Heresies: and Introduction, by Thomas M. Cabeen

Heresies are an evil that can easily be thought of as a thing of antiquity. On the contrary, heresy is as present in our age as it has been from the early Church, the very first of which was condemned in the Council of Jerusalem, which is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. When one thinks about heresy the mind can be brought to many events of the past, both far and near: there are the complicated names, such as Arianism and Pelagianism, and councils such as the Council of Trent and of Nicaea. While dauting, it is important that we know something of heresy and its refutation, for to defend our faith we must know the arguments against it, and as it has been said: those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it. To help prevent the faithful from falling into heresy and to inform our readers of the heresies and councils of the past, Alex Hanson and I have started a series, of which this is the first installment, on heresies, past and present. We will go in detail concerning their history, why the teachings are in error, and which council of the Church condemned it. In this article, I will introduce heresy: what it is and why it is sinful. St. Thomas Aquinas in his masterful Summa Theologiae has an entire chapter (Question 11) devoted to heresy, and in that argument, he makes an important classification of the heretic: “a species of infidelity in men who, having professed the faith of Christ, corrupt its dogmas,” (II-II Q. xi, a. 1). This is different from an apostate, who rejects the faith of Christ entirely. The heretic, for various reasons that we will see, believes that a certain teaching(s) of the Catholic Church is in error, whereas the apostate believes every teaching of the Catholic Church to be in error.

Both the heretic and the apostate held at one time the Catholic Church to hold the fulness of the truth The Catholic Church does indeed have the fullness of the truth, so heresy is refutation of truth, as St. Thomas makes clear. Our faith is based on truth and deep in the truth, so heresy is a sin against faith. A sin against faith is the most devastating sin, for faith is a virtue, and the deprivation of the soul from that virtue is devastating, for a it creates a great rift between oneself and God.

So, why does one commit a heresy? Heresy stems, as does all sin, from free will. Only when free will is used does heresy become formal. The other option is objective heresy, which is committed due to other forces besides free will, mainly ignorance of the truth. Formal heresy becomes even more grave (and in a different sense, more formal) when the heretic holds to the falsehood (this is called pertinacity). A heretic is excommunicated and his heresy formally condemned when the heretic will not accept the truth when brought before him. The Inquisition was a very large “weeding out” of heresy, during which the heretic was presented with the truth and his error. If he did not repent, he was punished. This history and morality of the Inquisition, though, is a topic for another article. Such formal heresies at times grew large enough that the truth became difficult for the faithful of the Church to discern. It was as these times that Councils of the Church were called together to affirm the truth and condemn the falsehood.

The continuance and persistence of heresy is due to a number of factors. Many times heresy continues because of secular forces who are at an advantage if the heresy is adopted. If a certain heretical doctrine would put a king in better position, the king may promulgate, sometimes by force, the heresy upon his subjects. In a more modern sense, if a heresy “allows” a great evil to be done by a government, it is likely that the heresy will continue if the government adopts the heresy as true. The persistence of heresy through many generations is because parents and communities teach what they believe. If the mother and father believe a heresy, they will teach their children the heresy, forming their conscience (that is, their inward perception of what is good and what is not, and how they will proceed with their actions) around the falsehood that the parents believe to be true.

This then happens when the children have children, and their children have children, etc. etc. This is not merely a fact of the promulgation of heresy, but also of truth. The early Church fathers and Christ Himself have a very strong attitude toward heretics (see Matt. 18, 17, Luke 7, 23, and Gal. 1, 9). Many of the Church fathers described heretics as poisonous plants, animals in human form, and the like. Why? Because heresy deliberately leads one away from the faith and salvation, which is a great evil. Jesus said, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matt. 18, 6). Then what should our attitude be to heretics? Should we drown them? No. Our job is to convert and show compassion, to bring as many souls to heaven with us as we can, for the penalty of such a grave sin as heresy is condemnation. It is God’s job to condemn, not ours. We must allow God to use us to convert the hearts of heretics to the truth while they can still change their hearts. This is our job, to show them God’s supreme mercy, but not by compromising the truth. We must stay firm in our faith and be able to defend it for the salvation of others.

In conclusion, heresies are not a thing of antiquity, and are still very much a problem. With the knowledge you gained here, and that you will gain through this series, you will hopefully be able to defend and learn more about the wonderful gift of the Church and the faith from the source of all truth, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Note: This is a “bare bones” summary of the basics of heresy. For more, visit https://www.catholic.com/ encyclopedia/heresy, which this article was based on, and read St. Thomas Aquinas’ arguments in the Summa Theologiae, Question 11.

Christ, King of the Universe, by Ryan P. Hanson

The original date for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe was the last Sunday of October, but it was moved to the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year in 1969. Pope Pius XI originally instituted the feast in 1925 along with his encyclical Quas Primas. This was very soon after World War I and the world was in political and spiritual chaos. The new feast was a sign of hope for the world. It was to show the world that there is one King, Jesus, and that he is stronger than the evil of the world. Pope Pius quotes Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Annum Sacrum saying “[Christ’s] empire includes not only Catholic nations, not only baptized persons…but also all those who are outside the Christian faith; so that truly the whole of mankind is subject to the power of Jesus Christ.” This is saying that Jesus has power over all, not just those who believe in him.

When Jesus revealed the Kingdom to us, he did not force anyone to come to Him. He wants us to love him and freely choose Him. No one can force anyone to love them. It’s impossible because if you did it wouldn’t be love! He is the most humble, loving King ever and wants you to be with Him. He forces none but welcomes all. That is the message of Christ, King of the Universe.

A Psalm, by Mrs. Sparrow

Blessed be the Lord, Now and forever!

Blessed be the Lord, who gathered up dust in Eden and made man.

Blessed be the Lord, who provides for man and beast from the abundance of His love and grace.

Blessed be God, whose wisdom is higher than the heavens and whose gifts are many and varied.

Blessed be the Lord, who sent His only Son for me, that my broken humanity might be made whole.

Blessed be God, who established His Church to guide His people.

Blessed be the Lord’s Church, founded on Rock to march against Hell, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.

Blessed be the Lord’s Church, which will tear down the gates of Hell, smash them to dust, and the dust shall be blown away by a heavenly breath.

Blessed be God, who will take me, made of beloved dust, to the fates of heaven, which can never be destroyed.

I will enter the shining gates and dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Good News Team and Contributors

Editor in Chief: Thomas M. Cabeen

Co-President: Ryan Hanson

Webmaster: Benjamin Wells

Contributors: Avery Bidelspach, Emma Bidelspach, Evelyn Wagner, Benjamin Wells, Alex Hanson, Gabriel Ringwald, Ryan P. Hanson, Mary Catherine Vallejo

Poet: Benjamin Cabeen

Head of Distribution: Benjamin Cabeen

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