Judging Papal "Heresy"

      It is certainly inherently plausible that if the Pope were to become a heretic he would thereby cease to be Pope, for heretics are not Catholics, and non-Catholics cannot be Popes. As already noted, theologians commonly accept this theoretical possibility. St. Robert Bellarmine summed up the theological consensus thus: "A pope who is a manifest heretic ipso facto ceases to be pope and head, just as he ceases automatically to be a Christian and a member of the Church …"7

        The problem, however, is two-fold: First, the Pope must have uttered a truly manifest heresy, which requires denial of an article of divine and Catholic faith, such as the Trinity, not just any error against the teaching of the Church. Second, the Pope must, in uttering that heresy, actually be guilty of the personal sin of heresy in that he knowingly and pertinaciously (obstinately) denies an article of faith. One who thinks his false belief is consistent with the Catholic faith cannot be guilty of the sin of formal heresy. He is only a material heretic who remains a member of the Church.

      Given the maxim Prima Sedes a nemine iudicatur — "no one may judge the First See" — how is any isolated member of the Church to determine on his own that the conditions for formal heresy have been met? That no one may judge the Pope — that is, his personal sin of heresy as opposed to the heretical import of his words — is a fundamental truth of our religion, as well as a dictate of reason. This is because by the will of the Church’s divine Founder there is no office on earth above the papal office.

      That being the case, how would isolated members of the Church know for certain that a Pope who uttered a heresy had not lost his mind, made some awful mistake in his choice of words, been subjected to some compulsion such as a threat on his life, or had somehow persuaded himself that his erroneous opinion was not contrary to the Faith? Absent a procedure to investigate the papal statement and the surrounding circuмstances, including direct questioning of the Pope himself with an opportunity to retract, it would be impossible to judge the matter fully and fairly. Indeed, even Martin Luther was summoned to defend his views and then given sixty days to retract his 41 distinct heresies before finally suffering the sentence of excommunication.8 Who exactly would afford the Pope this due process? Or are we to believe that the holder of the papal office is entitled to less justice than the likes of Martin Luther?