Post by Pacelli on Aug 21, 2016 7:21:50 GMT -5
Was John XXII a heretic?
1913 Catholic Encyclopedia says:
In the last years of John's pontificate there arose a dogmatic conflict about the Beatific Vision, which was brought on by himself, and which his enemies made use of to discredit him. Before his elevation to the Holy See, he had written a work on this question, in which he stated that the souls of the blessed departed do not see God until after the Last Judgment. After becoming pope, he advanced the same teaching in his sermons. In this he met with strong opposition, many theologians, who adhered to the usual opinion that the blessed departed did see God before the Resurrection of the Body and the Last Judgment, even calling his view heretical. A great commotion was aroused in the University of Paris when the General of the Minorites and a Dominican tried to disseminate there the pope's view. Pope John wrote to King Philip IV on the matter (November, 1333), and emphasized the fact that, as long as the Holy See had not given a decision, the theologians enjoyed perfect freedom in this matter. In December, 1333, the theologians at Paris, after a consultation on the question, decided in favour of the doctrine that the souls of the blessed departed saw God immediately after death or after their complete purification; at the same time they pointed out that the pope had given no decision on this question but only advanced his personal opinion, and now petitioned the pope to confirm their decision. John appointed a commission at Avignon to study the writings of the Fathers, and to discuss further the disputed question. In a consistory held on 3 January, 1334, the pope explicitly declared that he had never meant to teach aught contrary to Holy Scripture or the rule of faith and in fact had not intended to give any decision whatever. Before his death he withdrew his former opinion, and declared his belief that souls separated from their bodies enjoyed in heaven the Beatific Vision. www.newadvent.org/cathen/
And:
The Second Council of Lyons (1274) declared that souls free from sin are at once received into heaven (mox in caelum recipi), but did not decide in what their state of beatitude consisted. A number of theologians maintained the opinion that until the resurrection the just do not enjoy the intuitive or facial vision of God, but are under the protection and consolation of the Humanity of Jesus Christ. Pope John XXII (1316-1334) at Avignon, as a private theologian, seems to have supported this view, but that he gave it any official sanction is a fable invented by the Fallibilists. His successor, Benedict XII, ended the controversy by the Bull "Benedictus Deus". www.newadvent.org/cathen/08550a.htm
Let's break this down:
1. The Pope was only speaking as a private theologian, not as Pope.
2. The matter was not yet settled by the magisterium.
3. When challenged, the Pope ordered the matter to be studied by the theologians.
4. The Pope specifically stated that he never meant to teach contrary to the Scriptures or the rule of Faith.
5. The Council of Lyons had not settled the specific question of what the state of beatitude consisted, the very point of contention in this case.
6. The matter was resolved by Pope Benedict XII, John XXII's successor.
7. At no time had the Pope contradicted the teaching of the previous magisterium. He privately taught on an unresolved matter, and was open to correction, which in the end he accepted. It was only after his death, that the magisterium ended the controversy and bound Catholics to adhere to correct belief on what the state of beatitude consisted.