The Glossary of Terms and Principles

The Glossary of Terms and Principles [PDF]

-This glossary of terms and principles will hopefully provide a quick aid to those unfamiliar with some of the phrases, topics or principles that are frequently discussed in this book.  Since we feel it is more beneficial, this glossary has been arranged topically rather than alphabetically.-

Papacy – the office of a pope, the successor of St. Peter, which was founded by Jesus Christ (Mt. 16:18-20; John 21:15-17) upon St. Peter as head of the Christian Church.  The bishops of Rome are the successors of St. Peter. They hold the same primacy in the Christian Church that St. Peter held in the apostolic Church.

Magisterium – the teaching authority of the Catholic Church, exercised by a pope when proclaiming a dogma with the authority of the Papacy. Not every pronouncement of a true pope is a teaching of the Magisterium.  A pope speaks magisterially when he meets certain conditions (as defined by Vatican I).  Those who are faithful to the Magisterium are those who are faithful to what all the popes throughout history have dogmatically taught or set forth as what the Catholic Church has always held.

Ex Cathedra – Latin for “from the Chair.”  This refers to when a pope speaks infallibly from the Chair of St. Peter when he has fulfilled the conditions for an infallible pronouncement.  It is heresy and mortal sin to deny an ex cathedra pronouncement of a pope, which is irreformable (unchangeable), since it constitutes the dogma that Christ revealed to the Church.

Pope Pius IX, Vatican Council I, 1870, Session 4, Chap. 4:
“…the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra [from the Chair of Peter], that is, when carrying out the duty of the pastor and teacher of all Christians in accord with his supreme apostolic authority he explains a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, through the divine assistance promised him in blessed Peter, operates with that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer wished that His Church be instructed in defining doctrine on faith and morals; and so such definitions of the Roman Pontiff from himself, but not from the consensus of the Church, are unalterable.”[1]

Divine Revelation/Dogma – Jesus Christ’s truth is the teaching of Divine Revelation.  The Catholic Church teaches that the two sources of Divine Revelation are Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition; their true content is set forth by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Divine Revelation ended with the death of the last apostle. Dogma is unchangeable. When a pope defines a dogma, he doesn’t make a dogma true from that point forward, but rather solemnly declares without erring that which has always been true since the death of the last apostle. Dogmas are to be believed as the Church has “once declared them,” without any recession from that meaning to a “deeper understanding.”

Pope Pius IX, First Vatican Council, Sess. 3, Chap. 2 on Revelation, 1870, ex cathedra: “Hence, also, that understanding of its sacred dogmas must be perpetually retained, which Holy Mother Church has once declared; and there must never be a recession from that meaning under the specious name of a deeper understanding.”[2]

Pope Pius IX, First Vatican Council, Session 3, Chap. 4, Canon 3:
"If anyone says that it is possible that at some time, given the advancement of knowledge, a sense may be assigned to the dogmas propounded by the church which is different from that which the Church has understood and understands: let him be anathema."[3]

Heretic – a baptized person who rejects a dogma of the Catholic Church. Heretics are automatically excommunicated from the Church (ipso facto) without any declaration for rejecting an authoritative teaching of the Faith.

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 9), June 29, 1896:
“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 arise some other heresies, which are not set out in this work of ours, and, if any one holds to a single one of these he is not a Catholic.”[4]

Pope St. Pius X, Editae Saepe (# 43), May 26, 1910: “It is a certain, well-established fact that no other crime so seriously offends God and provokes His greatest wrath as the vice of heresy.”[5]

Schismatic – a baptized person who refuses communion with a true pope or with true Catholics.  Schismatics are almost always also heretics. Schismatics also incur automatic excommunication.

Apostate – a baptized person who doesn’t merely deny one or more truths of the Catholic Faith, but gives up the Christian Faith altogether.  Apostates also incur automatic excommunication.

Antipope – a false claimant to be the pope (i.e. a false claimant to be the Bishop of Rome). There have been over 40 antipopes in Church history, including some who reigned in Rome. This book proves that the Vatican II revolution was brought in by men who are and were antipopes falsely posing as true popes.

Sedevacante; sedevacantist position – Sede is Latin for “chair” and Vacante is Latin for “empty.” A sedevacante period is a period when there is no pope: the Chair of St. Peter is empty. This usually occurs after the death of a pope or after a pope’s resignation; this has occurred over 200 times in Church history, and has lasted for years at times.  The doctors of the Church also teach that the Chair of Peter would become vacant if a pope were to become a manifest heretic. The sedevacantist position describes the position of traditional Catholics who hold that the Chair of St. Peter is presently vacant because the man in Rome can be proven to be a public heretic, and therefore not a true pope.

Vatican II – a council which took place from 1962-1965. Vatican II purported to be a general council of the Catholic Church, but actually was a revolutionary “robber council” which taught doctrines condemned by the Catholic Church. Vatican II brought in a new religion, and was responsible for the incredibly rotten fruits and revolutionary changes that ensued in its aftermath.

Vatican II Sect – this phrase describes the counterfeit Church that has arisen since Vatican II, which was prophesied in Catholic prophecy and Sacred Scripture. This counterfeit sect is rife with heresy, apostasy and the most outrageous scandals, as this book proves in tremendous detail.  This book proves that the Vatican II sect is not the Catholic Church, but the Devil’s counterfeit to lead people astray during the Great Apostasy.

Novus Ordo Missae – Latin for New Order of the Mass; it refers to the New Mass promulgated by Paul VI on April 3, 1969.

Novus Ordo Church – as it is referred to in this book, is basically synonymous with the term “Vatican II sect,” which describes the counterfeit Church of Vatican II, the New Mass and those who adhere to it.

Traditional Catholic – a person who is simply a Catholic who adheres to the Catholic Faith of all times, who adheres to all the dogmas proclaimed by popes, and the traditional rites of the Church.  A traditional Catholic doesn’t accept the false Vatican II religion or the New Mass (the Novus Ordo) because they are novelties opposed to Catholic teaching.

False Traditionalist – a person who adheres to the traditional Catholic Faith in certain ways (such as in the resistance to ecumenism or parts of Vatican II), but also holds some allegiance to the false Vatican II sect.  The allegiance of “false traditionalists” to the Vatican II sect is usually because they accept the post-Vatican II “popes” as true popes when the post-Vatican II “popes” can be proven to be antipopes (as shown in this book).

Ecumenism – this refers to the teaching of Vatican II and the “popes” after Vatican II to respect, unite with, pray with, and esteem false religions.  “Ecumenism,” as practiced and taught by the Vatican II sect, is directly condemned by Catholic teaching, the popes and the whole tradition of the Church.  It puts the true religion on a par with false religions, and the true God on a par with false gods.  The Ecumenism of the Vatican II sect is exposed in tremendous detail in this book.  Some say that, strictly speaking, Ecumenism refers to the heretical practice to unite with Protestant and schismatic sects, while interreligious dialogue refers to the same practice with non-Christian religions. But the two terms are basically synonymous today.

CATHOLIC CONCEPTS CONCERNING NON-CATHOLIC RELIGIONS

Non-Catholic religions are false/There is no Salvation Outside the Catholic Church – The Catholic Church teaches as a dogma that there is only one true religion and one true God.  The Church teaches that all non-Catholic religions are false and belong to the Devil.  It is a dogma of the Catholic Faith that Outside the Catholic Church There is No Salvation (extra ecclesiam nulla salus).  This has been defined seven times by popes speaking ex cathedra.

Pope St. Gregory the Great, quoted in Summo Iugiter Studio, 590-604:
“The holy universal Church teaches that it is not possible to worship God truly except in her and asserts that all who are outside of her will not be saved.”[6]

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Cantate Domino,” 1441, ex cathedra:
“The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the Church before the end of their lives; that the unity of this ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only for those who abide in it do the Church’s sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia produce eternal rewards; and that nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church.”[7]

Paganism/the worship of other gods – The term paganism refers to the false, polytheistic religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.  The Catholic Church teaches that the gods worshipped by members of pagan religions (who worship various gods) are demons.

Psalms 95:5- “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils…”

1 Cor. 10:20- “But the things which the heathens sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God. And I would not that you should be made partakers with devils.”

Pope Pius XI, Ad Salutem (#27), April 20, 1930: “…all the compulsion and folly, all the outrages and lust, introduced into man’s life by the demons through the worship of false gods.”[8]

Islam – a false religion revealed by the false prophet Muhammad.  Its followers are called Muslims, who follow the book called The Koran.  Muslims reject the Trinity and the Divinity of Christ.  According to Catholic teaching, Islam is an abomination and a diabolical sect (i.e. a sect of the Devil).  Muslims are unbelievers (infidels) who need to be converted for salvation.

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Basel, 1434: “… there is hope that very many from the abominable sect of Mahomet will be converted to the Catholic faith.”[9]

Pope Callixtus III: “I vow to… exalt the true Faith, and to extirpate the diabolical sect of the reprobate and faithless Mahomet [Islam] in the East.”[10]

The Vatican II sect heaps praise on Islam and considers it a good religion.

Judaism – the religion which rejects Jesus Christ as the Messiah and attempts to practice the Old Law given through the mediation of Moses.  Judaism holds that the Messiah is still to come for the first time.  The Catholic Church teaches that the Old Law was revoked with the coming of Christ, that it is a mortal sin to continue to observe it (Council of Florence), and that the adherents of the Jewish religion will not be saved unless they convert to Jesus Christ and the Catholic Faith.

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, 1441, ex cathedra:
“The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and teaches that the matter pertaining to the law of the Old Testament, the Mosaic law, which are divided into ceremonies, sacred rites, sacrifices, and sacraments… after our Lord’s coming… ceased, and the sacraments of the New Testament began... All, therefore, who after that time (the promulgation of the Gospel) observe circumcision and the Sabbath and the other requirements of the law, the holy Roman Church declares alien to the Christian faith and not in the least fit to participate in eternal salvation.”[11]

Pope Benedict XIV, A Quo Primum, June 14, 1751: "Surely it is not in vain that the Church has established the universal prayer which is offered up for the faithless Jews from the rising of the sun to its setting, that they may be rescued from their darkness into the light of truth."[12]

Orthodoxy/Eastern Orthodox – the followers of the schism from the Catholic Church that occurred in the year 1054. The “Orthodox” reject the dogma of the Papacy, Papal Infallibility and the last 13 dogmatic councils of the Church.  They also allow divorce and remarriage.  They are considered heretics and schismatics in Catholic teaching.  They need to be converted for unity and salvation.

Pope Benedict XIV, Allatae Sunt (#19), July 26, 1755:
“First, the missionary who is attempting with God’s help to bring back Greek and eastern schismatics to unity should devote all his effort to the single-objective of delivering them from doctrines at variance with the Catholic faith.”[13]

However, the Vatican II sect says “the Orthodox” don’t need to be converted for salvation.  It teaches that they are part of the true Church and on the road to salvation (as proven in this book).

Protestants – the followers of the sects which split from the Catholic Church after Martin Luther’s revolt in 1517.  Protestants are those who reject Catholic dogma in one or more areas. One who rejects or protests against any Catholic dogma is a heretic and ipso facto excommunicated.  Protestants usually reject Catholic dogma in the areas of the priesthood, the Mass, the sacraments, the Papacy, the necessity of faith and works, the intercession of the saints, etc.

Pope Pius XI, Rerum omnium perturbationem (#4), Jan. 26, 1923: “… the heresies begotten by the [Protestant] Reformation.  It is in these heresies that we discover the beginnings of that apostasy of mankind from the Church...”[14]

Pope Leo XII, Ubi Primum (# 14), May 5, 1824:
“It is impossible for the most true God, who is Truth itself, the best, the wisest Provider, and the Rewarder of good men, to approve all sects who profess false teachings which are often inconsistent with one another and contradictory, and to confer eternal rewards on their members… by divine faith we hold one Lord, one faith, one baptism… This is why we profess that there is no salvation outside the Church.”[15]

The Vatican II sect, however, holds that Protestantism is not heresy, that Protestants are not heretics, that their sects are means of salvation and part of the true Church.

OTHER IMPORTANT CATHOLIC CONCEPTS USED THROUGHOUT THE BOOK

Catholics cannot partake in non-Catholic worship – Prior to Vatican II, all Catholic moral theology manuals reiterated the traditional teaching of the Church that it is a mortal sin against the divine law to partake in non-Catholic worship. After Vatican II, this mortally sinful activity is officially encouraged (e.g., see The Vatican II sect vs. the Catholic Church on partaking in non-Catholic worship section of this book).

Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos (# 10): “So, Venerable Brethren, it is clear why this Apostolic See has never allowed its subjects to take part in the assemblies of non- Catholics…”[16]

Heresy can be manifested by deed – While some people manifest their heresy by written statements or oral declarations, most heresy and apostasy is manifested by deed, not word.  People manifest their heresy and apostasy by going to non-Catholic temples to worship, such as the synagogue or the mosque, or by joining the Protestants and schismatics in their worship at their churches.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Pt. I-II, Q. 103., A. 4: “All ceremonies are professions of faith, in which the interior worship of God consists.  Now man can make profession of his inward faith, by deeds as well as by words: and in either profession, if he makes a false declaration, he sins mortally.”[17]

That’s why St. Thomas Aquinas taught that if anyone were to worship at the tomb of Mohammed, he would be an apostate. Such an action alone would show that he does not have the Catholic Faith, and that he accepts the false Islamic religion.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Pt. II, Q. 12, A. 1, Obj. 2: “… if anyone were to… worship at the tomb of Mahomet, he would be deemed an apostate.”[18]

Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, Dec. 8, 1854, defining the Immaculate Conception: “… by their own act they subject themselves to the penalties established by law, if, what they think in their heart [contrary to this decree], they should dare to signify by word or writing or any other external means.”[19]

We see here that heresy against the dogma of the Immaculate Conception can be signified by word, writing and “other external means.”  In fact, in his book Principles of Catholic Theology, Benedict XVI admitted that the actions and gestures of ecumenism, which the post-Vatican II sect has made toward the Eastern schismatics, signify precisely that (according to the Vatican II sect) the schismatics don’t need to accept the Papal Primacy:

Benedict XVI, Principles of Catholic Theology (1982), p. 198: “Nor is it possible, on the other hand, for him to regard as the only possible form and, consequently, as binding on all Christians the form this primacy [the Papal Primacy] has taken in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  The symbolic gestures of Pope Paul VI and, in particular, his kneeling before the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch [the schismatic Patriarch Athenagoras] were an attempt to express precisely this….”[20]

This will be discussed more in the book, but this is an astounding admission by the current leader of the Vatican II sect that the actions of ecumenism signify heresy against the Papal Primacy.  This is a clear example of heresy manifested by deed.

The Catholic Church rejects all who have opposing views – Those who reject the Catholic Church’s dogmatic teaching are condemned, anathematized and rejected by the Church.

Pope Pelagius II, epistle (1) Quod ad dilectionem, 585: “If anyone, however, either suggests or believes or presumes to teach contrary to this faith, let him know that he is condemned and also anathematized according to the opinion of the same Fathers.”[21]

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Cantate Domino,” 1441: “Therefore it [the Church] condemns, rejects, anathematizes and declares to be outside the Body of Christ, which is the Church, whoever holds opposing or contrary views.”[22]

To reject one dogma of the Catholic Church is to reject all Faith, since Christ is the guarantor of its dogmas

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 9), June 29, 1896: “… can it be lawful for anyone to reject any one of those truths without by that very fact falling into heresy? – without separating himself from the Church? – without repudiating in one sweeping act the whole of Christian teaching? For such is the nature of faith that nothing can be more absurd than to accept some things and reject others… But he who dissents even in one point from divinely revealed truth absolutely rejects all faith, since
he thereby refuses to honor God as the supreme truth and the formal motive of faith.”[23]

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 9), June 29, 1896: "The Church, founded on these principles and mindful of her office, has done nothing with greater zeal and endeavor 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."[24]

Catholics do not hold communion with heretics – All who reject the Faith of the Catholic Church are outside of and alien to her communion; true Catholics must hold no communion with them.

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 9), June 29, 1896:“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.”[25]

Pope St. Leo the Great, Sermon 129: “Wherefore, since outside the Catholic Church there is nothing perfect, nothing undefiled… we are in no way likened with those who are divided from the unity of the Body of Christ; we are joined in no communion.”[26]

Clerics, including bishops and popes, must be resisted if they stray from the Faith; they lose their offices automatically if they become public heretics

Canon 188.4, 1917 Code of Canon Law:
“There are certain causes which effect the tacit (silent) resignation of an office, which resignation is accepted in advance by operation of the law, and hence is effective without any declaration.  These causes are… (4) if he has publicly fallen away from the faith.”[27]

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (#15), June 29, 1896:
“No one, therefore, unless in communion with Peter can share in his authority, since it is absurd to imagine that he who is outside can command in the Church.”[28]

What is a public defection from the Faith?

Canon 2197.1, 1917 Code of Canon Law:
“A Crime is public: (1) if it is already commonly known or the circumstances are such as to lead to the conclusion that it can and will easily become so…”[29]

St. Robert Bellarmine, De Romano Pontifice, Book II, chap. 30: "Finally, the Holy Fathers teach unanimously not only that heretics are outside of the Church, but also that they are "ipso facto" deprived of all ecclesiastical jurisdiction and dignity.”

Dom Prosper Guéranger, The Liturgical Year, Vol. 4, p. 379, on how a layman of the 5th century resisted and condemned Nestorius, his bishop, when he demonstrated manifest heresy: “It was then that Satan produced Nestorius… enthroned in the Chair of Constantinople… In the very year of his exaltation, on Christmas Day 428, Nestorius, taking advantage of the immense concourse which had assembled in honor of the Virgin Mother and her Child, pronounced from the Episcopal pulpit the blasphemous words: ‘Mary did not bring forth God; her Son was only a man, the instrument of the Divinity.’ The multitude shuddered with horror.  Eusebius, a simple layman, rose to give expression to the general indignation, and protested against this impiety. Soon a more explicit protest was drawn up and disseminated in the name of the members of this grief- stricken Church, launching an anathema against anyone who should dare to say: ‘The Only-begotten Son of the Father and the Son of Mary are different persons.’  This generous attitude was the safeguard of Byzantium, and won the praise of popes and councils.  When the shepherd becomes a wolf, the first duty of the flock is to defend itself.”[30]

Pope St. Celestine, quoted by St. Robert Bellarmine:
"The authority of Our Apostolic See has determined that the bishop, cleric, or simple Christian who had been deposed or excommunicated by Nestorius or his followers, after the latter began to preach heresy shall not be considered deposed or excommunicated. For he who had defected from the faith with such preachings, cannot depose or remove anyone whatsoever."[31]

St. Robert Bellarmine, Cardinal and Doctor of the Church, De Romano Pontifice, II, 30: "A pope who is a manifest heretic automatically (per se) ceases to be pope and head, just as he ceases automatically to be a Christian and a member of the Church. Wherefore, he can be judged and punished by the Church. This is the teaching of all the ancient Fathers who teach that manifest heretics immediately lose all jurisdiction."

St. Robert Bellarmine, De Romano Pontifice, II, 30:
"This principle is most certain. The non-Christian cannot in any way be Pope, as Cajetan himself admits (ib. c. 26). The reason for this is that he cannot be head of what he is not a member; now he who is not a Christian is not a member of the Church, and a manifest heretic is not a Christian, as is clearly taught by St. Cyprian (lib. 4, epist. 2), St. Athanasius (Scr. 2 cont. Arian.), St. Augustine (lib. De great. Christ. Cap. 20), St. Jerome (contra Lucifer.) and others; therefore the manifest heretic cannot be Pope."

St. Francis De Sales (17th  century), Doctor of the Church, The Catholic Controversy, pp. 305-306 :  "Now when he [the Pope] is explicitly a heretic, he falls ipso facto from his dignity and out of the Church..."[32]

St. Antoninus (1459): "In the case in which the pope would become a heretic, he would find himself, by that fact alone and without any other sentence, separated from the Church.  A head separated from a body cannot, as long as it remains separated, be head of the same body from which it was cut off.  A pope who would be separated from the Church by heresy, therefore, would by that very fact itself cease to be head of the Church. He could not be a heretic and remain pope, because, since he is outside of the Church, he cannot possess the keys of the Church." (Summa Theologica, cited in Actes de Vatican I. V. Frond pub.)

St. Robert Bellarmine, De Romano Pontifice, Book II, Chap. 30, concerning judging those who are heretics: “… for men are not bound, or able to read hearts; but when they see that someone is a heretic by his external works, they judge him to be a heretic pure and simple, and condemn him as a heretic.”[33]

Indefectibility – refers to the promise of Christ that He would always be with His Church (Mt. 28) and that the gates of Hell cannot prevail against the Church (Mt. 16).  Indefectibility means that the Catholic Church will, until the end of time, remain essentially what she is.  The indefectibility of the Church requires that at least a remnant of the Church will exist until the end of the world, that the official teachings of the Church will not err, and that a true pope will never authoritatively teach error to the entire Church. It does not exclude antipopes posing as popes or a counterfeit sect that reduces the adherents of the true Catholic Church to a remnant in the last days, which is precisely what is predicted to occur in the last days and what happened during the Arian crisis.