If the Second Vatican Council could talk, I mean, if it were personified and could speak to the Church continuously after the Council (sounds like the Pope, but that’s not what I mean), it would say to those who use the Council as an excuse for various errors: “No. Stop.” etc. The “spirit of Vatican II” is used as a basis for various errors, including those contrary to what the Church and the successive Popes teach. These are the liberal heresies, which I have not given much attention to recently. But would that prevent the errors? No.

Pope Francis’ teachings are being used by the German Bishops in their current grave errors, which they have (I think) not yet implemented or fully implemented. And he does tell them “No. Stop.” in whatever wording he uses. But they do not stop using him as the excuse for their errors.

If Vatican II never happened, the errors of liberal Catholics would find some other excuse. They are not really getting their errors from the Council. And the same for Pope Francis. If he had never been elected, the German Bishops who are moving away from the Faith (not all are) would find some other excuse.

The same is true for the conservative heretics and schismatics. They were unfaithful before Francis. They believed whatever they wanted during that time. They just didn’t have a liberal Pope in office to shed light on their utter rejection of Church authority, which is replaced by a kind of culture worshipping itself (while pretending to follow “the tradition”). So “the tradition” is nothing but their own misunderstanding of the faith. And it happens that they worship the past and whatever is most conservative. But that is no better than the liberal schismatics and heretics who worship whatever is new and whatever is liberal and of secular society.

RLCJ