St. Thomas Aquinas Does Not Have To Be Followed In All Things

You are so wrong. First, we don’t believe that St. Thomas was a heretic. We believe he was wrong. Many saints and doctors have been wrong, as our material proves. If you knew anything about Catholicism, you would know that. For you to say that we believe he was a heretic and is burning in Hell is a lie and a mortal sin.

Second, you are refuted by St. Thomas himself. Allow me to explain. You argue that the Church teaches that St. Thomas must be followed, and that St. Thomas teaches baptism of desire. Therefore, according to your argument, baptism of desire must be accepted. But you are quite wrong. St. Thomas teaches that he should NOT be followed if he contradicts something that the Church itself has taught.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Pt. II-II, Q. 10, A. 12: “The custom of the Church has very great authority and ought to be jealously observed in all things, since the very doctrine of Catholic doctors derives its authority from the Church. Hence we ought to abide by the authority of the Church rather than by that of an Augustine or a Jerome or of any doctor whatever.”

So, let’s apply your argument logically: we must follow St. Thomas, but St. Thomas says that we must not follow any doctor if he advances something which contradicts the authority of the Church. Therefore, by following St. Thomas, we find that we are not required to accept every opinion he held or everything he taught. This should be obvious, but this quote is important in proving the point and refuting heretics such as yourself. Since he contradicts statements of greater weight from the papal magisterium on the absolute necessity of water baptism, we are not required to follow St. Thomas in his flawed opinion concerning “baptism of desire.” Likewise, we are not required to follow his other opinions that might have contradicted teachings of greater weight. For example, St. Thomas also contradicted the Immaculate Conception, as we see here:

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Pt. III, Q. 27, A. 2, Reply to Objection 2: “If the soul of the Blessed Virgin had never incurred the stain of original sin, this would be derogatory to the dignity of Christ, by reason of His being the universal Saviour of all. Consequently after Christ, who, as the universal Saviour of all, needed not to be saved, the purity of the Blessed Virgin holds the highest place.”

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Pt. III, Q. 27, A. 2, Reply to Objection 3. “Although the Church of Rome does not celebrate the Conception of the Blessed Virgin, yet it tolerates the custom of certain churches that do keep that feast, wherefore this is not to be entirely reprobated. Nevertheless the celebration of this feast does not give us to understand that she was holy in her conception. But since it is not known when she was sanctified, the feast of her Sanctification, rather than the feast of her Conception, is kept on the day of her conception.”

According to your heretical argument, these statements must be consistent with Catholic teaching. According to you, they are not only true but should be believed and taught to all! The truth, however, is that they were false during his time, and they are heretical now. They contradict the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. This is further proof that your argument is utterly false and that you corrupt Catholic principles.

Pope Benedict XIV, Apostolica (# 6), June 26, 1749: “The Church’s judgment is preferable to that of a Doctor renowned for his holiness and teaching.”

Pope Pius XII, Humani generis (# 21), Aug. 12, 1950: “This deposit of faith our Divine Redeemer has given for authentic interpretation not to each of the faithful, not even to theologians, but only to the Teaching Authority of the Church.’”