CathInfo.com

There is no doctrine, but there is a precedent that was established in the early Church, and Saint Robert Bellarmine uses this precedent as an example to back up his teaching on the Roman Pontiff.

Let's go back to your original statement where you said: "He can be judged by a body of men."

The POPE cannot be judged by any power on earth - period.  Now, if a pope were to become a manifest (public) heretic, he ceases to be pope, thus he can be judged and punished by the Church.  This is the teaching of St. Robert Bellarmine.  

I understand that there are theologians with differing opinions, but St. Robert's teaching stems from a precedent established during the Arian crisis.  

St. Roberts says in De Romano Pontifice:
"Therefore, the true opinion is the fifth, according to which the Pope who is manifestly a heretic ceases by himself to be Pope and head, in the same way as he ceases to be a Christian and a member of the body of the Church; and for this reason he can be judged and punished by the Church. This is the opinion of all the ancient Fathers, who teach that manifest heretics immediately lose all jurisdiction..."

He continues:
"The foundation of this argument is that the manifest heretic is not in any way a member of the Church, that is, neither spiritually nor corporally, which signifies that he is not such by internal union nor by external union."

He goes on to further explain what happened to Pope Liberius during the Arian crisis:
"In addition, unless we are to admit that Liberius defected for a time from constancy in defending the Faith, we are compelled to exclude Felix II, who held the pontificate while Liberius was alive, from the number of the Popes: but the Catholic Church venerates this very Felix as Pope and martyr. However this may be, Liberius neither taught heresy, nor was a heretic, but only sinned by external act, as did St. Marcellinus, and unless I am mistaken, sinned less than St. Marcellinus.

Then two years later came the lapse of Liberius, of which we have spoken above. Then indeed the Roman clergy, stripping Liberius of his pontifical dignity, went over to Felix, whom they knew [then] to be a Catholic. From that time, Felix began to be the true Pontiff. For although Liberius was not a heretic, nevertheless he was considered one, on account of the peace he made with the Arians, and by that presumption the pontificate could rightly [merito] be taken from him: 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."



Seems pretty Catholic to me.  

However, does anyone really believe that the heresiarchs in Rome are going to actually do anything about their fellow heretic?  

How so?  A heretic is a heretic, no?