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PAPAL REGISTER AUGUSTINE/BONIFACE
X The Papacy of the
Roman Catholic Church. |
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To Our brother and faithful servant Miguel and any
other faithful scattered abroad, who yearn to submit to God's authority the
Roman Pontiff, who recognize that true authority and follow no other
authority on earth, yet perhaps have not discovered this authority in
practice because the age is wicked, Grace and peace to you, in Christ Our Lord and the
unity of the Holy Ghost when you receive this epistle by the grace of God, We wanted to write to you this New Year of 2012 to
remain in the simplicity of the Catholic Faith, testing the spirits to see
whether they are from God. Schismatics and dogs abound in the Great
Apostasy. Our Lord moves Us to keep this epistle short, so that We and
you may simply remain in the peace of God and the simplicity of the Faith
without too much in the way of speculation and quibbling, But know this brothers, as Our Predecessor stated,
if a man recede even one point from any dogma proposed by this authoritative
magisterium, by that very fact he is severed from Catholic unity and
salvation. As Our Predecessor Leo XIII declared in 1896: The Church, founded on these principles and mindful
of her office, has done nothing with greater zeal and endeavour than she has
displayed in guarding the integrity of the faith. Hence she regarded as
rebels and expelled from the ranks of her children all who held beliefs on
any point of doctrine different from her own. The Arians, the Montanists, the
Novatians, the Quartodecimans, the Eutychians, did not certainly reject all
Catholic doctrine: they abandoned only a certain portion of it. Still
who does not know that they were declared heretics and banished from the
bosom of the Church? In like manner were condemned all authors of heretical
tenets who followed them in subsequent ages. "There can be nothing more
dangerous than those heretics who admit nearly the whole cycle of doctrine,
and yet by one word, as with a drop of poison, infect the real and simple
faith taught by our Lord and handed down by Apostolic tradition" (Auctor
Tract. de Fide Orthodoxa contra Arianos). The practice of the Church has always been the same,
as is shown by the unanimous teaching of the Fathers, who were wont to hold
as outside Catholic communion, and alien to the Church, whoever would recede
in the least degree from any point of doctrine proposed by her authoritative
Magisterium. Epiphanius, Augustine, Theodore :, drew up a long
list of the heresies of their times. St. Augustine notes that other heresies
may spring up, to a single one of which, should any one give his assent, he
is by the very fact cut off from Catholic unity. "No one who merely
disbelieves in all (these heresies) can for that reason regard himself as a
Catholic or call himself one. For there may be or may arise some other
heresies, which are not set out in this work of ours, and, if any one holds
to one single one of these he is not a Catholic" (S. Augustinus, De
Haeresibus, n. 88). The need of this divinely instituted means for the
preservation of unity, about which we speak is urged by St. Paul in his
epistle to the Ephesians. In this he first admonishes them to preserve with
every care concord of minds: "Solicitous to keep the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace" (Eph. iv., 3, et seq.). And as souls cannot be
perfectly united in charity unless minds agree in faith, he wishes all to
hold the same faith: "One Lord, one faith," and this so perfectly
one as to prevent all danger of error Has any man held a heresy that poisons the unity of Faith?
Then hold it with the Fathers that that man is alien to the Church of
Christ. Thus all protestants, eastern schismatics, jews, and pagans are
lost to darkness of hell, unless they turn to the Church their Mother.
We too are willing to send such men the most heartfelt anathema. Truly,
almost all men today are damned to hell to be tormented with Satan and his
angels. As our beloved Saint Augustine declares: "And it is brought about, on account of this
great difference, that although with no possibility of a doubt a persevering
integrity of virginity is preferable to conjugal chastity, yet a woman
even twice married, if she be a Catholic, is preferred to a professed
virgin that is a heretic; nor is she in such wise preferred because
this one is better in God's kingdom, but because the other is not there at
all." (Against Two Letters of the Pelagians) Not even a heretical virgin can match a Catholic
twice married. For the heretic fornicates with fallen angels. Peace of Christ to you if you preserve this unity of
Faith, and have registered submission to this Apostolic See. |
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Those who wish to contact the Holy
See may send an electronic letter to secretary@romancatholicism.net or
apostolicsee@romancatholicism.net |
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