THE FAITH OF POPE: "Have turned again, CONFIRM THE BROTHERS IN FAITH "

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The Holy Father can use unintentionally ambiguous expressions, or jokes or phrases for effect, that can be misunderstood and maliciously exploited by the enemies of the Church or by false friends; can say a few unfortunate joke, It can praise political or ecclesiastical personalities who do not deserve it, You can minimize the problem of Islam, It may be too severe with the traditionalists, too lenient towards the Protestants, all things that do not affect its responsibility as teacher of the faith. It may even exceed in speaking, with increased risk of committing some gaffe or that escapes some impulse sentence.

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To the Holy Father

"Satan has sought to sift you as wheat:; but I have prayed for you, that thy faith fail not:; and you, turned again, confirm your brothers " [LC 22, 31-32]

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The faith that God gives to the Pope is a gift of the Holy Spirit, that, among the faithful, God grants only to him, ie to the extent, purity and strength achieved by a Christian; Faith has a brightness, steadfastness and fruitfulness excelled, above the faith of all the other faithful; It is a faith that looks like the cornerstone of a building, which sustains all the other stones, that is, the faith of all the other faithful.

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In this sense Christ assigns to Peter the task of being "rock", on which he builds his Church. Peter's faith is supreme promoter and moderator of unity and universality of the faith of the whole people of God, in the variety and multiplicity of different ways of thinking, to express and communicate the faith. If you fail the faith of Peter, the Church would collapse. Because of this, all enemies of the Church, from the far left to the far right, by atheists to pantheists, by the Gnostics agnostics, Freemasons Protestants, the first thing you have targeted is the overthrow of the papacy or its reduction to a symbolic figure-Representative, as the President of the Italian Republic or the Queen of England.

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Because of this, Antichrist uses its best efforts especially against the Vicar of Christ. Throughout the history of the Church, there was no heresy more harmful for the Church and its unity, of that of Luther, When, with relentless fury, It traded until the end of life for the Pope the Antichrist. Even the Greek schismatics, who also reject the primacy of Peter, However they consider still the Bishop of Rome as "Pope of Rome" and "Primate of the West".

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All heretics, of any type or color, swollen with pride, deceived by the devil and servants of the Antichrist, They believe and give to understand that they have the true faith in Christ, without or against the Pope, thinking of being able to find fault in terms of faith or correct it when it comes to faith and therefore to know better than he what is the truth of the Gospel. But they are deluded and impostors, that corrupt the faith and Christians costumes and can also push the same apostasy from the faith.

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The special faith that the Pope receives from the Holy Spirit It allows him to see the truth of the Gospel better, higher and more deeply than all other; It is a faith that knows how to find the best words to explain it, to express it and to teach it; is such a strong faith and strong support from and correct the faith of all the other faithful, which rest on this faith and find in it light and comfort, and certainty of the truth and to follow the doctrine of Christ; It is a unique faith throughout the Church, not only as a personal virtue, for here the Pope is only surpassed by Abraham for the Old Testament and the Madonna for the New [LC 1,45], but also in its generating force and confermatrice.

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No one can correct the Pope in his faith, because you can not have flaws or gaps, It is intact and can not fall into the error. It is an infallible faith and unfailing, from St. Peter to the last Pope in history, always identical with itself and never changed, pace of the modernists, because it is the mirror of the Word of Christ who does not pass. The Pope is the faithful one who has a faith of this kind. Everyone else can err in faith. Not him. He can discover all errors, correct all, but no one can correct him. It is so very special that ' "spiritual man", of which St. Paul speaks, "That judges everything, without being able to be judged by anyone " [The Cor 2,15].

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This is the unique privilege of the papal faith, having to be faith based, genera, supports and spreads the faith in the world and that guards, confirms and defends the faith of God's People, correcting errors, compassionating and tolerating the weak and the ignorant, admonishing those in error and arrogant, recalling schismatics, heretics and apostates, forgiving those who repent and return to the truth. Naturally, also who is elected Pope, It came to the faith like any good Catholic, through a journey at times laborious and rough, overcoming trials and doubts, and responding to the solicitations of grace, in communion with the Church and the previous Popes. Previously, before being elected Pope, he may have had flaws and uncertainties in faith; ma, once invested the charism of Peter, become firm and invincible. The Pope can be tried in the faith, It can go also subject to the most insidious temptations, but it is protected by the power of the Spirit. The Pope can never sinning willfully against faith, at least to the detriment of the Church.

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The Pope may have a faith cultivated in theology, as it was for Benedict XVI or in the pastoral practice, as it has for the present Pope, and as it was for St. Pius X. He can have it planted in the Secretariat of State, as it was for the Blessed Paul VI and Pius XII and the Vatican diplomacy, as it was for St. John XXIII or as Inquisitor of the faith, as it was for St. Pius V, or in the humanities, as it was for Pius II, or in the teaching of canon law, as it was for certain Popes of the Middle Ages, or in the monastic life, as it was for St. Gregory the Great. Anyhow, one, to be elected Pope, He must stand in faith, because the main task of the Pope is the confirming the brethren in the faith. From here it follows the shepherding the flock of Christ and defend them from the wolves, ie the pastoral power and government (power of the keys). And not so much a learned faith or cultured, but rather a pure faith, balances, intelligent and communicative. Temple, ie free from error; balances, ie well-founded, right and certifier; intelligent, ie with what St. Catherine of Siena called the "holy discretion ', the critical capacity to discern truth from falsehood; communicative, ie express or mediated by a clear language, appropriate, suitable for various groups of the faithful.

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This is probably the reason why Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, for forty years, every blue moon, It was regularly advocated by the mainstream press as a papal candidate, but just as regularly the College of Cardinals unwrapped, because unfortunately Martini, beyond its culture, of his literary production and its human and pastoral qualities, He possessed an uncertain faith, ambiguous and oscillating, similar to one who serves two masters, which, moreover, he himself described as a continuous thread, in consciousness, between a believer and an atheist, without ever making a decision either to the one nor to the other. The least that can be said of this faith is that it produces certainly not martyrs, but the crafty turncoats, come per esempio Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Bishop of Autun, which passed from the Ancien Regime to the Revolution, from the Revolution to the Directory, by the Directory to Napoleon, by Napoleon, the Restoration, always honored, open to all and always remained afloat. Now, If the shock and scandal, which creates a bishop in a diocese like that, They can somehow be contained within the limits of that diocese, It understands how God can not tolerate, except within narrow limits and for short periods, that something like this were to occur in the Universal Church, because in a short time would lead to the demolition, while in it, according to the promise of Christ, portae hell not praevalebunt.

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For this we can say that between the texture of the bishop's faith, although he united to the Pope, and that of the Pope, in a sense there is a gulf, just as there is an abyss between the fallible (the faith of the bishop) and the infallible (the Pope fede), although the Pope today more than ever loves acting collegially with the bishops and the college of bishops how Petro is under Petro. But the fact is that the Pope is infallible retire, regardless of bishops, as it is the principle and guarantor of their infallibility. And history proves it. It was recently remade alive the argument that would exist popes heretics: Liberius in the fourth century, Honorius in the seventh century, Paschal II in the twelfth century, John XXII in the fourteenth century [Ed. cf. WHO, WHO, WHO, etc..]. But apologetics has long since shown that this was not true of heresies. These historians are in fact bring grist to the mill of questionable characters very different from each other, but all essentially deniers papal infallibility, as for example Luther, Küng e Lefebvre.

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The virtue of faith involves three elements: first, the statements of faith, that is the object of faith (the faith which), the conceptual content, what is believed, the truths believed, the articles of faith; second, the act of believing (fides through) e, third, the profession or oral expression of faith, the language of faith (profession of faith). In teaching the doctrine of the faith, the Pope is infallible, that is do not err, He tells the truth, not only in very special conditions laid down by the First Vatican Council, when the Pope solemnly defines a new dogma - which is extremely rare - but every time I officially teaches the people of God the doctrine of the faith. The doctrine of the faith is that complex of truths or dogmatic and moral propositions or to be believed by divine faith or by ecclesiastical faith or with respect for the intelligence, which are taught by Christ in Scripture and Tradition, and are proposed by the Church in its ordinary or extraordinary magisterium, simple or solemn, in forma di fede eat defining or non-defining, as coming to faith [1].

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In order to discern the level of authority, compulsory and quality of papal teachings must be taken to different genres, types, levels and forms of intervention, now more numerous and diverse than in the past. After the proclamation of a new dogma, as is indeed very rare and conditioned by circumstances provided by the law (First Vatican Council), remain the fundamental encyclicals; but then there is a set of lower-level documents, as the apostolic constitution, the apostolic letter, the pastoral constitution, the motu proprio, the recritto, the bubble, the homilies at the Holy Mass, messages for special occasions, anniversaries or events, impromptu speeches, condition or general hearings, interviews with journalists […]

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DIALOGUE BETWEEN AN ELDERLY MASTER AND A YOUNG PHILOSOPHER-THEOLOGIST

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Caro Father and Teacher.

While this impaginavo Your Article for our Patmos Island, I have lots of questions that are the result of those questions that increasingly collect from our readers and for this I would like to own to you ...

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(D). As the Pope rule in his faith?

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R. He has above him only Jesus Christ. Then it appeals directly to Him, taking account of the Popes and of the Magisterium that preceded it. If you are not sure, He asks Light to the Holy Spirit. It takes into account the needs of souls and of the Church.

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(D). What is it that drives him or can push it to propose new courses or new dogmas?

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R. As regards new teachings in general, It can be driven by his personal discoveries or its theological readings or theologians friends. The proclamation of a new dogma, instead, is something much more demanding, that involves the whole Church. It can be justified or to confirm a new doctrine, because it appears to be common faith, maybe a long time, or to ward off certain serious errors spread on the subject dealt with by the dogma, calculating that from this solemn event will be highly beneficial to the Church.

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(D). How and with what criteria we can discern when the Pope speaks as “teacher of the faith” and when as a mere commentator or theologian?

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R. It should be observed with care and competence the subject matter and how to treat it. It is clear that he speaks as a teacher of the faith, when it comes to matters of faith already known and especially if it suggests, from what is expressed, that it is the truth of faith. In the other case, he goes back to theological opinions already known or her personal. Especially in this case he does not fail to let us know with appropriate expressions, like for example: "it seems to me", "According to the theologians", "in my opinion", "If it says", "I consider that ..." and the like.

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(D). In that account to keep its opinions, judgments or directives, that do not directly affect the faith, such as the reform of the Roman Curia, judgment on the current situation of the Church, the ban on Communion for divorced and remarried, his polemic against legalism and rigorism, continuous insist on mercy, that seems to leave in the shade other virtues, even more important, the lack of warnings about the existence of hell, the denunciation of the injustices in the world, his opinion on certain theologians, the problem of immigrants, of ecology, dell'Islam, the international economy, dell'ecumenismo, the dialogue with non-believers, of politics ?

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R. In the event that the relationship with the truth of faith or morals is necessary or logical or obvious, We must accommodate these doctrines, opinions or standards as if they were of faith (of neighbors). If instead, as in most of the examples, This missing link and simply these actions are not contrary to the faith, then we can also disagree or dissociate, But always with prudence, modesty and respect, ready to correct us.

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(D). How to distinguish his pastoral language than doctrinal ?

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R. It depends on the content. If it indicates the duties of the pastor or gives name to practical standards or judgments on the conduct of individuals or groups, it is pastoral; if it teaches the dogma or the truth of faith or the principles of morality, or the mysteries of faith, it is doctrinal. But also doctrinal or dogmatic content can be expressed in pastoral style, that is, not in a scientific form or school, but adapted to the common understanding of people.

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(D). How to distinguish his moral teachings (the task of teaching ) those legal (power of the keys ) ?

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R. You must be checked respectively if the contents are tied directly or at least necessarily, universally or deductively or to natural law or to divine law, – and these are the moral teachings - or if, although it based on those laws, I have an application contingent, particular and changeable, susceptible to different mode (ecclesiastical laws) - And these are the legal teachings. For instance, the teachings on the dignity of marriage and the family are moral norms; instead, the rules for divorced and remarried, or who it belongs to the Society of Saint Pius X or the Freemasons or the mafia are legal measures.

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(D). The Pope needs employees or advisors in the exercise and teaching of the faith?

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R. Of course, given its human limitations and burdensome and immensity of the task ahead to illuminate and govern the entire Church. Of course, he teaches the faith and governs together with the cardinals and bishops. But in the end, up to him to watch over the faith of the cardinals and bishops, helped by the collaborators of the Roman Curia and all those, which wants to use, although without official appointments. Among these institutional partners for centuries we are at the forefront of the Dominicans and the Jesuits, knights of faith, a brotherhood of the Holy Father orders; and receive, dedicated to showing the truth of faith; seconds, to show the force of faith. The Pope is certain Servant of the servants of God, but also, and for this bishop bishops. He sure is a bishop among bishops and the bishops, but do not you let get carried away by the bishops. The ambition, as in the days of the Pharisees of the Gospel, under the veil of zeal for the Church, It is the ruin of those who want to climb in Holy Orders. Although the Pope was elected by the College of Cardinals, this is clearly just a simple designation Petrine office, although this act of Cardinals is to be supposed, normally, criteriato esteem for the virtue of this faith nell'eletto. But as far as the exercise of faith, It is the Pope who appoints and calls beside him as bishops those candidates, in which he first of all verifies the authenticity and excellence of faith [2], having the power to dismiss, if it is the case, from communion with him and then with the Church, who fails in faith. So it's up to the Pope to confirm in the faith the College of Bishops and the individual Bishops, and in that sense he can repeat to them the words of Christ: "You did not choose me, but I chose you " [GV 15,16].

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(D). What do you think of the absence of intervention by the Pope against heretical doctrines ?

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R. The Pope very rarely uses the term "heresy", but it does not fail to report errors, which can be defined "heresies", as for example atheism, Gnosticism, l'idealism, il pantheism, materialism, l'religious hatred, fundamentalism, the moral and political corruption, arrogance towards others and nature.

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(D). The Pope can make a mistake in some of his speeches or official documents ?

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R. It can use unintentionally ambiguous expressions, or jokes or phrases for effect, that can be misunderstood and maliciously exploited by the enemies of the Church or by false friends; can say a few unfortunate joke, It can praise political or ecclesiastical personalities who do not deserve it, You can minimize the problem of Islam, It may be too severe with the traditionalists, too lenient towards the Protestants, all things that do not affect its responsibility as teacher of the faith. It may even exceed in speaking, with increased risk of committing some gaffe or that escapes some impulse sentence.

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(D). The Pope can make a mistake in the choice of his collaborators in the field of housing and the defense of the faith ?

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R. Of course, but it must be cautious in judging and well informed. The boastful are those who play the trumpet, procure trouble to the Pope and warned the televisions when blowing your nose. They are of course the most wanted by the worldly and modernistic Print, while real people work faithfully in the modesty and silence, as Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, and Cardinal Gerhald Ludwig Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, not to show. These are the true support of the Holy Father and servants of the Church, along with several other silent workers.

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Varazze, 22 June 2016

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NOTE

[1] Cf Appendix of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to the Apostolic Letter of John Paul II To protect the faith, the 1998.

[2] The title of "excellence" given to bishops, like that of "eminence" given to the cardinals it refers first to excellence and eminence of their faith, besides the fact that in the fullness of his apostolic priesthood, The bishop is a priest par excellence.

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