When taking a look at Ecclesiastical writings of diverse eras, our attention is called by the frequent affirmations of Pontiffs, Bishops and holy men lamenting the adversities that the Church was passing through in their days. The storms that the attacks of external and internal enemies raised against the ship of Saint Peter were constant during the two millenniums of the Church’s victorious navigation. This undeterred advance throughout all epochs may only be explained if we take into consideration that the Church is not a human institution, but rather divine. Born of the open side of Christ upon the cross and irrigated by his Blood, in its visible elements the Church should, therefore, seek the realization of the desires of its divine Founder in that which refers to its constitution, sanctity, mission and even its government.
At this time, when many question the form of government of the Church, one question seems essential to us, as essential as often forgotten: How did Jesus Christ conceive this Church that constitutes his own Mystical Body? In calling the Twelve and putting Saint Peter at their head, did he desire it to be hierarchical? Or rather, ‘horizontal’?
The answer is easily at hand for all in the numerous documents of the Magisterium, even when some seem to want to veil it…
Francis
Note 1: The authors of this study are aware that the Press Office of the Vatican has denied the interpretations that some media sources have attributed to certain affirmations contained in the interviews of Francis with Eugenio Scalfari. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that some of these sources are still published on the Vatican website (found by clicking on the links of the articles), and published within the weekly English edition of the L’Osservatore Romano, n. 41, 9 October 2013, lending an official air to their content, seemingly with the approval of Francis himself. In the midst of all the turmoil and confusion caused, we always feel that a presentation of the true doctrine should be made with clarity, together with such affirmations. We must not forget that the majority of the public read only the titles that the media publishes, and, as we know, the latter frequently manipulate the truth. Consequently, it appears that a mere declaration that the content of these interviews does not correspond with the textual words of Francis, is simply not sufficient. As such, we publish this article with the intention of clarifying and orienting the faithful, who have always been the principle objective of this page, as we had expressed in our letter of presentation. In this way, each one can make a correct judgment, having beforehand attained knowledge of the truth.Note 2: Fr. Lombardi explained that it had been decided that the interview with Scalfari would be taken off the Vatican web page: ‘The information in the interview is reliable on a general level but not on the level of each individual point analyzed: this is why it was decided that the text should not be available for consultation on the Holy See website. Its removal is a final update on the nature of this text. Some mistakes were made regarding its value, which was questioned. The Secretariat of State took the decision’ (VaticanInsider, November 15, 2013). However, ‘The Denzinger-Bergoglio_EN’ confirms that it is still posted on the Vatican webpage, just as our Spanish counterpart confirms the same for their language edition.
Teachings of the Magisterium
Enter in the various parts of our study
II – The supreme power in the Hierarchy pertains to the Roman Pontiff
III – Does collegiality annul the primacy?
IV – Is a ‘horizontal’ Church possible?
I – The Church is hierarchical by divine disposition
Catechism of Saint Pius X
John Paul II
Pius XII
Catechism of Saint Pius X
II – The supreme power in the Hierarchy pertains to the Roman Pontiff
Leo the Great
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Clement VI
Boniface I
John Paul II
John XXIII
Pius XII
Vatican Council I (Ecumenical XX)
Council of Florence (Ecumenical XVII)
Vatican Council II (Ecumenical XXI)
John Paul II
Clement VI
Pius VI
John Paul II
III – Does collegiality annul the primacy?
Leo XIII
Vatican Council II
Pius XII
John Paul II
Leo XIII
Vatican Council I (Ecumenical XX)
IV – Is a ‘horizontal’ Church possible?
Leo XIII
John XXIII
Pius VI
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Leo XIII
Benedict XVI
Pius XII
John Paul II
Vatican Council I (Ecumenical XX)
Pius X
Horizontal church? That sounds like presbytarianism to my ears. My father was an elder.
Of course they are Robert! After 500 years they have finally realised that Luther was right about divorce and a whole other bunch of things. So they are just bringing Luther’s insights into the Church.
Great scoop! Lombardi says that they will take his interview off air, and they still keep it on the Vatican page. So who are they fooling?
This guy is worse than a heretic. He does not even have the guts to stand up to his heresies clearly. They always do the same thing – first his statements, then Lombardi’s interpretation. When all the dust settles, they do the same thing all over again. Cowardly heresy pushing!