The Book of Obedience

APOSTOLIC DIGEST: BOOK V: The BOOK OF OBEDIENCE

CHAPTER ONE

THERE IS NO SALVATION

WITHOUT PERSONAL

SUBMISSION TO THE POPE

I say to thee that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. (St. Matthew 16:18)

No man outside obedience to the Pope of Rome can ultimately be saved. All who have raised themselves against the faith of the Roman Church and died in final impenitence have been damned, and gone down into Hell. (Pope Clement VI) 1

It is an absolute necessity to submit to the Supreme Pastor, to whom it is absolutely necessary for salvation to remain subject. (Pope Leo XIII) 2

We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff. (Pope Boniface VIII) 3

Blessed Peter received the keys of the kingdom in such a way that all may understand that whosoever shall cut themselves off in any way cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven. Peter is the doorkeeper whom I will not contradict lest, when I come to the gates of Heaven, there should be no one to open them, since he will be my adversary who is proven to have the keys. (St. Bede the Venerable) 4

Christ Jesus left you this sweet key of obedience; for He left His Vicar, whom you are all obliged to obey until death. And whoever is outside his obedience is in a state of damnation. (St. Catherine of Siena) 5

I am moved to obedience to that See by this fact especially: that, on the one hand, every enemy of the Christian faith makes war on that See; and, on the other, no one has ever declared himself an enemy of that See who has not also, shortly afterward, shown that he was the enemy of the Christian religion. (St. Thomas More) 6

He who does not enter by the door of the fold shall not have salvation. The door of the fold is the Catholic Church and union with the Head who represents Jesus Christ. (St. Frances Xavier Cabrini) 7

How beautiful is the Church of Christ, "the fold 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. (Antipope John XXIII) 8

To be subject to the Roman Pontiff is absolutely necessary for salvation. (St. Thomas Aquinas) 9

You may no more refuse obedience to the See of Rome than might a child refuse obedience to his natural father. That is my opinion; that is the belief in which, by the grace of God, I shall die. (St. Thomas More) 10

Those who are obstinate toward the authority of the Roman Pontiff cannot obtain eternal salvation. (Ven. Pope Pius IX) 11

We teach and declare that this power of jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff is immediate, to which everyone, both pastors and faithful, are bound to submit. (I Vatican Council) 12

It is error to believe that, if the Pope were a reprobate and an evil man and consequently a member of the devil, he has no power over the faithful. (Council of Constance) 13

It is error to believe that, if the Pope were wicked and reprobate, then he is of the devil and is not head of the Church Militant since he would not be a member of it. (Pope Martin V) 14

Even if the Pope were Satan incarnate, we ought not to raise up our heads against him, but calmly lie down to rest on his bosom. He who rebels against our Father is condemned to death, for that which we do to him we do to Christ: we honor Christ if we honor the Pope; we dishonor Christ if we dishonor the Pope. I know very well that many defend themselves by boasting: "They are so corrupt, and work all manner of evil!" But God has commanded that, even if the priests, the pastors, and Christ-on-earth were incarnate devils, we be obedient and subject to them, not for their sakes, but for the sake of God, and out of obedience to Him. (St. Catherine of Siena) 15

All Catholics agree that it is possible for the Pope, even as Pope with an Ecumenical Council, to err in controversies of fact which depend on human testimony; secondly, that it is possible for him, even in universal questions of faith or morals, to err as a private teacher from ignorance, which happens to other teachers. Next, all Catholics agree that the Pope, with an Ecumenical Council, cannot err in framing decrees of faith or morality; secondly, that the Pope, when determining anything in a doubtful matter, whether by himself or with his own particular Council, whether it be possible for him to err or not, is to be obeyed by all the faithful. (St. Robert Bellarmine) 16

If anyone condemns the dogmas or decrees promulgated for the Catholic faith and the correction of the faithful by the one presiding in the Apostolic See, let him be anathema. (Pope St. Nicholas the Great) 17

It would be possible to multiply indefinitely citations from the best witnesses, all of whom clearly declare the attachment, veneration, submission, and obedience which must be accorded the Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff by those who wish to belong to the one, true, holy Church of Christ in order to obtain eternal salvation. (Ven. Pope Pius IX) 18

REFERENCES

BOOK V, CHAPTER ONE

1. Clement VI: "Super Quibusdam," DNZ:570, b, 1

2. Leo XIII: "Satis Cognitum," PTC:484

3. Boniface VIII: "Unam Sanctam," DNZ:469

4. Bede: RCH vol.1, p.273, col.2

5. Catherine: MCH cf. 374

6. Thomas: "Epistle Against Bugenhagen," STM p.129

7. Frances: TRAVELS, Chicago: 1944, p.170

8. John XXIII: Coronation Homily, PTC:1556

9. Thomas: "Against the Errors of the Greeks," Pt.2, ch.36; PTC:484

10. Thomas: Trial Testimony, STM p.288