A group of 17 scholars and activists have released a lengthy statement calling for Pope Francis to resign or to be formally asked to resign by the College of Cardinals.
Stating that Francis has “caused an unprecedented crisis in the Catholic Church” by his words and actions, the 17 signatories attested that the Pope has “done great harm to the Church and the whole world” since assuming the papal throne in March 2013. (Full statement is below, with a downloadable PDF here).
In a statement released late on May 2, the signatories stated that “the members of the hierarchy of the Church have a duty to act in order to prevent Francis from causing further harm.” They added:
We therefore call for Pope Francis to resign the papal office, and to repent and do penance for his actions. If he does not do this, we request that the cardinals and bishops of the Catholic Church ask Pope Francis to resign the office of pope.
If this eventually should not take place, then the signatories called on the cardinals and bishops to declare that Francis has somehow lost the papacy:
If he refuses to resign or recant the heresies that he has upheld, we ask that they declare that he has lost the papal office.
The signatories attribute the aforementioned “unprecedented crisis” to two things:
Pope Francis has committed criminal acts gravely damaging to the Church and to individual believers.
He has shown that he rejects the Catholic faith, and has worked to destroy the faith of other Catholics.
Signatories and their accusations
The seventeen signatories comprise a mixture of academics, activists in various spheres of ecclesial life, and one priest:
- Rev. Linus F. Clovis, Ph. D., MSc, JCL, STB
- Yves Daoudal: Editor-in-chief of Reconquête and Vice-President of the Charlier Center
- Dániel Fülep: Theologian, Hungary
- Maria Guarini: Editor, Chiesa e post concilio
- Michael Kakooza, Ph. D.: Strategic Management, Eastern Africa
- Thaddeus J. Kozinski, Ph. D.: Professor of Philosophy, Memoria College
- Peter A. Kwasniewski, Ph. D.
- John R.T. Lamont, DPhil
- John Rist, Ph. D.: Professor of Classics and early Christian Philosophy and Theology (ret.)
- Dr Cesar Felix Sánchez Martínez: Professor of Philosophy, Universidad Nacional de San Agustin, Peru
- Wolfram Schrems, Mag. theol., Mag. phil.
- Peter Stephan, Dr. phil. habil: Professor of Architecture Theory & Art History, University of Applied Sciences, Potsdam
- Anna Silvas, Ph. D.: Specialist in Greek Fathers, UNE, Australia (ret.)
- John-Henry Westen, M.A.: Founder and Editor, LifeSiteNews
- Michael Wiitala, Ph. D.: Associate Lecturer in Philosophy, Cleveland State University
- Elizabeth F. Yore, Esq.: Founder, Yore Children
- John Zmirak, Ph. D.: Senior Editor, The Stream
The lengthy statement presents a summary of his interactions and dealings with a number of high-profile figures in the Church, such as Cardinals Godfried Danneels, Reinhard Marx, Theodore McCarrick, Wilton Gregory, and Víctor Manuel Fernández. The extensive list of individuals presented by the signatories, they state, is part of Francis’ “record of protecting sexual abusers” which “exemplifies his character and modus operandi.”
The signatories accuse Francis of committing “crimes other than heresy,” attesting that the actions listed are “crimes because they violate either canon law, the law of temporal states, the natural law, divine positive law, or some combination of laws from these different legal systems.”
They also list a number of other actions carried out by Francis through his pontificate, such as his secretive deal with China, his restriction of the traditional Mass and approval of blessings for same-sex couples, while further attesting that Francis “has publicly and pertinaciously contradicted a number of central teachings of the Catholic faith.”
However, the signatories did not lay all of their blame upon Francis, stating that he is “a product of a wider crisis in the Church.” Giving an historical outline of the development of modernism, the signatories wrote that “during the complex event of the Second Vatican Council, neomodernists achieved considerable influence.”
Resign or be deposed
Having detailed their list of grievances against the Pope, the signatories demanded that cardinals and bishops act against Francis, in the event that he does not resign voluntarily:
It is a mistake and a sin for faithful bishops and cardinals to do nothing, in the hope that Pope Francis will soon die and be replaced by someone better. Pope Francis is causing unremitting harm day by day to souls and the Church. The faithful have a right to expect their believing shepherds to protect them from his attacks. These shepherds have a duty before God to protect them, and failure in this duty will bring eternal punishment upon them.
“As a first step, the bishops and cardinals of the Church should make every effort to get Pope Francis to resign,” they wrote. While acknowledging that a papal resignation is “is an extraordinary event that ought not to happen,” they argued that Francis’ resignation would be “the least evil outcome available.”
Should he not resign, the signatories argued that it is the “duty of the bishops and cardinals is to proceed to declare that he has lost the papal office for heresy.” In the event that there is not a large enough body of cardinals and bishops to effect the declaration, the signatories petitioned for the prelates to form a group to “publicly warn the faithful of his crimes and heresies, state that his tenure of the papal office is in doubt due to his heresy, and admonish the faithful not to believe his statements or obey his orders unless it is clear on independent grounds that these statements and orders should be respected.”
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