Friday, August 27, 2010

Audio MP3: Angels

The following MP3 is of a talk I gave on August 24, 2010 at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Naperville, IL. The subject is the Catholic teaching on Angels. The MP3 includes the talk, the Q&A, and a brief addendum to one of the questions posed in the Q&A. I hope you enjoy it!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

How can Mary crush the serpent's head? A look at Genesis 3:15


INSIDE THE TEXT
I've run across an accusation against the Catholic Church that goes something like this one from Christian apologist Keith Thompson:
One example of distortion of scripture to support Catholic exaltation of Mary has to do with the translation of Genesis 3:15....Genesis 3:15 [says...] "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”...“He” (הוּא) in the original Hebrew is masculine. It is pronounced “hoo” and can also mean “it.” Many think it means “it” in reference to collective offspring of the woman crushing the head of the serpent. In the LXX, however, it is rendered autos “he,” indicating that the passage should be understood as a Messianic prophecy about Jesus Christ alone crushing the head. “He [Jesus] will crush the serpents head.”

However, Jerome (342-430) in his Latin Vulgate translation made a major error changing “it” or “he” into “she” using the feminine pronoun ipsa in the Latin. Roman Catholic scholars who accepted the Latin Vulgate then translated Genesis 3:15 in their Douay-Rheims Bible as:

I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
First we begin with the term for "he/it/she" in question. Thompson notes that the Hebrew word is masculine and translated as "he" or "it." Several Protestant translations do use the word "it" including the fairly literal King James Version. Catholic apologists such as Jimmy Akin or Robert Sungenis acknowledge the masculinity of the Hebrew word as well, which admits to "he" or "it." There is an artistic sense in which the Hebrew word could be copied as feminine, and that is in the case of poetry, which the Jewish Encyclopedia states sometimes uses masculine and feminine interchangeably. But for the sake of this apologetic, according to my research, I am going to agree that "he" and "it" are the most accurate translations.

Before I move on, I just want to point out that the term "she" was not a corruption that came about because of Jerome. Jerome's translation is circa 400 A.D. Yet we can find at least one early Christian interpreting the same verse with "she," such as Tertullian writing around 205 A.D. in his work On the Apparel of Women.

THE CHURCH'S ROLE
Now, no one disputes that the principle defeater of Satan is God, as even Romans 16:20 echoes: "the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." However, both Protestants and Catholics alike recognize that the "he" and "his" in the phrase "he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" refers back to the word "offspring." Thompson also admits "many" interpreters recognize this meaning in the structure of the text. And I think the text demands that the "offspring" of the "woman" includes the Church.

Let's look again at Romans 16:20: "the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." Satan is crushed "under the feet" of the Roman church, albeit by God through them. Thompson's objection to this understanding due to the Septuagint's use of the word "he" does not preclude the Church as a participant in Christ's work because the "he" could be understood as "the 'he' who crushes through the Church" just as Romans 16:20 suggests.

John MacArthur, whose contra-Catholic ideas I previously discussed, wrote:
Believers should recognize that they participate in the crushing of Satan because, along with their Savior and because of His finished work on the cross, they also are of the woman's seed.1
Protestant "Reformer" John Calvin, in his commmentary on Genesis, wrote similarly of this verse:
[I]t comes to pass that, in the same manner, the whole Church of God, under its Head, will gloriously exult over him. To this the declaration of Paul refers, “The Lord shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly,” (Romans 16:20.) By which words he signifies that the power of bruising Satan is imparted to faithful men, and thus the blessing is the common property of the whole Church.
There are Catholic sources that agree with these sentiments, such as the New American Bible's footnote:
He will strike...at his heel: since the antecedent for he and his is the collective noun offspring, i.e., all the descendants of the woman, a more exact rendering of the sacred writer's words would be, "They will strike...at their heels."
Or the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition footnote:
he shall bruise your head: i.e., the seed of the woman, that is, mankind descended from Eve, will eventually gain the victory over the powers of evil. This victory will, of course, be gained through the work of the Messiah who is par excellence the seed of the woman.2

Even in Revelation 12:7-8, Michael the archangel and his angels are said to have vanquished the devil from heaven, but this does not trump Christ's ultimate victory over the serpent. The angels are, after all, fellow members of the Church as well. So anyway, a variety of Catholics and Protestants alike agree that Jesus is the primary force striking the head of the serpent, but this does not preclude the Church as a secondary agent as well.

MARY'S ROLE
And it is at this point we turn to Mary. Can she be said to play a special role as well in striking the head of the serpent?

Along with the Church, which participates in the victorious sufferings of Christ (e.g. 1 Pt 4:13), Mary's suffering is specifically tied to the sufferings of Christ in the prophecy of the Holy Spirit through Simeon:
Luke 2:25,34-35 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ... and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed."
A second reason Mary can be seen to have a special role in striking the serpent's head is because, typologically, Mary is understood as figure of the Church, which we have established as a very fair understanding of the "he/it" that strikes the serpent's head. Among many reasons, Mary is understood as a figure of the Church due to the Spirit coming together with her to bring forth a child. Nuptually, children are brought forth via the union of husband and wife, and thus, Mary in this sense is the "spouse" of the Spirit. And Scripture often refers to the Church as the spotless, virgin bride of God as well (e.g. Mt 25:1, Eph 5:27-32, Rv 21:9-10) thus the Virgin Mary is the Church's figure. Pope John Paul II recognized this, as well as the bishops at Vatican II, and even in antiquity from the likes of St. Ambrose in the 4th century (see Pope John Paul II, Mary is Outstanding Figure of the Church).

There are also other strong places in Scripture overlapping Mary and the Church such as Revelation 12 which uses imagery much like Genesis 3:15.

Revelation 12:5-6a,17 [S]he brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness...Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus.
Verse 9 in between also calls the dragon "that ancient serpent," tying it even further with Genesis 3:15. The woman in this passage is Mary because she brings forth the one to rule all nations. And like ancient Israel fleeing through the "wilderness" to Egypt, Mary also fled to Egypt with Joseph (Mt 2:13-14). In turn, Israel is the prefigurement of the Church of the new covenant (e.g. Jer 31:31-33). And coming full circle, Mary can be seen to strike the serpent's head in her role as figure of the Church.

Finally, I'd like to look at two other women in the Old Covenant who struck the head of the enemy on behalf of the people. In what other way can the "he" or "it" term in Genesis 3:15 be understood to include Mary specifically? I think the following is perhaps the most compelling evidence.

The first woman described to "strike the enemy's head" is Jael. In Judges 4:21 and Judges 5:26, she is described killing the oppressive king's general Sisera by driving a tent peg into his head.

The second woman is Judith. In Judith 13:8-9, she is described cutting off the head of Holofernes, who is called later in the chapter the "leader of...enemies," and whose name means "stinking in hell."3

Before I proceed, it should be noted that the Old Testament also includes stories like the one of David, who strikes the head of the enemy Goliath. David, as a figure of Christ, reflects Christ's role in smiting the enemy's head.

Now back to the women. So in what way is Mary connected to these women who struck the enemy's head? One very strong connection is that all three women, Jael, Judith, and Mary are called "blessed among women."

Jael is called "blessed of women" in Judges 5:24. Judith is called "blessed...among all women on earth" in Judith 13:18. And Mary, of course, is called "blessed...among women" in Luke 1:42.

Mary's weapon is not a peg, like Jael, or a sword, like Judith. Rather can Mary's weapon be considered her very immediate offspring––Jesus Christ? I think the typology here supports that understanding.

CONCLUSION
Therefore, we can better see that Mary in a very real sense strikes the enemy's head when we study the text of Genesis 3:15 in light of the totality of Scripture. We needn't worry if the word "she" is incompatible with the Hebrew text of Genesis 3:15 because Mary's role is deducible without forcing the translation. She is a figure of the Church as well as the women in the Old Testament, all whom are said in Scripture to strike the enemy's head. And none of this participation detracts from the ultimate victor over the serpent––Jesus Christ.

1MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson (publisher), 1997, p. 20-21.2Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1965-1966, p. 985.3Many Protestant traditions do not recognize the book of Judith as Scripture. However, I think the strength of the argument can be drawn from the Jael story alone, or by acknowledging the historical tale of Judith as part of Jewish tradition even if one denies its Scriptural quality.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Fallacies on Infallibility

THE PREMISE
There's an idea that's been floating about in the last few years by Christian apologists attempting to discredit the Catholic Church. One such article is called Theo-Illogical: Quid Pro Canon by Timothy F. Kauffman.1

The gist of the argument seeks a stalemate. By that I mean, the arguer seeks to criticize his opponent of the same accusation of which his opponent accuses him. This fallacy of argument is sometimes known as the fallacy of tu quoque. Kauffman summarizes his discourse thusly:
Rome's answer to Sola Scriptura is Sola Verbum Dei, or "The Word of God Alone." Rome believes that the Word of God is contained in the Scriptures, Tradition, in her Magisterium—including ex cathedra papal statements. But Rome cannot produce an infallible list of ex cathedra papal statements from within what she calls the Word of God. Thus, in order to convey the Word of God, Roman Catholics must appeal to something which is not contained in the Word of God. Sola Verbum Dei therefore becomes self-refuting by the standards of Rome's own apologists.
Kauffman posits an interesting thought exercise. However, his condemning conclusions are unwarranted and in error as I hope to demonstrate. In the previous quote, he blurs the Catholic notion of the "Word" similarly to the way John MacArthur did in my "John MacArthur errs" blog entry. Since the Catholic Church believes the Magisterium has the promise of the Holy Spirit to unlock divine truth, there is no "appealing to something" external. That which is the "Word," Scripture and Tradition (cf. Dei Verbum, 10), is interpreted by the Magisterium. So there is no "Sola Verbum Dei" in Catholicism the way Kauffman describes.

Kauffman begins his article in a defense of sola scriptura. Some Catholic apologists have claimed that adherents to this principle self-refute it because sola scriptura necessarily demands an external human source to receive which books are to be considered Scripture. Popular Evangelical apologists Norman Geisler and Ralph MacKenzie summarized sola scriptura as: "'The Bible alone' means 'the Bible only' is the final authority for our faith."2 Thus, when Protestants claim to know what books are in the Bible without citing the Bible, some Catholic apologists have insisted sola scripturists give authority to the early Church, or some unidentified body of the faithful external to the written Word itself.

Kauffman writes: "Protestants, on the other hand, have no infallible source by which they may know they have the right 66 books, and therefore are members of a self-defeating religion. So thinks the Roman Catholic apologist."

DEFINING INFALLIBILITY
What follows is interesting, but specious. Kauffman proceeds to argue that if there exists no Magisterial "list" that identifies infallible statements in history then the Catholic faithful will "not know certainly or exhaustively what the pope has infallibly taught or exactly what it is that they are required to believe."

It should be pointed out that in this article, he focuses on infallibility only exercised by the Pope. In Catholic theology, the idea of infallibility is rooted in the Holy Spirit's guarantee to the entire Church. Some of the Scriptural evidence for this is included in Lk 10:16, or Mt 28:18 with Jn 20:21, for example.

Use of the term "infallibility" in the Catholic Church is a protection from teaching error on an issue of faith or morals. Here are a couple Church sources expressing this idea:
The mission of the Magisterium is linked to the definitive nature of the covenant established by God with his people in Christ. It is this Magisterium's task to preserve God's people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error. Thus, the pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed at seeing to it that the People of God abides in the truth that liberates. To fulfill this service, Christ endowed the Church's shepherds with the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals. (CCC#890)

Therefore, faithfully adhering to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith, to the glory of God our savior, for the exaltation of the Catholic religion and for the salvation of the Christian people, with the approval of the Sacred Council, we teach and define as a divinely revealed dogma that when the Roman Pontiff speaks ex cathedra, that is, when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church, he possesses, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, that infallibility which the divine Redeemer willed his Church to enjoy in defining doctrine concerning faith or morals. (Vatican I, 4.4.9)
The majority of Kauffman's article attempts to contrast the various opinions of non-Magisterial Catholic apologists or theologians. He compares two Catholic authors, Adam S. Miller and Leslie Rumble, on the issue of "how many times" the Popes have exercised infallibility. They came up with totals of 11 and 18, respectively. I will admit I have not cross-checked his resources. I placed a phone call to the local library yesterday and learned how rare both of these books are. Only the Rumble book is even available at Amazon as of the date of this blog post. The Miller book was only available in one library in the country. But for the purposes of this blog post, I am going to assume Kauffman has fairly interpreted these authors.3

WHAT ARE THE FAITHFUL TO THINK?
After Kauffman's attempt to show confusion in the Church is when he says the Catholic faithful "do not know certainly or exhaustively what the pope has infallibly taught or exactly what it is that they are required to believe."

This comment presupposes something false---that the Catholic individual is only required to believe teachings that he personally can identify as "infallibly taught." But this is not the case. Whether or not a teaching has been technically taught "infallibly," the Catholic faithful are to give religious assent to the teaching for the simple reason that Christ established His Church to teach such things. Kauffman, if he really considers Leslie Rumble an authority on this matter, should have already known this. Kauffman quoted the following from Rumble on two of the matters Rumble considered "infallible": "There are some Catholic theologians who hold that, although these two decrees of Pope Leo XIII are of the utmost authority, they still fall short of technical requirements for infallible 'ex cathedra' utterances."

That means even theologians who dissent that a doctrine has been taught infallibly still consider it taught with "the utmost authority!" Fr. Most, later in the same article on infallibility cited by Kauffman, quotes Vatican II regarding a "fourth level" of teaching not technically "infallible":
Religious submission of mind and of will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff even when he is not defining, in such a way, namely, that the judgments made by him are sincerely adhered to according to his manifested mind and will, which is clear either from the nature of the documents, or from the repeated presentation of the same doctrine, or from the manner of speaking. (Lumen Gentium, 25)
Fr. Most says this submission "forbids public contradiction of the teaching."

It is also worth quoting Father John Trigilio, President of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, who echoes this sentiment:
According to Pope Pius XII in Humani Generis & Vatican II in Lumen Gentium #25, even non-infallible teachings are to receive the submission of mind and will of the faithful. While not requiring the ASSENT OF FAITH, they CANNOT be disputed nor rejected publicly and the benefit of the doubt must be given to the one possessing the fullness of teaching authority. (A Discussion of Infallibility)
So let's assume Kauffman is correct. Let's say there is vast confusion over what has been infallibly taught by the Church. If this were the case, Fr. Most already provides the answer for the faithful, later in the same article Kauffman quotes:
How can anyone give any mental assent when there is not absolute certitude? In normal human affairs, we do it all the time. Suppose we are at table, and someone asks if a dish of food came from a can, and if so, was it sent to a lab to check for Botulism. It is true, routine opening of a can would not detect that deadly poison. Yet it is too much to check every can, and the chances are very remote, so much so that normal people do not bother about it - yet their belief takes into account a real but tiny possibility of a mistake. Similarly with a doctrine on this fourth level. And further, the chances of error on this level are much smaller than they are with a can of food. Similarly, in a criminal trial, the judge will tell the jury they must find the evidence proves guilt beyond reasonable doubt. He does not demand that every tiny doubt be ruled out, even though it may mean life in prison or death.

If one should make a mistake by following the fourth level of Church teaching, when he comes before the Divine Judge, the Judge will not blame him, rather He will praise him. But if a person errs by breaking with the Church on the plea that he knew better - that will not be easily accepted.
The false premise proposed by Kauffman is that a Catholic must scruple about whether or not a doctrine has technically been defined "infallibly." But the caricature Kauffman paints of panicked Catholics flitting about in a stupor of confusion does not translate to reality.

THE SPECIOUS DEMAND FOR "AN INFALLIBLE LIST OF INFALLIBLE DOCTRINES"
Recall that Kauffman's central criticism is that Catholics don't have an infallible list of doctrines (like the Protestant doesn't have an intra-Biblical list of what books belong in the Bible.)

If this logic were to play out, it would make it impossible for God or anyone else to verify infallibility, no? Because if the Church did make a "list" of infallible teachings, the list itself would need verification as being an infallible list, no? An infallible statement would be required to say that the infallible list is indeed infallible. After all, shouldn't Kauffman's Catholic caricature question whether the list itself should be considered infallible? Was it just a list assembled for guidance? Now we need another list that includes the previous list along with the other infallible teachings! Therefore, the demand for an infallible list is in itself a specious requirement.

The issue is this. Infallibility is solely the gift of God speaking through the Church. This is what Pius XII meant in Humani Generis #20 when he cited Luke 10:16 as evidence of infallibility. "He who hears you, hears Me."

So who can verify that God has exercised infallibility when no one but Him can infallibly declare infallibility to have taken place? Who can verify that God Himself has, say, infallible foreknowledge of the predestined? In other words, when we demand to see infallible pronouncements infallibly certified, we are asking God to certify God.

The very nature of faith in Christ requires an assent of the will. The same demand for infallible proof Kauffman imposes on the Catholic Church would also apply to faith in Christ itself. The whole issue of the nature of faith is separate from the Catholic defense in this thread. But once a person is able to make the assent of faith in Jesus Christ, accepting that which is proposed for belief by His Church is the safest thing to do.

SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF INFALLIBILITY
Can a reasonable Catholic read Munificentissimus Deus and doubt that the Assumption of Mary was infallibly declared? Pay special attention to paragraph 12 and then paragraph 44 putting the dogma into words. Why, when the Church calls to mind the protection of infallibility in the same document prior to defining this dogma, should we give more weight to the fallible devil's advocate demanding an additional infallible statement be made to stamp the previous one?

What Catholic scruples about whether or not Christ is fully man and God out of fear that the dogma of the Incarnation has not found its way to an infallible list of infallible teachings? Is there any sober reason for a Catholic to deny that the teaching of the Incarnation has been infallibly taught?

In Sacerdotii Nostri Primoridia, Pope John XXIII listed at least one occasion that was defined infallibly---the Immaculate Conception. He writes of St. John Vianney:
"[T]his man had such great devotion to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mother of God that in 1836 he dedicated his parish church to Mary Conceived Without Sin and greeted the infallible definition of this truth as Catholic dogma in 1854 with the greatest joy and reverence." (116)
These examples are enough to demonstrate that infallibility can be identified in the Church whether or not one theologian or another may believe some other doctrine was not "technically" defined infallibly.

APPLES TO ORANGES
Finally, I want to point out Kauffman's unparallel premise. He equates the Protestant's inability to show the canon of Scripture from Scripture to the Catholic Church's absence of an "infallible list of infallible teachings." However, there is a major difference in the two. The Catholic Church does not profess to have or need an infallible list (and as I've shown, such a list would not serve the purpose Kauffman demands). The Protestant insists that the 66-book canon is correct---it is all that is needed for salvation---and the deuterocanonical books or other apocryphal literature considered in the early Church are definitively not part of the canon. These very assertions are external to the source which the Protestant claims is the sole authority to determine such matters. The Catholic Church, in teaching infallibility, claims only to teach by the authority of God that which is revealed through Scripture and Tradition. The Church does not go external to Her claimed sources of identifying truths of the faith.



1I do not intend for mentions of Protestantism herein to be an "attack." Mentions of Protestant teaching herein will be made only as they relate to Kauffman's comparisons.

2Geisler, Normal L. and MacKenzie, Ralph E., Roman Catholics and Evangelicals, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, p. 178.3I should point out that claims of Kauffman's I was able to cross-check were not entirely sound. Later in the article, he claims there is confusion among Catholic apologists and theologians as to what is the criteria for when papal infallibility has taken place. However, the quotations he uses to prove this do not even include any such statement of "these are the only criteria" or some similar paraphrase. One of the theologians he quoted was Fr. William Most, whom Kauffman claimed believed only two criteria were needed for papal infallibility to take place. But the Fr. Most reference does not have him claiming to give an exhaustive list of criteria specific to papal infallibility. Rather, Fr. Most was clarifying if a particular formula of words were necessary for infallibility to take place. He said this in the context of how the Ordinary Magisterium can teach infallibly or how a Pope can teach infallibly when definitively settling a teaching among the Church. He was not attempting to redefine the quotation from Vatican I above which defines the nature of papal infallibility.

EDIT: August 20, 2010
Recall in this article how Kauffman quoted Rumble's footnote (this footnote corresponds to Rumble's position that infallibility applied to Pope Leo XIII's decrees on the nullity of Anglican Orders and his condemnation of merely naturalistic interpretations of Christian activities):
"There are some Catholic theologians who hold that, although these two decrees of Pope Leo XIII are of the utmost authority, they still fall short of technical requirements for infallible 'ex cathedra' utterances."
From that I pointed out that dissenting theologian who did not consider these to have technically been taught under the charism of papal infallibility, still considered them stated with the utmost authority. And remember, Kauffman's claim was that the Catholic faithful don't know "what...they are required to believe" as a result of this.

I also subsequently quoted Fr. Most who argued that the faithful are to be praised when assenting to that which the Church teaches, whether or not they understand that teaching to be taught with the particular charism of infallibility. And I think the following also supports that.

Since writing this article, I was able to acquire, via inter-library loan, the Rumble book The Catholic Church: A Radio Analysis. Kauffman left out the final sentence of that footnote, further confirming my conclusion that even if a Catholic is not sure a teaching has been technically stated "infallibly," he still is to give assent to the teaching. The entirety of Rumble's footnote reads:
"There are some Catholic theologians who hold that, although these two decrees of Pope Leo XIII are of the utmost authority, they still fall short of technical requirements for infallible 'ex cathedra' utterances. In practice all hold that they are binding on all the faithful."

EDIT: March 23, 2013
See also a rebuttal by PhilVaz of this same argument by 19th century Catholic opponent George Salmon.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Were there 3 Popes at the same time?

The short answer is "no." But! For more details, the following is reproduced from a paper (with minor clarification/typo edits) I did in my Church history master's class originally submitted December 30, 2008. I hope it gives a basic summary of the incident.
The Great Schism of the Popes: Causes and Solution
This paper will examine the dilemma surrounding the Great Schism of the Popes (1378-1417), the causes, the main characters involved, and its resolution.

Prelude
The papacy of the Catholic Church had traditionally resided in Rome for centuries since the time of St. Peter. In 1305, the office took its residence to Avignon, France during the pontificate of Clement V. Clement was the archbishop of the French city of Bordeaux.
[Clement] moved to Avignon to escape the political pressures of Italy, including the warring Roman families. King Philip of France promised peace and protection in return for a certain measure of influence on the policies of the pope.1
Not only did King Philip IV make this invitation, but Avignon itself provided a “peaceful refuge, since its neighboring constat, Venaissin, already belonged to the Holy See; it was strongly fortified and close to Italy.”2

Clement’s election had come “after an eleven-month deadlock between pro-Boniface VIII cardinals opposed to King Philip IV…and the pro-French, anti-Boniface cardinals…”3 Boniface was the second-to-last pope prior to Clement. His predecessor Benedict XI died less than a year into his pontificate.

Clement had “never set foot in Rome.”4 “King Philip IV insisted that the new pope be crowned at Lyons, and Clement’s yielding to this insistence set the tone for the rest of the reign.”5 After his crowning, he “surrounded himself with French cardinals.”6 King Philip also induced Clement to “suppress” the Knights Templar, who had “rendered valuable service to the Christian cause”7 as fighters for the Church during the Crusades.

A March 2, 1312 letter from Philip to Clement read:
Your Beatitude is aware that I have been informed by trustworthy people of the results of inquiries into the brethren and Order of Knights Templar. These revealed such great heresies and other dreadful, detestable rimes that for this reason the order should justifiably be suppressed…I…humbly beg Your Holiness to be pleased to suppress the aforesaid order.8
The king’s concerned words belied another motive.
[The Knights Templar’s] wealth excited the cupidity of [King Philip]. He trumped up charges of heresy against them, persuaded Pope Clement V to suppress them, burned the last Grand Master at the stake (1312), and appropriated a large share of their property.9
The siege against the Templars was carried out by French officials. This was “made to appear, at the request of the ecclesiastical inquisitors, but in reality without their co-operation.”10

Such were the seeds of the Avignon period of the papacy. All this fueled controversy, leading “the rest of the world [to suspect] that these popes [during the Avignon period] had become the spokesmen of French interests.”11 Even “noted saints…St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Catherine of Siena”12 opposed the move, and during the Avignon period, did their part in convincing the popes to return to Rome.

Toward the end of the Avignon papacy, which exceeded 70 years, the papal “Curia was…largely French. [Then Pope] Gregory [XI] had been ready to go back to Rome with his court, but the opposition of the French cardinals had deterred him.”13

St. Catherine wrote to Pope Gregory to restore the papacy’s residence at Rome:
Be valiant and not fearful: answer God who calls you to come and to fill and defend the place of the glorious Pastor St. Peter, whose successor you are…But take courage and come, O Father; let not the servants of God, whose hearts are heavy with longing, have still to wait for you.14
Having tried to escape Roman politics, the papacy wound up in French politics, and apart from St. Peter’s original chair. As St. Catherine’s letter demonstrates, the faithful were scandalized by the Avignon departure. Pope Gregory returned to Rome in 1376.15 The Roman versus French struggle had not ended. And the stage for the Great Schism was set.

The Schism
Pope Gregory XI died in 1378. This brought “intense dismay [to] the Roman populace”16 who recognized him as the pope who returned to Rome in answer to their prayers. The cardinal-electors numbered sixteen: “four Italian cardinals, five French, and seven belonging to the [French] Limoges faction.”17 Many of these cardinals believed it was better to return to Avignon “where there were no…ruined palaces, no tumultuous Roman mobs and deadly Roman fevers.”18 There was thus a fear among the faithful that “a French pope might well be elected who would once more move the papacy back to Avignon”19 after just two years back in Rome. As the new pope was to be chosen, “[t]he Roman people gathered outside the Vatican Palace demanding a Roman, or at least an Italian, pope. … The heads of the city’s regions…also visited the palace to warn…against ignoring the will of the people.”20 After only a day, the archbishop of the Italian city of Bari, Bartolomeo Prignano, was elected by “all but one of the cardinals. … [He was the] last noncardinal elected to the papacy,” taking the name Urban VI.21

Urban was a bridge of sorts, whose experience connected him both to Avignon and Rome. He had been a “leading figure in the Curia in Avignon and then as regent of the papal chancery after Gregory IX returned to Rome.”22 He was “mild-mannered”23 and “[p]ersonally austere and learned in canon law.”24 Early on he was embraced, “public opinion was in the beginning favourable to him, and not only the cardinals in Rome, but also the six who remained at Avignon submitted to him.”25 As well, “in [the cardinals’] correspondence at the time [they] spoke of having ‘freely and unanimously’ elected him Pope.”26

However, he told the cardinals to “reform the Papal court and break down the luxury of its life, [which] gave deep offense to the cardinals.” Urban’s personality took a stern turn. He became a “violent-tempered Pontiff,”27 subjecting the cardinals to “insults and arrogance.”28 The French cardinals quickly reversed their alliance and fled from Rome. They declared Urban invalidly elected “on the ground that the Roman mob had surrounded the conclave and threatened the cardinals with death unless they should elect a Roman or an Italian Pope.”29 From the city of Agnani, to the southeast of Rome, the cardinals “sent out a notice to the Christian world that the pope had been deposed as incompetent and as an intruder.”30 They later moved to Fondi.

The French cardinals were not without support in the secular world.
Onorato Caetani, count of Fondi, became a military member of the [French cardinals’] secession, offering the cardinals his protection in Anagni, where he continued to act as rector even after Urban VI appointed Tommaso di Sanseverino senator of Rome and then rector of the Campagna in Caetani’s place.31
On September 20, 1378, the French cardinals held a new election of their own, electing Cardinal Robert of Geneva as Clement VII, ultimately, an antipope.32 Cardinal Robert was also the “French King’s cousin.”33 They announced this to “the European courts.”34

“Urban had more supporters among the nations than did Clement,”35 including the “Empire of England, with the northern and eastern nations and most of the Italian republics…”36 Clement had the support of “France, Scotland, Naples,”37 and later “Luxembourg and Austria.”38 Clement took refuge in Avignon. “Each pope attempted to collect all the ecclesiastical revenues, and each excommunicated the other with all his adherents.”39 There were episodes of violence, including a fight over Naples. Both Urban and Clement appointed their own successor to the Naples throne. Clement’s appointee eventually acquired power since no longer did “Urban [have] money to pay troops to relieve it.”40

The war between them was ugly and scandalous to the Church. And the great dilemma was upon Her. Who was the authentic pope?

The Schism is perpetuated in successors
Urban VI died in 1389, and “the Roman cardinals elected Boniface IX to succeed him. Five years later, Clement VII died at Avignon…[and] the French cardinals chose…Benedict XIII.”41 Two lines, the Roman and the French, continued making claims to the papacy.

Upon Clement’s death, the French king Charles VI had sent a letter to the cardinals at Avignon “not to elect a successor to Clement VII.”42 But they had already elected Benedict XIII “before opening the king’s letter.”43 Afterward, Charles still “[urged] Benedict to abdicate.”44 Prior to the Avignon election, all the cardinals had taken “an oath…to abdicate if and when the majority judged it proper to do so.” Benedict refused, which resulted in loss of support from “the rest of France”45 including the king who “withdrew recognition from the Avignon claimant to the papacy from 1398 to 1403.”46

Boniface would not discuss unity unless the Avignon line desisted. Before Clement had died:
[Boniface offered] to make the antipope Clement VII a legate for France and Spain and to allow him and his cardinals to retain their cardinalatial rank—in return for Clement’s abdication.47
No resolution was apparent. “This rupture of the Church’s unity was a terrible trial for believing Catholics…”48
Saints, intellectuals, and bishops on both sides, realizing that recourse to arms was a false avenue, offered several alternatives: arbitration, a general council, or resignation of both Popes.49
In the meanwhile, the Roman pontiff Boniface IX had died, and was succeeded by Innocent VII in 1404. Gregory XII then succeeded him in 1406. But “[n]one of the competing popes offered to resign..”50 Finally, the two colleges of cardinals, Roman and French, agreed to call a General Council, held “at Pisa in 1409.”51 Neither of the papal claimants Innocent or Benedict “recognized its authority, and neither obeyed its summons.”52 The generations of schism resulted in “desperate remedies…in the shape of the new conciliar theories.”53 A conciliar, or conciliary theory is the idea that “a general council is above the pope.”54 These events also come not long after Pope Boniface VIII’s 1302 papal bull, Unam Sanctum, in which he stated “that to be subject to the Roman Pontiff is for every human creature a necessity of salvation.” As well, the authority of the Pope had developed as a source of unity and authority from the first centuries.55

Since both Innocent and Benedict rejected the Pisa council, the cardinals there went ahead and with another election:
The cardinals [at Pisa]…elected another Pope, Alexander V, fondly hoping that they had achieved the union of Christendom. But the scandal only increased, for neither of the Popes yielded. There were now three Popes, and three Colleges of Cardinals, in some dioceses three rival bishops, and in some Religious Orders three rival superiors.56
Gregory opened his own council in 1409 at Cividale. At that council he “excommunicated both Benedict XIII and Alexander V.”57 The others neither embraced this action. Alexander died after a year, and “John XXIII,” another antipope, replaced him.58 Gregory had troubles of his own, with hostilities from the “archbishop of Aquileia,” causing him to flee to Naples. Alexander in turn got the cooperation of Naples authorities, and had Gregory banished from there in 1411. After Pisa, only five years passed with these three “popes,” Gregory, Benedict, and John before another council was called.

Resolution
Resolution finally came at the ecumenical Council of Constance. It began in 1414 at the suggestion of such Church figures as the French theologian Jean Gerson, who believed the “authority of an ecumenical council was greater than that of a pope.”59

John had confidence in the council “because he hoped that it would confirm him”60 and also because he “had deliberately stacked the episcopate with his supporters.”61 Some “[e]ighteen thousand ecclesiastics of all ranks took part in the”62 Council of Constance. The “right to vote was extended to doctors of theology and law and even to some laymen…each nation, acting as a unit, would cast its one vote. John saw that he had been outmaneuvered....and…under cover of night, John, disguised as a groom, escaped from Constance…”63 He was eventually found and brought “back to Constance, tried by the council, found guilty of numerous crimes, and deposed.”64

Gregory had then agreed to attend the council and abdicate on the condition that “he would be allowed to formally convoke the council, since he did not recognize the authority of John. … [T]he request was agreed to.”65 On July 4, 1415, Gregory officially “convok[ed] the council and resign[ed]...”66

Benedict “still refused to abdicate, but the council declared him a heretic and deprived him of all rights to the papacy.”67 His deposition was finally declared on July 16, 1417.68

The council elected Martin V in 1417, which effectively ended the Great Schism of the Popes.

One of the statements from this international council came from the decree Sacrosancta of April 6, 1415 in which was stated of such an ecumenical council: “…all persons of whatever rank or dignity, even Pope, are bound to obey it in matters relating to faith and the end of the Schism…” With the voluntary resignation of the authentic Pope Gregory XII, the question did remain as to whether a valid pope could be subject to the authority of a council. Martin’s comments soon afterward suggest the Council was not correct:
The new Pope approved “all that the Council had resolved as a Council in matters of faith,” expressly rejecting the decrees of the fourth and fifth sessions, which had declared that the Council held its authority immediately from God, and that even the Pope was subject to it.69
A later council in 1449 that had convened without the pope (who had died before it began its sessions) ultimately “yielded to Pope Nicholas V and dissolved itself.”70 Dr. Ludwig Ott says it is a matter “de fide” that “[T]he pope possesses full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the whole Church, not merely in matters of faith and morals, but also in Church discipline and in the government of the Church.”71 He cites the first Vatican Council of 1870 from which this language comes. He also specifically says this is “against…Conciliary Theory.”72

Today, the Church recognizes the authentic papal succession to have gone through the Roman line of the validly elected Urban VI, Boniface IX, Innocent VII, and Gregory XII.


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FOOTNOTES

1 Schreck, Dr. Alan. The Compact History of the Catholic Church. Servant Books, Ann Arbor, MI. 1987. p 55-56.
2 Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church. Doubleday, New York. 2004. p 182.
3 McBrien, Richard P. Lives of the Popes. HarperSanFrancisco. 1997. p 233.
4 Maxwell-Stuart, P.G. Chronicle of the Popes. Thames and Hudson Ltd., London. 1997. p 125.
5 Maxwell-Stuart. p 125.
6 Laux, Fr. John. Church History. Tan Books and Publishers. Rockford, Illinois. p 396.
7 Laux. p 317.
8 King Philip IV, Letter to Pope Clement V. March 2, 1312. Quoted in Maxwell-Stuart. p 127.
9 Laux. p 317.
10 Moeller, Charles. "The Knights Templars." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1912. Accessed December 30, 2008.
11 Shreck. p 56.
12 Schreck. p 56.
13 Lives of Saints, Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc. Quoted in “SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA VIRGIN.” Accessed December 30, 2008.
14 St. Catherine of Siena. Letter to Gregory XI. ca. 1376. Quoted in Laux. p 403.
15 Schreck. p 56.
16 Bokenkotter. p 186.
17 Mulder, William. "Pope Urban VI." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 30 Dec. 2008 Accessed December 30, 2008.
18 Laux. p 404.
19 Bokenkotter. p 186.
20 McBrien. p 247.
21 McBrien. p 247.
22 McBrien. p 247.
23 Schreck. p 56.
24 Maxwell-Stuart. p 139.
25 Mulder. "Pope Urban VI."
26 Bokenkotter. p 186.
27 Laux. p 404.
28 Maxwell-Stuart. p 139.
29 Laux. p 404.
30 McBrien. p 248.
31 Williman, Daniel. “Schism within the Curia : The Twin Papal Elections of 1378.” Jnl of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 59, No. 1, January 2008. Cambridge University Press.
32 McBrien. p 248.
33 McBrien. p 248.
34 Laux. p 404.
35 Maxwell-Stuart. p 139.
36 Laux. p 404.
37 Maxwell. p 139.
38 Bokenkotter. p 187.
39 Laux. p 405.
40 Maxwell-Stuart. p 139.
41 Laux. p 405.
42 McBrien. p 250.
43 McBrien. p 250.
44 Maxwell-Stuart. p 138.
45 Bokenkotter. p 188.
46 McBrien. p 250.
47 McBrien. p 250.
48 Bokenkotter. p 187.
49 Bokenkotter. p 187.
50 Schreck. p 57.
51 Laux. p 405.
52 Laux. p 405.
53 Hughes, Philip. A History of the Church: To the Eve of the Reformation. Vol. 3. Chapt. 3.5.i. Accessed December 30, 2008.
54 Ott, Michael. "Jacob of Jüterbogk." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. Accessed December 30, 2008.
55 See for example Irenaeus' Against Heresies, ca. 170: "it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church [at Rome], on account of its pre-eminent authority..." Or Cyprian's letter to Cornelius, ca. 252: "the principal Church [at Rome], in which sacerdotal unity has its source...” et al.
56 Laux. p 405.
57 McBrien. p 253.
58 Maxwell-Stuart. p 141.
59 Schreck. p 57.
60 Laux. p 407.
61 Berkenkotter. p 190.
62 Laux. p 407.
63 Bokenkotter. p 191.
64 Bokenkotter. p 191-192.
65 McBrien. p 253.
66 McBrien. p 253.
67 McBrien. p 253.
68 Laux. p 408.
69 Laux. p 408.
70 Laux. p 409.
71 Ott, Dr. Ludwig. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. Tan Books and Publishers. Rockford, Illinois. 1960. p 285.
72 Ott. p 285.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church. Doubleday, New York. 2004.
Laux, Fr. John. Church History. Tan Books and Publishers. Rockford, Illinois.

Hughes, Philip. A History of the Church: To the Eve of the Reformation. Vol. 3.

Lives of Saints, Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc. Quoted in “SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA VIRGIN.”

Maxwell-Stuart, P.G. Chronicle of the Popes. Thames and Hudson Ltd., London. 1997.

McBrien, Richard P. Lives of the Popes. HarperSanFrancisco. 1997.

Moeller, Charles. "The Knights Templars." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1912.

Mulder, William. "Pope Urban VI." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 30 Dec. 2008

Ott, Dr. Ludwig. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. Tan Books and Publishers. Rockford, Illinois. 1960.

Ott, Michael. "Jacob of Jüterbogk." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910.

Schreck, Dr. Alan. The Compact History of the Catholic Church. Servant Books, Ann Arbor, MI. 1987.

Williman, Daniel. “Schism within the Curia : The Twin Papal Elections of 1378.” Jnl of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 59, No. 1, January 2008. Cambridge University Press.