“You can’t be Catholic and be a Democrat.” – signatory Fr. James Altman.
More than a few years have passed since I’ve attended Catholic schools. Nonetheless, the good Sisters made sure I knew that heresy, was in fact, a sin.
Not just any sin, but mortal sin. For non-Catholics, that’s the equivalent of Monopoly’s “Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to jail.” But in this case, it’s more like “Go directly to Hell.”
With that aside, LifeSiteNews.com and John-Henry Westen (in a separate video) report that a handful of bishops, priests and Catholic academics have officially gone public in calling out Francis on charges of heresy.
But first for the non-Catholics (as well as CINOs who consider Francis the greatest thing since Liberation Theology), allow me to give some background.
Please note, I’m not asking that you agree with bit of Catholic dogma. Just that you understand it.
Essentially, one can only receive Holy Communion if one is in a State of Grace. As noted in the venerable Baltimore Catechism;
Q. 607. Give an example of the “right dispositions” for Penance and for the Holy Eucharist.
A. The right dispositions for Penance are:
1. To confess all our mortal sins as we know them;
2. To be sorry for them, and
3. To have the determination never to commit them or others again.The right dispositions for the Holy Eucharist are:
1. To know what the Holy Eucharist is;
2. To be in a state of grace, and
3. — except in special cases of sickness — to be fasting from midnight.
But quicker than you can belt-out a chorus of Kumbaya, Francis has gone full Roman Unitarian.
Earlier this summer, Francis declared that all that’s required is one have “faith.”
No Sacramental Confession, no penance whatsoever, no examination of conscience. You don’t even have to feel bad for offending God or asking of His forgiveness.
As cited by LifeSiteNews.com (emphasis mine);
Four bishops, several priests, and numerous Catholic scholars have signed a statement rebuking Pope Francis for a recent statement about the reception of Holy Communion, according to which “everyone is invited to the supper of the wedding of the Lamb (Re 19:9). To be admitted to the feast all that is required is the wedding garment of faith which comes from the hearing of his Word.”
The Pope wrote these words in his June 29 Apostolic Letter on the liturgy, Desiderio desideravi, but for the signatories of this new statement (see full text below), he omitted the “essential topic of repentance for sin for the worthy reception of the Eucharist.”
Therefore, the papal words about the “garment of faith” as the only requirement for the reception of Holy Communion, “contradict[] the faith of the Catholic Church,” as the authors wrote. They explain:
The Catholic Church has always taught that in order to receive the Holy Eucharist worthily and without sin, Catholics must receive sacramental absolution, if possible, for any mortal sins they may have committed and obey all other laws of the Church concerning reception of the Eucharist (as, for example, the laws concerning fasting prior to reception of the Eucharist).
By extensively quoting from the Council of Trent’s documents, the signatories also make it clear that such teachings as presented in Pope Francis’ document have already been condemned as heresy. “The claim,” they write, “that faith is the only requirement for worthy reception of the Holy Eucharist was condemned by the Council of Trent as a heresy.”
This false teaching might become more important now at this historic moment. Only in May, a U.S. Bishop – Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone – publicly banned Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, from receiving Holy Communion because she is defying the Church’s teaching against abortion.
“A Catholic legislator,” he then wrote, “who supports procured abortion, after knowing the teaching of the Church, commits a manifestly grave sin which is a cause of most serious scandal to others.”
Among the signatories of this new statement are Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, Bishop André Gracida, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Bishop Robert Mutsaerts, Father Gerald E. Murray, Father James Altman, Father John Lovell and several other priests, along with well-known academic teachers such as Professor Claudio Pierantoni, Dr. John Lamont, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, Professor Anna Silvas, Dr. Anthony Esolen, Professor John Rist, and Professor Paolo Pasqualucci. Among Catholic scholars can be found Julia Meloni and George Neumayr. LifeSite’s John-Henry Westen and Liz Yore also signed the document.
If the name of Fr. John Altman sounds familiar, it should.
He’s the one who publicly declared in 2020, “You can’t be Catholic and be a Democrat.”
Since then, Fr. Altman has been fired from his parish and ordered by his bishop, William P. Callahan of the Diocese of La Crosse (Wisconsin), and also ordered that Fr. Altman cease from celebrating Mass (second video below).