(LifeSiteNews) — The Catholic liberal Lord Acton (1834–1902) famously said: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In democracies, the conclusion drawn from this is that power must be mistrusted and limited. It is therefore checked, among other things, by the recognition of fundamental rights, by the separation of powers (legislative, executive, judicial), by subsidiarity and federalism, by referendums, and by term limits. Through a “social contract” among all citizens – the constitution – people agree to share political power in this way. But even this does not always sufficiently restrain it.
In the Church, the problem of power is even more acute. For none of the aforementioned means of fragmenting power exist there. Rather, according to the doctrine of the faith and the Code of Canon Law (CIC/1983), the pope possess “by virtue of his office supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the Church” (c. 331).
READ: Bishop laments secularization, image of German church around the world as ‘troublemakers’
The pope, then, possesses absolute power. Does absolute power within the Church therefore lead to absolute corruption? If one views the Church solely through human eyes, one would have to say: Yes, that is the case. But when viewed through the eyes of faith, this is not true. For there exists a single “instrument” to limit papal omnipotence: it is unconditional obedience to Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, to which the pope is bound in his conscience. Only because the Church as a whole and the pope in particular are bound by this limitation of power is it possible for absolute power to be entrusted to a single person within it. Mistrust of power is thus overcome in the Church by the fact that the faithful have confidence that the pope knows himself to be bound by unconditional obedience of faith in the exercise of his power, which is in itself unlimited.
This trust has been shaken in the Church; for many, it has been destroyed. Pope Francis has turned the indissolubility of marriage into a farce through Amoris Laetitia. It now applies only in theory. In practice, with a few “pastoral distinctions” – on whatever basis, by whomever – one can live in adultery with a clear conscience. The Vatican’s non-liturgical, spontaneous blessing for same-sex and unmarried “couples” (Fiducia supplicans) represents a further departure from Christian marriage. Ambiguous gestures such as the Pachamama cult in the Vatican and the “Document on Human Fraternity” (Abu Dhabi Declaration) from 2019 have effectively denied Christian universalism of salvation.
The appointment of laypeople to Vatican leadership positions involving the exercise of governing authority constitutes a break with the Second Vatican Council (LG 21; Nota explicativa praevia 2). It undermines the sacramental-hierarchical order of the Church. This situation persists under Pope Leo XIV. In the wake of “synodalism,” the Apostolic See published a document that attempts to justify the rejection of the Second Vatican Council (Final Report of Study Group 5 regarding the Sacrament of Holy Orders and “potestas sacra”). Without comment – and irresponsibly – the Apostolic See has published a heretic text that relativizes Church teaching on marriage and the family (Final Report of Study Group 9 regarding “complex issues”).
Even serious liturgical abuses are ignored or downplayed by bishops and the Holy See. Yet the followers of the extraordinary form [Traditional Latin Mass] are harassed. Priests are prevented or made to find it difficult to celebrate the Eucharist in this manner. Laypeople are humiliated by being forbidden to celebrate this form of the Eucharist in parish churches. These faithful are driven underground or into the Society of St. Pius X, whose very existence is then lamented.
The Pope allows German bishops, who for years have been undermining the sacramental order of the Church with their “Synodal Path” and institutionalizing the blessing of same-sex “couples,” to continue unchecked. It is said that discussions have taken place with them. The Society of St. Pius X, however, is threatened with excommunication by virtue of the Pope’s absolute authority. The Pope disregards the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium (No. 21) concerning the sacrament of Holy Orders and demands acceptance of the Constitution on the Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium). Both are documents of the same council. These double standards are destroying the trust of many faithful.
READ: Cardinal Fernández reveals what will be in upcoming ‘transmission of the faith’ document
The Society of St. Pius X’s announcement that it will consecrate bishops on its own initiative is an expression of a loss of trust in the Pope. And the sympathy for this act, which extends far beyond the Society’s followers, shows that for many, trust has given way to mistrust. Too much has happened, and the consequences are devastating.
For more and more Catholics are realizing that Church doctrine no longer serves as the limit to the hierarchy’s actions. This is the illness from which the Church truly suffers. And it cannot be healed by exercising papal omnipotence through threats and excommunications. For if the unchecked power of the stronger party is decisive within the Church, there is only one conclusion to be drawn: this power must be limited. The ordination of bishops against the Pope’s will is ultimately the – undoubtedly problematic – attempt to limit papal omnipotence when its boundary no longer seems to be Church doctrine.
If we are to avoid further limitations on papal omnipotence through schisms, there is only one way forward: the Pope must heal the wounds inflicted on Church doctrine. Only in this way can he address the mistrust and restore confidence. He will not succeed in doing so through dictates, threats, and double standards.
The Society of St. Pius X is not the disease, but a symptom. This symptom can be combated with excommunication. Papal supremacy undoubtedly permits this legally. But the disease will not be healed by this. It will continue to fester and divide and weaken the Body of Christ, the Church. The Pope holds the key to healing the disease. He must use it and cannot sit out the problem. For even not to govern is to govern. This is also a consequence that follows from papal omnipotence.