Was Honorius a heretical Pope?

[Trisanctus]

II have read that councils have repeatedly condemned pope(s?), namely Honorius, for heresy. What does this mean for his papacy? Are there any actual texts? Some claim these were forgeries; is this so? I even saw a video claiming the patriarch of Antioch to be the successor of Peter. How are we to know who the real successor is? Didn’t Peter ordain many people? Was it because it was his post? I may have more questions as time goes on, so be ready if you will. I’m sorry if I ever appeared cocky on these issues, but I wanted to dig deeper and I need help doing this. Thank you so much!

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Its important to look at exactly what Pope Honorius was condemned for. It was not that he taught anything heretical but that he allowed/permitted heresy.

The Church had been divided by the heresy of the Monothelites. They had claimed that Christ had but one will which was his divine will. The orthodox teaching is that Christ has a divine will and a human will. Pope Honorius did not want to cause a schism in the Church so he refused to officially define the nature of Christ’s will:

Honorius wrote that, “on account of the simplicity of man and to avoid controversies, we must, as I have already said, define neither one nor two operations in the mediator between God and man.”

catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=3301

Pope Honorius was condemned decades after his death for allowing the heresy to spread by not cracking down on it. He was not considered to have actually taught the heresy as Christian doctrine. This is confirmed by Pope Leo II’s explanation of the condemnation:

Catholic Encyclopedia:

“And with them Honorius, who allowed the unspotted rule of Apostolic tradition, which he received from his predecessors, to be tarnished.”

“With Honorius, who did not, as became the Apostolic authority, extinguish the flame of heretical teaching in its first beginning, but fostered it by his negligence.”

Pope Honorius was condemned for not stepping in to stop a heresy and thus was considered guilty of its spread. He was not, however, condemned as actually believing or teaching the heresy.

As to the tradition that the bishop of Rome is Peter’s successor, you will find the following Catholic Answers tract helpful:
Peter’s Successors