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Heresy
/ Heretics / False Teachers
Also See:
Heresy & Schism (Topic Page)
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"After a first
and second warning, break off contact with a heretic, realizing
that such a person is perverted and sinful and stands
self-condemned." (St. Paul, Ti. 3:10-11)
"I am amazed
that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by (the)
grace (of Christ) for a different gospel (not that there is
another). But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to
pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from
heaven should preach (to you) a gospel other than the one that we
preached to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before,
and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than
the one that you received, let that one be accursed!" (St.
Paul, Gal. 1:6-9)
"For this is
love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the
commandment, as you heard from the beginning, in which you should
walk. Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do
not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the
deceitful one and the antichrist. Look to yourselves that you do
not lose what we worked for but may receive a full recompense.
Anyone who is so 'progressive' as not to remain in the teaching of
the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has
the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring
this doctrine, do not receive him in your house or even greet him;
for whoever greets him shares in his evil works." (St. John,
2 Jn. 1:6-11)
"[I]gnorance...is
the food of heresy" (Liturgical Year)
"Heresy...can
but lead the people to eternal ruin" (Liturgical Year)
"[E]very
true Christian detests heresy, and all that savors thereof!"
(Liturgical Year)
"Every
heresy has been an effort to narrow the church." (G. K.
Chesterton)
"[H]eresy...is
the offspring of man's pride and hell's malice" (Liturgical
Year)
"Heresy is a culpable error of the intellect by which some
truth of faith is obstinately denied." (Catechism of Pope St.
Pius X)
"[T]he
Catholic, while he hates heresy, must love the heretics" (Dom
Gueranger)
"[I]t
is a grave offence not to work for the extermination of heresy
when this monstrous infection requires action" (Council of
Vienne)
"Heresy,
Satan's denial of what God affirms by His Christ, this is the
great struggle, or rather the only one, which sums up
history." (Liturgical Year)
"Heresy is
derived from a (Greek) word meaning choice, whereby a man makes
choice of that school which he deems best." (St. Jerome,
Doctor of the Church)
"Outside the true Church are: Infidels, Jews, heretics,
apostates, schismatics, and the excommunicated." (Catechism
of Pope St. Pius X)
"[T]here are but three classes of persons excluded from the
Church's pale: infidels, heretics and schismatics, and
excommunicated persons." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"A Catholic sins against faith by apostasy, heresy,
indifferentism, and by taking part in non-Catholic worship."
(Baltimore Catechism)
"[T]he Catholic Church is infallible, and hence those who
reject her definitions lose the faith and become heretics."
(Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
Throwing
a Calvinist nobleman's gift into fire: "This is how heretics will burn in
hell, because they do not believe Christ when He speaks."
(St. Jane Frances de Chantal, at age five)
"Therefore
heresy is a species of unbelief, belonging to those who profess
the Christian faith, but corrupt its dogmas." (St. Thomas
Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the
history of the Church")
"...
Christ who is afflicted beyond measure by the diverse heresies
multiplying around Him, is faithfully sought by the heart alone of
the Catholic Church." (St. Bede the Venerable, Doctor of the
Church)
"Let
not the heretic entrap you by bringing examples from the
Scriptures. The devil makes use of the testimony of the Scriptures
not to teach but to deceive." (St. Ambrose, Doctor of the
Church)
"Can.
2316 Whoever in any manner willingly and knowingly helps in the
promulgation of heresy, or who communicates in things divine with
heretics against the prescriptions of Canon 1258, is suspected of
heresy." (1917 Code of Canon Law)
"[A] heretic is one who either
devises or follows false and new opinions, for the sake of some
temporal profit, especially that he may lord and be honored above
others." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)
"For a person is not to be called a heretic as soon as he
shall have offended in matters of faith; but he is a heretic who,
having disregarded the authority of the Church, maintains impious
opinions with pertinacity." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"He who refuses to accept the solemn definitions of the
Pope, or who even doubts them, sins against faith; and should he
remain obstinate in this unbelief, he would no longer be a
Catholic, but a heretic." (Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"Heretics are those of the
baptized who obstinately refuse
to believe some truth revealed by God and taught as an article of
faith by the Catholic Church; for example, the Arians, the
Nestorians and the various sects of Protestants." (Catechism
of Pope St. Pius X)
"[T]he
proximate end of heresy is adherence to one's own false opinion,
and from this it derives its species, while its remote end reveals
its cause, viz. that it arises from pride or covetousness."
(St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest
theologian in the history of the Church")
"[I]t is a greater thing to employ spiritual arms in
defending the faithful against the errors of heretics and the
temptations of the devil, than to protect the faithful by means of
bodily weapons." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church
and "greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"When
the Lord had said that there were few that find the straight gate
narrow way, that heretics, who often commend themselves because of
the smallness of their numbers, might not intrude themselves, He
straightway subjoins, Take heed of false prophets." (St.
Augustine, Doctor of the Church)
"There
are four sorts of trees: the first totally withered, to which the
Pagans may be likened; the second green but unfruitful, as the
hypocrites; the third, green and fruitful, but poisonous, such are
heretics; the fourth, green and bringing forth good fruit, to
which are like the good Catholics." (Bl.
Rabanus Maurus)
"Falsehood
is contrary to truth. Now a heretic is one who devises or follows
false or new opinions. Therefore heresy is opposed to the truth,
on which faith is founded; and consequently it is a species of
unbelief." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"I
answer that, As Jerome (Glossa Ordinaria in Osee [Hosea] 2:16)
says, 'words spoken amiss lead to heresy'; hence with us and
heretics the very words ought not to be in common, lest we seem to
countenance their error." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the
Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
"But
kingdom against kingdom, the pestilence of those whose word
spreads as a canker, dearth of the word of God, the commotion of
the whole earth, and the separation from the true faith, may all
rather be understood of heretics who, by fighting one against the
other, bring about the triumph of the Church." (St. Bede the
Venerable, Doctor of the Church)
"In
that He says that the bundles of tares are to be cast into the
fire (Mt. 13:30), and the wheat gathered into barns, it is clear
that heretics also and hypocrites are to be consumed in the fires
of hell, while the saints who are here represented by the wheat
are received into the barns, that is into heavenly mansions."
(St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church)
"Can.
1324 It is not enough to avoid heretical depravity, but also those
errors should be diligently fled that more or less approach
[heresy]; therefore, all must observe the constitutions and
decrees by which these sorts of depraved opinions are proscribed
and prohibited by the Holy See." (1917 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
751 Heresy is the obstinate denial or doubt, after baptism, of a
truth which must be believed by divine and Catholic faith.
Apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith. Schism
is the withdrawal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or from
communion with the members of the Church subject to him."
(1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
1364 §1 An apostate from the faith, a heretic or a schismatic
incurs a latae sententiae excommunication, without prejudice to
the provision of Can. 194 §1, n. 2; a cleric, moreover, may be
punished with the penalties mentioned in Can. 1336 §1, nn. 1, 2
and 3. §2 If a longstanding contempt or the gravity of scandal
calls for it, other penalties may be added, not excluding
dismissal from the clerical state." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"That,
'If it were possible' (Mt. 24:24), is spoken hyperbolically; not
that the elect can be led astray, but He wishes to show that the
discourse of heretics is often so persuasive, as to have force to
prevail even with those who act wisely." [Origen ("the
greatest scholar of Christian antiquity" - although he would
eventually be excommunicated and be regarded as a heretic), 3rd
century A.D.]
"But
this form of warning, Take heed, does not imply that the Devil
will introduce heresies against God's will, but by His permission
only; but because He would not choose servants without trial,
therefore He sends them temptation; and because He would not have
them perish through ignorance, He therefore warns them
beforehand." [Pseudo Chrys (as quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas,
Doctor of the Church)]
"The
uncleanness of leprosy betokened the uncleanness of heretical
doctrine: both because heretical doctrine is contagious just as
leprosy is, and because no doctrine is so false as not to have
some truth mingled with error, just as on the surface of a leprous
body one may distinguish the healthy parts from those that are
infected." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"Many
teachers of heresy also arose in the Church even in the time of
the Apostles; and many Antichrists came in the name of Christ, the
first of whom was Simon Magus, to whom the Samaritans, as we read
in the Acts of the Apostles, listened, saying, This man is the
great power of God: wherefore also it is added here, And shall
deceive many." (St. Bede the Venerable, Doctor of the Church)
"The
Apostle John also in his Epistle, 'You have heard that Antichrist
shall come; even now there are many Antichrists'. I suppose all
heresiarchs to be Antichrists, and under the name of Christ to
teach those things which are contrary to Christ. No wonder if we
see some led away by such teachers, when the Lord has said, 'And
shall deceive many'." (St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church)
"What
is here spoken of false prophets we may apply to all whose dress
and speech promise one thing and their actions exhibit another.
But it is specially to be understood of heretics, who by observing
temperance, chastity, and fasting, surround themselves as it were
with [a garment] of sanctity, but in as much as their hearts
within are poisoned, they deceive the souls of the more simple
brethren" (St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church)
"Can.
2315 One suspected of heresy who, having been warned, does not
remove the cause of suspicion is prohibited from legitimate acts;
if he is a cleric, moreover, the warning having been repeated
without effect, he is suspended from things divine; but if within
six months from contracting the penalty, the one suspected of
heresy does not completely amend himself, let him be considered as
a heretic and liable to the penalties for heretics." (1917
Code of Canon Law)
"Can.
1325 § 2 After the reception of baptism, if anyone, retaining the
name of Christian, pertinaciously denies or doubts something to be
believed from the truth of divine and Catholic faith, [such a one
is] a heretic; if he completely turns away from the Christian
faith, [such a one is] an apostate; if finally he refused to be
under the Supreme Pontiff or refuses communion with the members of
the Church subject to him, he is a schismatic." (1917 Code of
Canon Law)
"...those
who are found to be enslaved to error or heretical beliefs...we
strictly forbid such persons to teach or to pursue studies. If
anyone shall be found rejecting and transgressing against this
directive, he shall lose his rank if he is a cleric; if a lay
person, he shall be excommunicated as one who does not believe the
Lord's word which says, Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound
in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven." (Fourth Council of Constantinople)
"For
the prohibition: 'Thou shalt not sow thy field with different
seeds,' is to be understood, in the spiritual sense, of the
prohibition to sow strange doctrine in the Church, which is a
spiritual vineyard. Likewise 'the field,' i.e. the Church, must
not be sown 'with different seeds,' i.e. with Catholic and
heretical doctrines. Neither is it allowed to plough 'with an ox
and an ass together'; thus a fool should not accompany a wise man
in preaching, for one would hinder the other." (St. Thomas
Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the
history of the Church")
"The
thorns and thistles are the heretics (Mt. 7:16).
And as a thorn or a thistle has sharp pricks on every part, so the
Devil's servants, on whatsoever side you look at them, are full of
wickedness. Thorns and thistles then of this sort cannot hear the
fruits of the Church. And having instanced in particular trees, as
the fig, the vine, the thorn, and the thistle, He proceeds to show
that this is universally true, saying, Thus every good tree brings
forth good fruit, but an evil tree brings forth evil fruit."
[Pseudo Chrys (as quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the
Church)]
"How
can we help admiring the Providence which is never wanting to the
Church? From the midst of tribes still pagan, on the morrow of the
irremediable fall of the empire, God forms to Himself a new
people, raises unto Himself a prince: against these must break the
rising tide of heretics and barbarians. Such, in truth, appeared
in the course of ages the divine mission of the Frankish kings.
What energy has faith to uphold kingdoms; and what fatal power has
heresy to uproot every plant that is not set by our heavenly
Father!" (Baronius, as quoted in The Liturgical Year)
"Thus
there are branches in the vine, not that they may bestow anything
upon the vine, but that they may receive from it the means by
which they may live; so truly the vine is in the branches, that it
may furnish vital nourishment to these, not take it from them. And
by this it is an advantage to the disciples, not to Christ, that
each have Christ abiding in him, and that each abide in Christ.
For if the branch is cut off, another can sprout forth from the
living root; but that which has been cut off, cannot live without
tile root [John 15:5 ff.]." (St. Prosper/Council of Orange
II, 529 A.D.)
"[Our]
first safety is to guard the rule of the right faith and to
deviate in no wise from the ordinances of the Fathers; because we
cannot pass over the statement of our Lord Jesus Christ who said:
'Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church'...
[Matt. 16:18]. These [words] which were spoken, are proved by the
effects of the deeds, because in the Apostolic See the Catholic
religion has always been preserved without stain. Desiring not to
be separated from this hope and faith and following the ordinances
of the Fathers, we anathematize all heresies" (Pope St.
Hormisdas, 517 A.D.)
"Therefore,
heresy is so called from the Greek word meaning 'choice,' by which
each chooses according to his own will what he pleases to teach or
believe. But we are not permitted to believe whatever we choose,
nor to choose whatever someone else has believed. We have the
apostles of God as authorities, who did not themselves of their
own will choose what they would believe, but faithfully
transmitted to the nations the teaching received from Christ. So,
even if an angel from heaven should preach otherwise, he shall be
called anathema." (St. Isidore, Doctor
of the Church, 7th century A.D.)
"And
so in the performance of our supreme pastoral office, we beseech
for the love of Jesus Christ and we command, by the authority of
him who is also our God and savior, all faithful Christians,
especially those in authority or who have the duty of teaching,
that they contribute their zeal and labor to the warding off and
elimination of these errors from the Church and to the spreading
of the light of the pure faith. But since it is not enough to
avoid the contamination of heresy unless those errors are
carefully shunned which approach it in greater or less degree, we
warn all of their duty to observe the constitutions and decrees in
which such wrong opinions, though not expressly mentioned in this
document, have been banned and forbidden by this Holy See."
(First Vatican Council)
"Just
as heresy is so called from its being a choosing [from the Greek 'hairein',
to cut off], so does sect derive its name from its being a cutting
off [secando], as Isidore states (Etymologiarum viii,3). Wherefore
heresy and sect are
the same thing, and each belongs to the works of the flesh, not
indeed by reason of the act itself of unbelief in respect of its
proximate object, but by reason of its cause, which is either the
desire of an undue end in which way it arises from pride or
covetousness... or some illusion of the imagination (which gives
rise to error, as the Philosopher states in De Metaphysica iv;
Didot Edition iii,5), for this faculty has a certain connection
with the flesh, in as much as its act is independent on a bodily
organ." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"Simple
persons should not be put to the test about subtle questions of
faith, unless they be suspected of having been corrupted by
heretics, who are wont to corrupt the faith of simple people in
such questions. If, however, it is found that they are free from
obstinacy in their heterodox sentiments, and that it is due to
their simplicity, it is no fault of theirs... it is not human
knowledge, but the Divine truth that is the rule of faith: and if
any of the learned stray from this rule, he does not harm the
faith of the simple ones, who think that the learned believe
aright; unless the simple hold obstinately to their individual
errors, against the faith of the universal Church, which cannot
err, since Our Lord said (Luke 22:32): 'I have prayed for thee,'
Peter, 'that thy faith fail not.'" (St. Thomas Aquinas,
Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history
of the Church")
"But
there was a quasi-Christian sect for every taste. There was a sect
that believed that every sin had to be tried. There were those who
denied that Jesus was a man (the Docetists) and those who denied
that he was God (the Theodotians). To go through every heresy
would be tedious and pointless. The important fact to grasp is
that heresy has been a challenge to the Church from the very
beginning, and though these early heresies were defeated, they
have never fully gone away. They are merely readapted to suit
changing times. But certain themes are perennial. Many of the
early heresies were what we would today call 'holier than thou',
enforcing a more rigorous moral discipline than the Roman Catholic
Church. Common to every heresy is the assertion of private
judgement, revelation, and choice against the Catholic Church's
adherence to the authoritative tradition of Apostolic
Christianity." (Crocker)
"It
may be asked why He commands more than one bundle or heap of tares
to be formed (Mt. 13:30)? Perhaps because of the variety of
heretics differing not only from the wheat, but also among
themselves, each several heresy, separated from communion with all
the others, is designated as a bundle; and perhaps they may even
then begin to be bound together for burning, when they first sever
themselves from Catholic communion, and begin to have their
independent 'church'; so that it is the burning and not the
binding into bundles that will take place at the end of the world.
But were this so, there would not be so many who become wise
again, and return from error into the Catholic Church. Wherefore
we must understand the binding into bundles to be what shall come
to pass in the end, that punishment should fall on them not
promiscuously, but in due proportion to the obstinacy and
willfulness of each separate error." (St. Augustine, Doctor
of the Church)
"It
is written (2 Peter 2:21): 'It had been better for them not to
have known the way of justice, than after they have known it, to
turn back.' Now the heathens have not known the way of justice,
whereas heretics and Jews have abandoned it after knowing it in
some way. Therefore theirs is the graver sin...he who resists the
faith after accepting it, sins more grievously against faith, than
he who resists it without having accepted it, even as he who fails
to fulfill what he has promised, sins more grievously than if he
had never promised it. In this way the unbelief of heretics, who
confess their belief in the Gospel, and resist that faith by
corrupting it, is a more grievous sin than that of the Jews, who
have never accepted the Gospel faith. Since, however, they
accepted the figure of that faith in the Old Law, which they
corrupt by their false interpretations, their unbelief is a more
grievous sin than that of the heathens, because the latter have
not accepted the Gospel faith in any way at all." (St. Thomas
Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the
history of the Church")
"For
since we have received, delivered to us by God, graces and
doctrines which ere above man, (as, for example, the rule of a
heavenly life, power against evil spirits, the adoption and the
knowledge of the Father and the Word, the gift of the Holy
Spirit,) our adversary the devil goes about seeking to steal from
us the seed of the word which has been sown. But the Lord,
shutting up in us His teaching as His own precious gift, warns us,
lest we be deceived. And one very great gift He gives us, the word
of God, that not only we be not led away by what appears, but even
if there is ought lying concealed, by the grace of God we may
discern it. For seeing that the devil is the hateful inventor of
evil, what he himself is he conceals, but craftily assumes a name
desirable to all; just as if a man wishing to get into his power
some children not His own, should in the absence of the parents
counterfeit their looks, and lead away the children who were
longing for them. In every heresy then the devil says in disguise,
'I am Christ, and with me there is truth.' And so it follows, For
many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time
draws near." (St. Athanasius, Doctor of the Church)
"Anything
is of faith in two ways; directly, where any truth comes to us
principally as divinely taught, as the Trinity and unity of God,
the Incarnation of the Son, and the like; and concerning these
truths a false opinion of itself involves heresy, especially if it
be held obstinately. A thing is of faith, indirectly, if the
denial of it involves as a consequence something against faith; as
for instance if anyone said that Samuel was not the son of Elcana,
for it follows that the divine Scripture would be false.
Concerning such things anyone may have a false opinion without
danger of heresy, before the matter has been considered or settled
as involving consequences against faith, and particularly if no
obstinacy be shown; whereas when it is manifest, and especially if
the Church has decided that consequences follow against faith,
then the error cannot be free from heresy. For this reason many
things are now considered as heretical which were formerly not so
considered, as their consequences are now more manifest."
(St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest
theologian in the history of the Church")
"The
Church, instituted by the Lord and confirmed by the Apostles, is
one for all men; but the frantic folly of the diverse impious
sects has cut them off from her. It cannot be denied that this
tearing asunder of the faith has arisen from the defect of poor
intelligence, which twists what is read to confirm to its opinion,
instead of adjusting its opinion to the meaning of what is read.
However, while individual parties fight among themselves, the
Church stands revealed not only by her own doctrines, but by those
also of her adversaries. And although they are all ranged against
her, she confutes the most wicked error which they all share, by
the very fact that she is alone and one. All the heretics,
therefore, come against the Church; but while all the heretics can
conquer each other, they can win nothing for themselves. For their
victory is the triumph of the Church over all of them. One heresy
struggles against that teaching of another, which the faith of the
Church has already condemned in the other heresy - for there is
nothing which the heretics hold in common - and the result is that
they affirm our faith while fighting among themselves." (St.
Hilary of Poitiers, Doctor of the Church, c. 356 A.D.)
"Protestantism
was established and rooted by the shedding of torrents of blood;
and yet Protestants count it as a great crime that, here and
there, the children of the true Church made an armed resistance
against them. The heresy of the sixteenth century was the cruel
and untiring persecutor of men, whose only crime was their
adhesion to the old faith - the faith that had civilized the
world. The so-called Reformation proclaimed liberty in matters of
religion, and massacred Catholics who exercised this liberty, and
prayed and believed as their ancestors had done for long ages
before Luther and Calvin were born. A Catholic who gives heretics
credit for sincerity when they talk about religious toleration,
proves that he knows nothing of either the past or the present.
There is a fatal instinct in error, which leads it to hate the
Truth; and the true Church, by its unchangeableness, is a
perpetual reproach to them that refuse to be her children. Heresy
starts with an attempt to annihilate them that remain faithful;
when it has grown tired of open persecution it vents its spleen in
insults and calumnies; and when these do not produce the desired
effect, hypocrisy comes in with its assurances of friendly
forbearance. The History of Protestant Europe, during the last
three centuries, confirms these statements; it also justifies us
in honoring those courageous servants of God who, during that same
period, have died for the ancient faith." (Dom Gueranger,
19th Century A.D.)
"[For]
it has been reported to us, that in the regions of the Dalmatians
certain men had disseminated the recurring tares of the Pelagian
pest, and that their blasphemy prevails there to such a degree
that they are deceiving all the simple by the insinuation of their
deadly madness... [But] since the Lord is superior, the pure truth
of Catholic faith drawn from the concordant opinions of all the
Fathers remains present... What pray permits us to abrogate what
has been condemned by the venerable Fathers, and to reconsider the
impious dogmas that have been demolished by them? Why is it,
therefore, that we take such great precautions lest any dangerous
heresy, once driven out, strive anew to come [up] for examination,
if we argue that what has been known, discussed, and refuted of
old by our elders ought to be restored? Are we not ourselves
offering, which God forbid, to all the enemies of the truth an
example of rising again against ourselves, which the Church will
never permit? Where is it that it is written: Do not go beyond the
limits of your fathers [Prov. 22:28], and: Ask your fathers and
they will tell you, and your elders will declare unto you [Deut.
32:7]? Why, accordingly, do we aim beyond the definitions of our
elders, or why do they not suffice for us? If in our ignorance we
desire to learn something, how every single thing to be avoided
has been prescribed by the orthodox fathers and elders, or
everything to be adapted to Catholic truth has been decreed, why
are they not approved by these? Or are we wiser than they, or
shall we be able to stand constant with firm stability, if we
should undermine those [dogmas] which have been established by
them?..." (Pope St. Gelasius I, 492 A.D.)
"Augustine
says against the Manichees (De Civitate Dei xviii,51): 'In
Christ's Church, those are heretics, who hold mischievous and
erroneous opinions, and when rebuked that they may think soundly
and rightly, offer a stubborn resistance, and, refusing to mend
their pernicious and deadly doctrines, persist in defending them.'
Now pernicious and deadly doctrines are none but those which are
contrary to the dogmas of faith, whereby 'the just man liveth'
(Romans 1:17). Therefore heresy is about matters of faith, as
about its proper matter... We are speaking of heresy now as
denoting a corruption of the Christian faith. Now it does not
imply a corruption of the Christian faith, if a man has a false
opinion in matters that are not of faith, for instance, in
questions of geometry and so forth, which cannot belong to the
faith by any means; but only when a person has a false opinion
about things belonging to the faith. Now a thing may be of the
faith in two ways..., in one way, directly and principally, e.g.
the articles of faith; in another way, indirectly and secondarily,
e.g. those matters, the denial of which leads to the corruption of
some article of faith; and there may be heresy in either way, even
as there can be faith... As Augustine says (Ep. 43) and we find it
stated in the Decretals (Decretal XXIV, Q3, canon Dixit Apostolus):
'By no means should we accuse of heresy those who, however false
and perverse their opinion may be, defend it without obstinate
fervor, and seek the truth with careful anxiety, ready to mend
their opinion, when they have found the truth,' because, to wit,
they do not make a choice in contradiction to the doctrine of the
Church. Accordingly, certain doctors seem to have differed either
in matters the holding of which in this or that way is of no
consequence, so far as faith is concerned, or even in matters of
faith, which were not as yet defined by the Church; although if
anyone were obstinately to deny them after they had been defined
by the authority of the universal Church, he would be deemed a
heretic." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
Also
See: Schism
/ Heresy |
Heresy
/ Heretics & Schism / Schismatics (Coming Home Reflections)
| Duty
to Reject Strange Doctrine (Coming Home Reflections) | Unchangeableness
of Dogmas (Latin Mass & Catholic Tradition Reflections) |
Novel
Teachings Are Forbidden (Coming Home Reflections) | Unity
of the Church | False
Opinions Influence / Pervert Actions (Coming Home Reflections)
| Truth
| Truth
/ Error / Nature of Man (Coming Home Reflections) | Why
Trust Martin Luther? (Coming Home Reflections)
| Non-Catholics
Section (apologetics) | Heresy
/ Error (Topical Scripture)
Note:
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