Antipope John Paul II denies the Council of Trent again by commemorating the heretical JD with the Lutherans on Justification (Major Heresy)

Heresy of the Week, Week of 2/13/04 By Bro. Michael Dimond and Bro. Peter Dimond For more see: Heresies of the Week of John Paul II and the Vatican II sect regarding Heretics and Schismatics

Antipope John Paul II, Jan. 19, 2004, At a Meeting with Lutherans From Finland: “… I wish to express my gratitude for the ecumenical progress made between Catholics and Lutherans in the five years since the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification… It is my hope that Lutherans and Catholics will increasingly practice a spirituality of communion, which draws on those elements of ecclesial life which they already share and which will strengthen their fellowship in prayer and in witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” (L’Osservatore Romano, Jan. 28, 2004, p. 4.)

Comment: The Joint Declaration with the Lutherans on the Doctrine of Justification is so heretical that there are almost no words to describe it.  It completely repudiates the Council of Trent.  Since some of the defenders of Antipope John Paul II and even some of the “traditionalists” have offered some of the most ridiculous and dishonest attempts to defend this agreement, I will briefly review why this document is heretical, why it is a complete repudiation of the Council of Trent, and why it actually constitutes an official declaration by John Paul II himself that his sect is a non-Catholic, Protestant “Church.”

1) Joint Declaration With Lutherans on Justification: “# 5.  THE PRESENT JOINT DECLARATION… does not cover all that either church teaches about justification; it does encompass a consensus on basic truths of the doctrine of justification and SHOWS THAT THE REMAINING DIFFERENCES ARE NO LONGER THE OCCASION FOR DOCTRINAL CONDEMNATIONS.”

This means that the remaining differences between Lutherans and Catholics on Justification – for example, the fact that Lutherans don’t accept the Council of Trent’s Decree on Justification as dogmatic – are no longer the occasion for doctrinal condemnations.  This is blatantly HERETICAL.  The very fact that the Lutherans don’t accept the Council of Trent’s Decree on Justification as dogmatic is an occasion for their doctrinal condemnation.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 16, ex cathedra: "After this Catholic doctrine of justification [defined by Trent] - which, unless he faithfully and firmly accepts, no one can be justified - it seemed good to the holy Synod to add these canons, so that all may know, not only what they must hold and follow, but also what they ought to shun and avoid." Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Sess. 6, On Justification, Introduction, ex cathedra:"...the holy ecumenical and general synod of Trent lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit... purpose to expound to all the faithful of Christ the true and salutary doctrine of justification… strictly forbidding that anyone henceforth may presume to believe, preach or teach, otherwise than is defined and declared by this present decree." (2) Joint Declaration With the Lutherans on Justification: "41. Thus the doctrinal condemnations of the 16th century [i.e., the Council of Trent], in so far as they are related to the doctrine of justification, appear in a new light: The teaching of the Lutheran churches presented in this Declaration does not fall under the condemnations from the Council of Trent."

This means that none of the teaching of the Lutherans in the JD is condemned by the Council of Trent!  But in the JD (Joint Declaration), besides the other heresies taught by the Lutherans (as we will see), the Lutheran churches teach the heresy of Justification by “faith alone,” which was condemned by the Council of Trent approximately 13 times.

Joint Declaration With the Lutherans on Justification: "26. According to Lutheran understanding, God justifies sinners in faith alone (sola fide)." Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 10, ex cathedra : "'You see, that by works a man is justified and not by faith alone' (Jas. 2:24)."

Thus, the statement in #41 of the JD means that the “Catholic” side agrees that all the dogmatic canons and decrees in Trent condemning faith alone are overturned, and that faith alone is no longer contrary to or condemned by Trent.  It is not possible for heresy to be any more formal than this.

3) Joint Declaration With the Lutherans on Justification: “# 13.  IN LIGHT OF THIS CONSENSUS, THE CORRESPONDING DOCTRINAL CONDEMNATIONS OF THE 16TH CENTURY [the Council of Trent] DO NOT APPLY TO TODAY’S PARTNER.”

This again means that the fact that the Lutherans don’t accept the Council of Trent’s Decree on Justification in totality is not heretical, which is a denial of the Council of Trent.  The Council of Trent condemned as heretical anyone who does not accept all of its teaching. So, don’t be misled by those liars who try to convince people that the JD didn’t really deny the Council of Trent, or that “it’s much more complicated than that.”  These people are used by the devil to defend the apostate Vatican II sect of Antipope John Paul II.  The Joint Declaration with the Lutherans on the Doctrine of Justification completely rejects the dogmatic Council of Trent.  Anyone who denies this is simply a liar.

SOME OTHER HERESIES IN THE JOINT DECLARATION

In fact, besides “faith alone,” there are hordes of other heresies in the JD which were specifically condemned by Trent.  See the article on our site Joint Declaration With the Lutherans on Justification for all the gory details.  The JD has heresy spilling out of it.  Here are just a few others.

JD With Lutherans: "21. According to the Lutheran teaching, human beings are incapable of cooperating in their salvation, because as sinners they actively oppose God and his saving action." –HERESY CONDEMNED BY TRENT! Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 4: "If anyone shall say that man's free will moved and aroused by God does not cooperate by assenting to God who rouses and calls, whereby it disposes and prepares itself to obtain the grace of justification, and that it cannot dissent, if it wishes, but that like something inanimate it does nothing at all and is merely in a passive state: let him be anathema." JD With Lutherans: "23. …Lutherans... intend rather to express that justification remains free from human cooperation and is not dependent upon the life-renewing effects of grace in human beings." – HERESY CONDEMNED BY TRENT! Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 1: "If anyone shall say that man can be justified before God by his own works which are done either by his own natural powers, or through the teaching of the Law, and without divine grace through Christ Jesus: let him be anathema." JD With Lutherans: "29. Lutherans understand this condition of the Christian as a being 'at the same time righteous and sinner'. Believers are totally righteous, in that God forgives their sins through Word and Sacrament and grants the righteousness of Christ which they appropriate in faith. In Christ, they are made just before God. Looking at themselves through the law, however, they recognize that they remain totally sinners." – HERESY CONDEMNED BY TRENT!

This heresy is also called “simul justus et peccator” (at the same time just and sinner) and was one of Martin Luther’s favorites.  It was vigorously condemned by Trent in the following two passages.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 5: "If anyone denies that by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is conferred in baptism, the guilt of original sin is remitted, or even asserts that the whole of that which has the true and proper nature of sin is not taken away, but says that it is only touched in person or is not imputed, let him be anathema." Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 5: "For in those who are born again [Justified], God hates nothing, because 'there is no condemnation, to those who are truly buried together with Christ by baptism unto death' (Rom. 6:4), who do not 'walk according to the flesh' (Rom. 8:1), but putting off 'the old man' and putting on the 'new, who is created according to God' (Eph. 4:22 ff.; Col. 3:9), are made innocent, immaculate, pure, guiltless, and beloved sons of God, 'heirs indeed of God, but co-heirs with Christ' (Rom. 8:17), so that there is nothing whatever to retard their entrance into heaven." JD With Lutherans: "29... Lutherans say that justified persons are also sinners and that their opposition to God is truly sin, they do not deny that, despite this sin, they are not separated from God and that this is a 'ruled' sin." – HERESY CONDEMNED BY TRENT Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 15: "... the doctrine of divine law which excludes from the kingdom of God not only the unbelievers, but also the faithful who are fornicators, adulterers, effeminate, liers with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, railers, extortioners (1 Cor. 6:9), and all others who commit deadly sins, from which with the assistance of divine grace they can refrain and for which they are separated from the grace of God."

I could go on, but there is a whole article on this on our website. Some of the false teachers who have tried to belittle the significance of the JD have tried to deceive their readers and listeners by saying that the two other documents which go alone with the JD actually clarify everything.  THIS IS PURE HOGWASH!  The two other documents that go along with the JD: 1) The Official Common Statement by the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church and 2) the Annex to the Official Common Statement not only confirm the JD, but in fact, the Annex shows that the “Catholic” side not only accepts the heresy of faith alone, as stated in the JD, but also professes belief in faith alone!

Annex to the Official Common Statement, #2, C [“Catholic” side and Lutheran side together]: "Justification takes place by grace alone, by faith alone, the person is justified apart from works."

But, as said above, even if the Annex didn’t assert this abominable heresy, it wouldn’t matter, because all of the heresies catalogued above – whether on the Lutheran side or the “Catholic” side of the JD – are accepted as not condemned by the Council of Trent.  Furthermore, as proven in point 1 of this column, the JD specifically says that the Lutherans’ remaining differences with Catholics on Justification are not an occasion for doctrinal condemnations.  So don’t be fooled by those liars who tell you that “yeah, there are problems with the JD, but none of the heresies appear on the Catholic side, just on the Lutheran side.”  It is simply not true and, more importantly, it doesn’t make a difference. I will conclude this Heresy of the Week with a quote from an article WHICH APPEARED IN L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO (the official newspaper of the Vatican) DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH ANTIPOPE JOHN PAUL II’S MEETING WITH THE FINNISH PROTESTANTS QUOTED AT THE TOP OF THIS COLUMN.

Mons. John A. Radano, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, (L’Osservatore Romano, Jan. 28, 2004, p. 4.): “This latter meeting [between Baptists and “Catholics”] , 5-6 December, at the suggestion of the Baptists focused one day on the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JD) signed by the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation in 1999…”

This means that the “Church” of John Paul II officially accepts the Joint Declaration with the Lutherans on the Doctrine of Justification and rejects the Council of Trent.  The Catholic Church, on the other hand, retains and will always retain the Council of Trent’s Doctrine on Justification, which was delivered by Christ to the Apostles.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Sess. 6, On Justification, Introduction: "...the holy ecumenical and general synod of Trent lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit... cardinals of the Holy Roman Church and apostolic legates a latere, presiding therein in the name of our Most Holy Father and Lord in Christ, Paul, the third Pope by the providence of God, for the praise and glory of Almighty God, for the tranquility of the Church and the salvation of souls, purpose to expound to all the faithful of Christ the true and salutary doctrine of justification, which the "son of justice" (Mal. 4:2), Christ Jesus, "the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb. 12:2) taught, the apostles transmitted and the Catholic Church, under the instigation of the Holy Spirit, has always retained..."

Thus, the “Church” of John Paul II is not the Catholic Church, and those who are aware of these facts and then affirm communion with it are simply affirming communion with a non-Catholic “Church” and are not Catholics – period. For more see: Heresies of the Week of John Paul II and the Vatican II sect regarding Heretics and Schismatics