22 Heresies in Antipope John Paul II’s Joint Declaration with the Lutherans on the Doctrine of Justification

By Brother Peter Dimond, O.S.B.

“...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, strictly forbidding that anyone henceforth may presume to believe, preach or teach, otherwise than is defined and declared by this present decree.” (Council of Trent, Session 6, On Justification)

On October 31, 1999, the Vatican under Antipope John Paul II approved a common statement with the Lutherans on the doctrine of justification. The notion that Catholics could ever agree with the Lutherans on the doctrine of justification is irrational. Catholics are required to believe in the dogmatic teaching of the Council of Trent; Lutherans reject the dogmatic teaching of the Council of Trent.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 16: “After this Catholic doctrine of justification - 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.”

The only agreement that could be reached between Catholics and Lutherans is one in which the Lutherans reject their heresy and accept all of Catholic doctrine. As the holy council solemnly states, “no one can be justified” unless he faithfully and firmly believes in the Catholic teaching. Right off the bat, therefore, any supposed agreement with the Lutherans on justification is an utter denial of the Council of Trent. Despite this blatantly obvious fact, many “wolves in sheep's clothing” are trying to defend this agreement. In fact, Antipope John Paul II has given it his full support. On December 9-10 L'Osservatore Romano, the official newspaper of the Vatican, reported Antipope John Paul II's excitement over this agreement.

Antipope John Paul II, on the Vatican-Lutheran Agreement on Justification: “For 25 years Lutherans and Catholics have been working to rediscover their common path... Theological dialogue has brought to light again the vast heritage of faith which unites us... Everyone knows that the Protestant Reformation began from the doctrine of justification and that it destroyed the unity of Christians of the West. A common understanding of justification... will, we are sure, help us to resolve the other controversies directly or indirectly linked to it. This “common understanding,” which I had hoped for eight years ago, today, thank God, has become an encouraging reality. This achievement of the ecumenical dialogue, a milestone on the way to full and visible unity, is the result of research, meetings, and prayer.”

Antipope John Paul II has praised this agreement publicly on many occasions, but the above quote should suffice to demonstrate that the Joint Declaration has his full backing and approval. Therefore we will demonstrate that this Joint Declaration between the Lutherans and the Vatican II Church under Antipope John Paul II is filled with heresy from beginning to end. Catholic Definition: Justification - The state of sanctifying grace.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 7: “Justification... is not merely remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man through the voluntary reception of the grace and gifts, whereby an unjust man becomes a just man, and from being an enemy becomes a friend, that he may be “an heir according to hope of life everlasting” [ . 3:7].”

Before proceeding in this article on the Joint Declaration (abbreviated as JD), it is important for the reader to understand one thing. The JD is worded in a tricky way: Each aspect of the JD is begun with a common explanation of justification by both Churches, followed by an explanation of the Lutheran church, and ended with an explanation by the Vatican. This is done solely to confuse the reader. By wording it in this way the enemies of Christ who wrote this document hope that the casual reader will be fooled into thinking that Catholics don't agree with the statements made under the headings of the Lutheran explanation. However, this is entirely not the case. I quote # 41 of the JD:

“41. Thus the doctrinal condemnations of the 16th century, 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.”

Thus, any attempted distinction between Catholic and Lutheran teaching in this document is a joke, a farce, and a deception. The bottom-line is that according to the JD, you can remain Catholic while believing in the teaching of the Lutheran churches as they are presented in the JD; that is, you are not condemned by Trent. So as you proceed in this article keep in mind that all the statements concerning justification contained in the Joint Declaration (whether they appear as Lutheran or Catholic) are accepted by the Vatican II Church and Antipope John Paul II. Heresies in the Joint Declaration Heresy # 1 Near the start of the document the JD (Joint Declaration) states:

“5. The present Joint Declaration has this intention: namely, to show that on the basis of their dialogue the subscribing Lutheran churches and the Roman Catholic Church are now able to articulate a common understanding of our justification by God's grace through faith in Christ. It 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 paragraph is a repudiation of Trent's condemnations of the Lutheran view of justification. This repudiation of Trent is reaffirmed even more explicitly in # 13 of the JD (under the heading: The Doctrine of Justification as an Ecumenical Problem):

“13. In light of this consensus, the corresponding doctrinal condemnations of the 16th century do not apply to today's partner” (JD # 13).

This declaration that the ex cathedra condemnations of the Council of Trent no longer apply is a sweeping rejection of Catholicism altogether, which by its very nature rejects any change in dogma. For if dogma can change, then faith can change. If faith can change, then God can change, who is the author of faith.

Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass.” Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today; the same forever.” Pope Pius IX, First Vatican Council, Session 4, Chap. 4: “And so We... teach and explain... that the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra... operates 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. But if anyone presumes to contradict this definition of Ours, which may God forbid: let him be anathema.”

To affirm that Catholic dogma can change, as the JD does in # 13, is and always has been blasphemous and heretical. Heresy # 2

“7... this Declaration is shaped by the conviction that in their respective histories our churches have come to new insights. Developments have taken place which not only make possible, but also require the churches to examine the divisive questions and condemnations and see them in a new light.” (JD # 7).

In # 7 of the JD (Joint Declaration), the two parties declare that “developments” and “new insights” have led them to formulate a new view of justification. In other words, the JD is telling us that it has come to the realization of a new doctrine.

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.” Pope Pius IX, First Vatican Council, Session 3, Chap. 4, on the true progress of knowledge: “For, the doctrine of faith which God revealed has not been handed down as a philosophic invention to the human mind to be perfected, but has been entrusted as a divine deposit to the Spouse of Christ, to be faithfully guarded and infallibly interpreted.” Pope Pius IX, First Vatican Council, Session 4, Chap. 4: “For, the Holy Ghost was not promised to the successors of Peter that by His revelation they might disclose new doctrine, but that by His help they might guard sacredly the revelation transmitted through the apostles and the deposit of faith, and might faithfully set it forth.”

The method employed by the heretics of our day in denying the unchangeable declarations of dogma, was also condemned by Pope St. Pius X in Pascendi as the “evolution of dogma.”

Pope St. Pius X, Pascendi Dominic Gregis (# 26), Sept. 8, 1907, On the doctrine of the Modernists: “To the laws of evolution everything is subject - dogma, Church, worship, the Books we revere as sacred, even faith itself, and the penalty of disobedience is death. The enunciation of this principle will not astonish anybody who bears in mind what the Modernists have had to say about each of these subjects.”

Less than three months after the publication of Pascendi, Pope St. Pius X issued a warning to all those who would dare to contradict its teaching, or defend any of the Modernist principles condemned therein.

Pope St. Pius X, Motu proprio, “Praestantia Scripturae,” Nov. 18, 1907: “...Modernists, who by sophisms and artifices of every kind endeavor to destroy the force and efficacy not only of the Decree, 'Lamentabili sane exitu'... but also of Our Encyclical Letter, 'Pascendi Dominici gregis,' given on the eighth of September of this same year by Our Apostolic Authority, We repeat and confirm not only that Decree of the Sacred and Supreme Congregation, but also that Encyclical Letter of Ours, adding the penalty of excommunication against all who contradict them; and we declare and decree this: if anyone, which God forbid, proceeds to such a point of boldness that he defends any of the propositions, opinions, and doctrines disproved in either document mentioned above, he is ipso facto afflicted by the censure imposed in the chapter Docentes of the Constitution of the Apostolic See, first among those excommunications latae sententiae...”

This means that anyone who obstinately favors the Joint Declaration is ipso facto excommunicated for defending the condemned proposition of the “evolution of dogma.” Heresy # 3 In various places in the JD, the condemnations leveled by Trent against Lutheran teaching are criticized. This criticism is made in # 1, # 7, and # 13 of the JD by describing the condemnations of Trent as “Church dividing,” “divisive,” and “needing to be overcome.”

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Canon 33: “If anyone shall say that because of this Catholic doctrine of justification as set forth by the holy Synod in this present decree, there is some degree of detraction from the glory of God or from the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord, and that the truth of our faith, and in fact the glory of God and of Jesus Christ are not rendered rather illustrious: let him be anathema.”

Heresy # 4

“10... In Galatians (3:6) and Romans (4:3-9), Paul understands Abraham's faith (Gen. 15:6) as faith in God who justifies the sinner (Rom. 4:5) and calls upon the testimony of the Old Testament to undergird his gospel that this righteousness will be reckoned to all who, like Abraham, trust in God's promise... For by grace you have been saved through faith...” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Canon 12: “If anyone says that the faith which justifies is nothing else but trust in the divine mercy, which pardons sins because of Christ; or that it is trust alone by which we are justified: let him be anathema.”

The faith which justifies is not simply a trust in the promises of God, but “the supernatural virtue by which, through the help of God and through the assistance of His grace, we believe what He has revealed to be true, not on account of the intrinsic truth perceived by the natural light of reason, but because of the authority of God Himself, the Revealer, who can neither deceive nor be deceived” (Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum, # 9). Heresy # 5

“13. Opposing interpretations and applications of the biblical message of justification were in the 16th century a principal cause of the division of the Western church and led as well to doctrinal condemnations.”

The Church can never be divided. Sure, people in the Church can be separated on matters open to theological investigation. Three different factions were separated from one another in the 14th century over the issue as to who the true pope was, for there was doubt as to which one was validly elected. But the Church itself can never be divided. It is in this sense that the JD speaks, when it declares that the Church itself was divided into parts at the time of the Protestant revolution. This is impossible, for the Church is indivisible by nature, and its members retain an essential unity of faith and government which cannot be broken.

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 4), June 29, 1896: “The Church in respect of its unity belongs to the category of things indivisible by nature, though heretics try to divide it into many parts.” Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 4): “Furthermore, the eminence of the Church arises from its unity, as the principle of its constitution - a unity surpassing all else, and having nothing like unto it or equal to it.” Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 5): “'There is one God, and one Christ; and His Church is one and the faith is one; and one people, joined together in the solid unity of the body in the bond of concord. This unity cannot be broken, nor the one body divided by the separation of its constituent parts.'“ Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi (# 22): “As therefore in the true Christian community there is only one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one Baptism, so there can be only one faith. And therefore if a man refuse to hear the Church let him be considered - so the Lord commands - as a heathen and a publican. It follows that those who are divided in faith or government cannot be living in the unity of such a Body, nor can they be living the life of its one Divine Spirit.”

Heresy # 6

“14. The Lutheran churches and the Roman Catholic Church have together listened to the good news proclaimed in Holy Scripture. This common listening, together with the theological conversations of recent years, has led to a shared understanding of justification. This encompasses a consensus in the basic truths; the differing explications in particular statements are compatible with it.”

The JD declares that the remaining differences on the doctrine of justification do not prohibit a shared understanding and consensus in belief as to how we are saved. In other words, as long as we agree on the basics, the rest of Catholic teaching doesn't matter. It is irrelevant, superfluous and pointless.

Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos (# 9), Jan. 6, 1928: “Besides this, in connection with things which must be believed, it is in nowise licit to use that distinction which some have seen fit to introduce between those articles of faith which are fundamental and those which are not fundamental, as they say, as if the former are to be accepted by all, while the latter may be left to the free assent of the faithful.” Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 9): “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.” Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Cantate Domino,” 1441: “Therefore the Holy Roman Church condemns, reproves, anathematizes and declares to be outside the Body of Christ, which is the Church, whoever holds opposing or contrary views.”

And by the way, Catholics and Lutherans don't even agree on the basics of the doctrine of justification. Heresy # 7

“15. The Father sent his Son into the world to save sinners. The foundation and presupposition of justification is the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ. Justification thus means that Christ Himself is our righteousness, in which we share through the Holy Spirit in accord with the will of the Father.”

And again:

“22... for persons are by faith united with Christ, who in His person is our righteousness.”

Catholic truth tells us that the justified are actually interiorly sanctified by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost and possession of sanctifying grace. Lutherans, on the other hand, believe that it is impossible for man, who is inherently corrupt, to be interiorly sanctified by the actual indwelling of the Holy Ghost. Instead, they believe that by making an act of faith in the saving power of Christ, they are “covered” with the Blood of Christ, even though their sins are not washed away, but remain. To illustrate this belief, Martin Luther gave the analogy that a justified Christian is like a snow covered dung-hill. The white snowy mount is pleasing to the eye, but underneath it is a mound of filth and corruption. Hence, to the Lutherans justification does not mean that we are holy and just, but that “Christ Himself is our righteousness.” In # 15 and # 22 (above) we see that Antipope John Paul II has adopted this heretical doctrine.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 7: “Finally, the unique formal cause [of Justification] is the 'justice of God, not that by which He Himself is just, but by which He makes us just', that, namely, by which, when we are endowed with it by Him, we are renewed in the spirit of our mind, and not only are we reputed, but we are truly called and are just, receiving justice within us, each one according to his own measure, which the 'Holy Spirit distributes to everyone as He wills' (1 Cor. 12:11), and according to each one's own disposition and cooperation.” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 10: “If anyone says that men are justified without the justice of Christ by which He gained merit for us; or that they are formally just by His justness itself: let him be anathema.” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 11: “If anyone says that people are justified either by the sole imputation of the justice of Christ, or by the sole remission of sins, to the exclusion of grace and charity... let him be anathema.”

Heresy # 8

“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.”

This is one of the most amazing statements in the JD. It ranks in the category with that which Pope Gregory XVI called “an insanity.”

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.”

Heresy # 9

“23. When Lutherans emphasize that the righteousness of Christ is our righteousness, their intention is above all to insist that the sinner is granted righteousness before God in Christ through the declaration of forgiveness and that only in union with Christ is one's life renewed. When they stress that God's grace is forgiving love ('the favor of God'), they do not thereby deny the renewal of the Christian's life. They 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.”

The 2000-year old Catholic teaching on grace is here abandoned for a 500-year old Protestant heresy.

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.”

Heresy # 10

“25. We confess together that sinners are justified by faith in the saving action of God in Christ. By the action of the Holy Spirit in baptism, they are granted the gift of salvation, which lays the basis for the whole Christian life.”

What more can one say? In # 25 the Vatican has thrown out the window the entire necessity of the Church, of the sacraments, perseverance, prayer, etc., for once you're “born again”, they believe you're saved. Thankfully, this is not the belief of the Catholic Church, but only that of the apostates who accept this agreement.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 7, Can. 6, On Baptism: “If anyone shall say that one who is baptized cannot, even if he wishes, lose grace, however much he may sin, unless he is unwilling to believe: let him be anathema.” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 23: “If anyone shall say that a man once justified can sin no more, nor lose grace, and that therefore he who falls and sins was never truly justified... let him be anathema.”

Heresy # 11

“25. But whatever in the justified precedes or follows the free gift of faith is neither the basis of justification nor merits it.”

It is true that “none of those things which precede justification, whether faith, or works merit the grace itself of justification” (Pope Paul III, Trent, Sess. 6, Chap. 8); however, this is not what # 25 of the JD is declaring. It is declaring that not only is the state of justification itself unmerited, but also that none of those things which we do serve as the basis for being put in this state. If this were true then we might as well stop doing anything. But this is not so. Here are three examples: 1) The matter of the Sacrament of Penance consists in the contrition, confession, and satisfaction of the penitent himself (Trent, Sess. 14, Chap. 3). Say, for example, that contrition was lacking in an individual, there would be no sacrament and no justification, since an indispensable component of the sacrament would be missing. This is an example where something the person has or does serves as the basis of justification, contrary to the heretical assertion of # 25 of the JD. 2) As cited already on page 1, Trent declares in Sess. 6, Chap. 16 that no one can be justified if he does not firmly accept the Council's teaching on justification. Therefore, our faith in the Council of Trent's teaching serves as one basis for our justification, for without this belief we would lose our justification. The same could be said for the Catholic faith as a whole, which the Council says (Sess. 6, Chap. 8) is the “foundation and root of all justification.” Our decision to continue to believe in the Catholic faith will serve as the basis/foundation of our justification. 3) Perhaps the most fundamental example of the Catholic teaching in this regard is prayer. St. Louis De Montfort explains the merit of a good work of prayer in # 122 of his outstanding book, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin: “The satisfactory or prayer value of a good work is the good action in so far as it makes condign atonement for the punishment due to sin or obtains some new grace. The meritorious value or merit is the good action in so far as it merits grace and eternal glory.” These three examples clearly demonstrate the fundamental elements of Catholic teaching in regard to obtaining justification, and they refute the heretical assertion of # 25 of the JD. Session 6 of the Council of Trent on justification anathematizes the JD.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 24: “If anyone shall say, that justice received is not preserved and also increased in the sight of God through good works but that those same works are only the fruits and signs of justification received, but not a cause of its increase: let him be anathema.” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 32: “If anyone shall say that the good works of the man justified are in such a way the gifts of God that they are not also the good merits of him who is justified, or that the one justified by the good works, which are done by him through the grace of God and the merit of Jesus Christ (whose living member he is), does not truly merit an increase of grace, eternal life, and the attainment of that eternal life (if he should die in grace), and also increase in glory: let him be anathema.” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 10: “And this increase of justice Holy Church begs for, when she prays: 'Give unto us, O Lord, an increase of faith, hope and charity' [13th Sun. after Pentecost].” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 11: “'Labor the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election; for doing these things, you shall not sin at any time' [II Pet. 1:10].”

Heresy # 12

“26. According to Lutheran understanding, God justifies sinners in faith alone (sola fide). In faith they place their trust wholly in their Creator and Redeemer and thus live in communion with him.”

In the “Annex to the Official Common Statement,” which is one of two documents that went along with the Joint Declaration (the “Official Common Statement by the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church” being the other), the Vatican and the Lutherans declare their common doctrine of faith alone once again:

“Justification takes place by grace alone, by faith alone, the person is justified apart from works” (Annex, # 2, C).

The magnitude of the Vatican taking part in an agreement which declares that justification takes place by faith alone cannot be underestimated. The concept which was condemned by the Council of Trent more than any other, not to mention one of the very pillars of Protestantism which led to the departure of millions from the Church in the 16th century, is now embraced by Antipope John Paul II and his Antichurch. No doubt, he is attempting to mock the Church before the world and stick “faith alone” right in its face with this agreement. So we in turn will stick some condemnations from the Council of Trent back in his heretical face.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 9: “If anyone shall say that by faith alone the sinner is justified, so as to understand that nothing else is required to cooperate in the attainment of the grace of justification, and that it is in no way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his will: let him be anathema.” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 7, Can. 8: “If anyone shall say that by the said sacraments of the New Law, grace is not conferred from the work which has been worked [ex opere operato], but that faith alone in the divine promise suffices to obtain grace: let him be anathema.” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 19: “If anyone shall say that nothing except faith is commanded in the Gospel... let him be anathema.” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 11: “And so no one should flatter himself because of faith alone, thinking that by faith alone he is made an heir and will obtain the inheritance, even though he suffer not with Christ 'that he may be also glorified' (Rom. 8:17).” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 10: “'You see, that by works a man is justified and not by faith alone' (Jas. 2:24).”

Heresy # 13

“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.”

# 29 of the JD ratifies the simul justus et peccator (at the same time just and a sinner), one of Martin Luther's favorites. As mentioned before, Luther did not believe that justification was truly “a sanctification and renewal of the interior man” (Trent, Session 6, Chap. 7), but only a legal declaration that God will accept a filthy and iniquitous person as just, despite his filth and iniquity. Since the Vatican allowed this notoriously heretical teaching of Luther in the JD, this means that the Vatican II Church does not consider it wrong or heretical (see JD #'s 41, 5, 13 on pp. 2-3 of this article). As a result, Antipope John Paul II and his Church receive another richly deserved anathema from the Holy See.

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, 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.”

Heresy # 14

“29... Despite sin, the Christian is no longer separated from God, because in the daily return to baptism, the person who has been born anew by baptism and the Holy Spirit has this sin forgiven. Thus this sin no longer brings damnation and eternal death.”

Protestants believe that they need not fear when they commit sin, for by simply remembering the baptism they have received, the Holy Spirit forgives them once again. Fortunately, the Council of Trent condemned this as a heresy over 400 years ago.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 7, Can. 10: “If anyone shall say that all sins which are committed after baptism are either remitted or made venial by the mere remembrance and the faith of the baptism received: let him be anathema.”

Heresy # 15

“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. In these affirmations, they are in agreement with Roman Catholics, despite the difference in understanding sin in the justified.”

Mortal sin, which separates the soul from the grace of God and puts it in a state of enmity with Him, is apparently not something that Antipope John Paul II and the Vatican feel is necessary to believe in.

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.”

Heresy # 16

“33. Because the law as a way to salvation has been fulfilled and overcome through the gospel, Catholics can say that Christ is not a lawgiver in the manner of Moses.”

Here the JD decides to contradict the Council of Trent word for word.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 21: “If anyone says that Jesus Christ was given to men and women by God as a redeemer to trust, and not also as a lawgiver to obey: let him be anathema.”

Heresy # 17

“33... When Catholics emphasize that the righteous are bound to observe God's commandments, they do not thereby deny that through Jesus Christ, God has mercifully promised to his children the grace of eternal life.”

What # 33 is saying is that Catholics are bound to observe the commandments, but if they aren't able to they will still go to Heaven.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 20: “If anyone says that a justified person, of whatever degree of perfection, is not bound to keep the commandments of the Church but only to believe, as if the gospel were simply a bare and unqualified promise of eternal life without the condition of observing the commandments: let him be anathema.”

Heresy # 18

“34... in the midst of temptation, believers should not look to themselves but look solely to Christ and trust only in him. In trust in God's promise they are assured of their salvation, but are never secure looking at themselves.”

In # 10 the JD told us that justification is reckoned to all who trust in God's promise. Here, they explain that salvation is assured to all who have been justified.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 11: “For this reason the Apostle himself admonishes those justified saying: 'Know you not, that they who run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth a prize? So run, that you may obtain. I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty, I so fight, not as one beating the air, but I chastise my body and bring it under subjection, lest perhaps when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway' (1 Cor. 9:24 ff.).” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 12: “No one moreover, so long as he lives in this mortal state, ought so far to presume concerning the secret mystery of divine predestination, as to decide for certain that he is assuredly in the number of the predestined, as if it were true that he who is justified either cannot sin any more... For except by special revelation, it cannot be known whom God has chosen for Himself.” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 16: “If anyone shall say that he will for certain with an absolute and infallible certainty have that great gift of perseverance up to the end, unless he shall have learned this by a special revelation: let him be anathema.”

Heresy # 19

“37. We confess together that good works - a Christian life lived in faith, hope and love - follow justification and are its fruits.”

In another futile effort to indicate that justification comes by faith alone, # 37 of the JD confesses that good works are simply the fruits which follow justification. The Catholic Church, on the contrary, understands that good works are not only the fruits of justification, but things which must be performed to acquire, increase and maintain this grace.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 24: “If anyone shall say, that justice received is not preserved and also not increased in the sight of God through good works, but that those same works are only the fruits and signs of justification received, but not a cause of its increase: let him be anathema.”

Heresy # 20

“38... When Catholics affirm the 'meritorious' character of good works, they wish to say that, according to the biblical witness, a reward in heaven is promised to these works. Their intention is to emphasize the responsibility of persons for their actions, not to contest the character of those works as gifts, or far less to deny that justification always remains the unmerited gift of grace.”

Even the most fundamental aspects of Catholic justification are too uncomfortable for the heretics who authored the JD. While beginning to affirm the Catholic teaching of the meritorious character of good works, they proceed to fall word for word into the heresy condemned by Session 6, Can. 32 of the Council of Trent.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 32: “If anyone shall say that the good works of the man justified are in such a way the gifts of God that they are not also the good merits of him who is justified, or that the one justified by the good works, which are done by him through the grace of God and the merit of Jesus Christ (whose living member he is), does not truly merit an increase of grace, eternal life, and the attainment of that eternal life (if he should die in grace), and also increase in glory: let him be anathema.”

Heresy # 21

“39... When they [the Lutherans] view the good works of Christians as the fruits and signs of justification and not as one's own 'merits', they nevertheless also understand eternal life in accord with the New Testament as unmerited 'reward' in the sense of the fulfillment of God's promise to the believer.”

The Council of Trent defines in Session 6, Chap. 8, that “none of those things which precede justification, whether faith, or works merit the grace itself of justification.” Of course, justification is effected by the sprinkling of Christ's blood in the sacraments of baptism and confession. Nothing prior to the sprinkling of Christ's Blood in these sacraments - which is justification - could grant us justification.

Pope St. Leo the Great, Council of Chalcedon, 451: “Let him heed what the blessed apostle Peter preaches, that sanctification by the Spirit is effected by the sprinkling of Christ's blood [1 Pt. 1-2]; and let him not skip over the same apostle's words, knowing that you have been redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your fathers, not with corruptible gold and silver but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, as of a lamb without stain or spot. [1 Pt. 1:18].”

It is only Christ's Blood and Christ's action which merited justification for us on the cross.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 7: “... but the meritorious cause (of Justification) is His most beloved only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, 'who when we were enemies' [Rom. 5:10], 'for the exceeding charity wherewith He loved us' [Eph. 2:4], merited justification for us by His most holy passion on the wood of the cross, and made satisfaction for us to God the Father...”

However, we can merit eternal salvation by performing good works through the grace of God and the merit of Jesus Christ. This is a solemnly defined dogma proclaimed more than once in Session 6 of the Council of Trent. These ex cathedra definitions destroy the entire core of belief of the Vatican's Joint Declaration with the Lutherans, whose “consensus of basic truths” includes the heretical notion that “salvation is a totally free gift of God and cannot be earned by performing good works.”

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Can. 32: “If anyone shall say that the good works of the man justified are in such a way the gifts of God that they are not also the good merits of him who is justified, or that the one justified by the good works, which are done by him through the grace of God and the merit of Jesus Christ (whose living member he is), does not truly merit an increase of grace, eternal life, and the attainment of that eternal life (if he should die in grace), and also increase in glory: let him be anathema.” Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 16: “For since Christ Jesus Himself... continually infuses His virtue into the said justified... we must believe that to those justified nothing is wanting from being considered as having satisfied the divine law by those works which have been done in God according to the state of this life, and as having truly merited eternal life to be obtained in its own time (if they shall have departed this life in grace [Apoc. 14:13])...” Pope Clement VI, Super quibusdam, Sept. 20, 1351: “We ask:... In the eleventh place, if you have believed and now believe that the Armenians, who are obedient to the Roman Pontiff in different parts of the world and who observe studiously and with devotion the forms and rites of the Roman Church in the administration of the sacraments and in ecclesiastical duties, fasts, and other ceremonies as well, and by doing this merit eternal life.”

The other heresy that is slipped into # 39 of the JD is that Lutherans “understand eternal life in accord with the New Testament.” Heretics do not understand the New Testament's teaching of eternal life, but rather pervert it.

Pope St. Celestine I, Council of Ephesus, 431: “... all heretics corrupt the true expressions of the Holy Spirit with their own evil minds and they draw down on their own heads an inextinguishable flame.”

Heresy # 22

“43... The Lutheran churches and the Roman Catholic Church will continue to strive together to deepen this common understanding of justification and to make it bear fruit in the life and teaching of the churches. 44. We give thanks to the Lord for this decisive step forward on the way to overcoming the division of the church. We ask the Holy Spirit to lead us further toward that visible unity which is Christ's will.”

After repeating heresy # 5, that the Church is divided, here the JD implies that the Church of Christ has not yet attained visibility. Vatican Council II pronounces the exact same thing in Unitatis redintegratio # 1 (the decree on ecumenism). Antipope John Paul II also declares this in his May 25, 1995 encyclical Ut Unum Sint (# 7). The idea that the Church is not yet visible was infallibly condemned by Pope Leo XIII, Pope Pius XI and Pope Pius XII.

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 3), June 29, 1896: “'Now you are the Body of Christ' (1 Cor. 12:27) - and precisely because it is a body is the Church visible... From this it follows that those who arbitrarily conjure up and picture to themselves a hidden and invisible Church are in grievous and pernicious error.” Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos (# 10), Jan. 6, 1928: “... for the union of Christians can only be promoted by promoting the return to the one true Church of Christ of those who have separated from it, for in the past they have unhappily left it. To the one true Church of Christ, we say, which is visible to all, and which is to remain, according to the will of its Author, exactly the same as He instituted it.” Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi (# 64), June 29, 1943: “From what We have thus far written and explained, Venerable Brethren, it is clear, We think, how grievously they err who arbitrarily claim that the Church is something hidden and invisible, as they also do who look upon her as a mere human institution possessing a certain disciplinary code and external ritual, but lacking power to communicate supernatural life.”

Consequences of the Joint Declaration The consequences of the Joint Declaration are grave. With this agreement, Antipope John Paul II has officially declared himself to be in communion with a non-Catholic Church, repudiated the Council of Trent and denied the dogma Outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation. But this is not the first time that Antipope John Paul II has declared his communion with non-Catholic sects. In his new Catechism of the Catholic Church, which he published in virtue of his “apostolic authority” in the constitution Fidei Depositum, Oct. 11, 1992, Antipope John Paul II explicitly declares that he is in communion with heretics and schismatics.

Antipope John Paul II, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 838: “The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honoured by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of St. Peter.”

He says the same thing in his encyclicals.

Antipope John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint (# 11.1), May 25, 1995: “Speaking of the lack of unity among Christians, the Decree on Ecumenism does not ignore the fact that 'people of both sides were to blame,' and acknowledges that responsibility cannot be attributed only to the 'other side.' By God's grace, however, neither what belongs to the structure of the Church of Christ nor that communion which still exists with the other Churches and Ecclesial Communities has been destroyed.”

In Ut Unum Sint alone Antipope John Paul II tells us that the Catholic Church is in communion with non-Catholic Churches an incredible 16 times! In addition, he says that the Catholic Church is “linked,” “united” and “bound” with these religions. He mentions that all of these non-Catholic Churches have “saints” and “martyrs.” Eight times, I repeat, eight times he says that the Catholic Church and non-Catholic religions have the same faith. I will give just two examples.

Antipope John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint (# 62.3), speaking about Eastern Schismatics: “When the Venerable Patriarch of the Ethiopian Church, Abuna Paulos, paid me a visit in Rome on June 11, 1993, together we emphasized the deep communion existing between our two Churches: 'We share the same faith handed down from the Apostles, so also the same sacraments and the same ministry, rooted in the apostolic succession... Today, moreover, we can affirm that we have the one faith in Christ, even though for a long time this was a source of division between us.'“

Here we have Antipope John Paul II declaring that he shares “the faith handed down from the Apostles” with schismatics who reject the Papacy, the Immaculate Conception, and the last 13 Dogmatic Councils of the Roman Catholic Church, including Vatican Council I.

Pope Pius IX, First Vatican Council, Session 4, Chap. 3: “Furthermore We teach and declare that the Roman Church, by disposition of the Lord, holds the sovereignty of ordinary power over all others... This is the doctrine of Catholic truth from which no one can deviate and keep his faith and salvation.”

Antipope John Paul II not only professes a “common faith” with schismatics who reject all of the above mentioned things, but the Protestant heretics as well, who besides rejecting the Papacy, reject the idea of a Church altogether, all of Sacred Tradition, the true nature of all seven sacraments, all the dogmatic councils, and in short almost everything ever defined by the Apostolic See, including those doctrines concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Antipope John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint (# 40.2): “Cooperation among all Christians vividly expresses that bond which already unites them, and it sets in clearer relief the features of Christ the servant. This cooperation based on our common faith is not only filled with fraternal communion, but is a manifestation of Christ himself.”

A Catholic knows that he is not united with anyone who does not hold every single point of the Catholic faith.

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 9), June 29, 1896: “In this wise, all cause for doubting being removed, can it be lawful for anyone to reject any one of those truths (of the Magisterium) without by the 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.”

The conclusion to be drawn from all of this is so self-evident that it is almost unnecessary for argumentation. Nevertheless, we will demonstrate with a simple syllogism the unavoidable reality of the above facts. Infallible Major Premise: Antipope John Paul II has the same communion and faith as non-Catholic Churches. Proof of Major Premise: It is a matter of undeniable historical record as told by Antipope John Paul II over 20 times in Ut Unum Sint (quoted already) and literally hundreds of other statements he has made in the last 20 years. Infallible Minor Premise: Non-Catholic Churches are outside the communion of the Catholic Church. Proof of Minor Premise:

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Cantate Domino,” 1441: “Therefore the Holy Roman Church condemns, reproves, anathematizes and declares to be outside the Body of Christ, which is the Church, whoever holds opposing or contrary views.” Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi (# 23), June 29, 1943: “For not every sin, however grave it may be, is such as of its own nature to sever a man from the Body of the Church, as does schism or heresy or apostasy.” 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.”

Infallible Conclusion: Antipope John Paul II is outside the communion of the Catholic Church. Since Antipope John Paul II, by his own public admission, has placed himself outside the communion of the Catholic Church, it is impossible to be obstinately united with him without also being outside the communion of the Catholic Church.

Pope St. Leo the Great, Sermo CXXIX: “Wherefore, since outside the Catholic Church there is nothing perfect, nothing undefiled, the Apostle declaring the 'all that is not of faith is sin,' 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.” Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 10), June 29, 1896: “For this reason, as the unity of faith is of necessity for the unity of the Church, inasmuch as it is the body of the faithful, so also for this same unity, inasmuch as the Church is a divinely constituted society, unity of government, which effects and involves unity of communion, is necessary jure divino (by divine law).”

A unity of communion is necessary in the Church by divine law. This unity of communion must include the head with the members and the members with one another.

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 10): “The unity of the Church is manifested in the mutual connection or communication of all its members, and likewise in the relation of all the members of the Church to one head.”

In virtue of the divinely mandated unity of communion, it is utterly impossible to remain obstinately in a unity of communion with a public heretic like Antipope John Paul II without being in a unity of communion with non-Catholics sects and therefore separated from the Church, since Antipope John Paul II is in a unity of communion with non-Catholic sects.

Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi (# 22): “As therefore in the true Christian community there is only one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one Baptism, so there can be only one faith. And therefore if a man refuse to hear the Church let him be considered - so the Lord commands - as a heathen and a publican. It follows that those who are divided in faith or government cannot be living in the unity of such a Body, nor can they be living the life of its one Divine Spirit.”

Clearly then, those who comprehend all of these facts and still persist in holding that Antipope John Paul II is the Pope are heretics. They have succumbed to the gates of Hell, and they have left the true Church of Christ by mistakenly thinking that they remain with her.

Pope Vigilius, Second Council of Constantinople, 553: “... we bear in mind what was promised about the holy Church and Him who said the gates of hell will not prevail against it (by these we understand the death-dealing tongues of heretics)... and so we count along with the devil, the father of lies, the uncontrolled tongues of heretics and their heretical writings...”

Heretics are the gates of hell. Thus, the gates of hell are Antipope John Paul II and his false sect. We must pray for those who are in the midst of the gates of hell, that by God's grace they will join the one true Church of Christ, not of Antipope John Paul II and the heretics, but of Pope St. Peter and all his legitimate successors.

Pope Innocent III, Eius exemplo, Dec. 18, 1208: “By the heart we believe and by the mouth we confess the one Church, not of heretics, but the Holy Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Church outside of which we believe that no one is saved.”