed if the Pope is violating Catholic teaching, intentionally and heretical declaring things infallible, or subverting law & order by preserving secrecy. For me the secrecy is worse than the pedophile priest/bishop and thus should be subject to imprisonment of the same sentence as the habitual offender. Some dioceses may expose priests that are guilty of harming children and/or has been alone with kids. No one’s perfect and there are very limited reasons for infallibility (teachings of the church & canonized saints for example). Though an infallible teaching should generally be accepted, in some rare cases, there should be a provision for reversal (i.e. if a Pope declared abortion as morally acceptable). Or if the pope declared as an infallible teaching that priests were required to reveal (rather than to conceal) confessions.

In other words, a Pope should only be removed in one of three cases: 1) they commit or conspire to commit murder or seriously break some sovereign law, 2) they declare something heretical as an infallible teaching, or 3) the pope is causing even devout Catholics to not trust in the Holy Se. Moreover, it should either be a super-majority of all deacons, priests, bishops, and cardinals by no less than 2/3 + 1 or by no less than 80% + 1 of the 101 cardinals (must have 82/101) to remove. As everyone has mentioned, you need to be very careful of the media telling the church how to conduct itself.

If a Pope infallible declares a saint without the necessary miracles, I think that should be grounds for censure (i.e. an inability to declare laws infallible or saints infallible for the remainder of the tenure) but not removal.
 
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Father Mattson has said that we need answers from the Vatican, I believe. Whether he “supports the pope”, I suppose I cannot say.
 
I support the Pope and his office. I support what he tries to do. But he does thread the line of politics in a way that Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict wouldn’t even think to consider doing.
 
halogirl said:
For me, any talk of deposing the Pope is outrageous. That’s our holy father.
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Yes, he’s our Holy Father. But he’s not free from concupiscence which is the tendency to sin. The only time removal should ever be considered is if a heretical pope were to declare something an infallible teaching of the church. And as mentioned before, I feel it would have to be a vast super-majority of the ordained ministers or an even larger super-majority of the cardinals would be needed before removal is even a reasonable consideration.

It’s very hard to indicate how a priest would do evil when most of them belong to a religious order and have taken vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Generally, every Pope was a priest, bishop, and cardinal. Thus, it’s hard to see why they would act in a way that would be heretical or against God when they promised to give their life to God. That said, I don’t think they’re free from human nature and/or politics within the Church.
 
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It surely is a thought to begin considering, but then this particular topic could befall on faith.

If it is certainly so that the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church and that Christ’s resurrection prevails over all, not even a bad pope or a “dictator” would be able to stop the promise of the living God.

Understanding your concerns is legitimate but it’d give you more peace of mind that there is always hope.
Even in this kind of situation.

Remember, the Pope always has a higher authority to answer to.
 
Quis_UtDeus said:
If it is certainly so that the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church and that Christ’s resurrection prevails over all, not even a bad pope or a “dictator” would be able to stop the promise of the living God.
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I agree with you on this. Believing everything happens for a reason and will be okay no matter what is a very strong faith and something I’m working on. I let doubt & worry creep in a little too much.

But Jesus clearly said that the Gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church
 
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I can definitely relate.
It is important that in those kinds of times reviewing Matthew 6: 26-34 and let our anxieties be put to rest.

I worry a lot without knowing and I forget this quite a lot
 
Ok —the way your post was worded, it sounded as if you were saying he was an example of a priest who didn’t support the pope but didn’t like opulence.
That’s not quite the same thing as wanting answers.
 
whichwaytogo47 said:
Thus, it’s hard to see why they would act in a way that would be heretical or against God when they promised to give their life to God.
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I don’t get your meaning. Couldn’t you similarly say that it’s hard to see why married people would commit adultery, since they promised their spouses faithfulness?
 
Prodigal_Son said:
Do you seriously not understand why people cheat on their spouses? Is ALL sin similarly mysterious to you?
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Nope. I think people go into marriage with the intent of remaining monogamous but get tempted to sin. They become a slave to sin because of an attraction or mid-life crisis that takes away their sense of dignity and commitment. The devil tempts them that it will be better if they have the affair only for them to throw everything away from their short-lived attraction or discontentment as he’s trying to get you to sin and turn away from God.
 
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