Can. 751 “Heresy is the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.”

Those truths are to be believed with divine and catholic faith which are taught under Papal Infallibility, or Conciliar Infallibility, or the ordinary universal magisterium. These are the formal dogmas of the Church. The infallible teachings of Tradition and Scripture are material dogma. Only obstinate denial or obstinate doubt of formal dogma is heresy.

Schism is refusal of submission to any valid Pope. Then, if committed deliberately and knowingly, this refusal is formal schism. Then the penalty of latae sententiae excommunication (“automatic” excommunication) applies by the very nature of the act. By a deliberate knowing act of schism, the sinner cuts himself off from the Church. The same is true for heresy and apostasy. These acts are incompatible with continued full communion with the one holy catholic and apostolic Church. Heretics and schismatics may be in the state of grace, perhaps due to invincible ignorance, and so they may continue to have a limited membership as a non-formal or implicit member of the Church. But they do not have full communion, and, in general, they should not be receiving holy Communion.

Now a sin of heresy or schism need not have the full culpability of actual mortal sin in order to be formal heresy or formal schism; that would require something more: full knowledge and full deliberate of this gravely immoral act. And this is why heretics and schismatics might still be in the state of grace.

Schism can also take the form of refusal “of communion with the members of the Church subject to” the Pope. An unfortunately common form of this version of schism is the refusal of communion with the body of Bishops who are subject to the Roman Pontiff. The schismatic refuses to accept the authority of the Bishops as a body, and therefore refuses to remain in communion with them, often because he or she dislikes their teaching or their support for a particular Pope or Ecumenical Council. And since the Roman Pontiff is the head of the Apostolic College (the body of Bishops), usually one type of schismatic refusal accompanies the other.

Those who despise Pope Francis and refuse to accept his authority over them and over doctrine and discipline, also despise the body of Bishops who support Pope Francis. Schism is not defined as treating the Pope with hatred, malice, contempt, or ridicule; but sinners who refuse to be subject to the authority and teaching of the Pope often react in that way. In this way, they add grave sin to grave sin. The branch cut off from the vine, withers.

A version of schism occurs when Catholic Christians refuse to accept the decisions of an Ecumenical Council on doctrine or discipline, or refuse to accept the Council’s authority over them. Since every Ecumenical Council’s decisions on doctrine or discipline must be accepted by the Roman Pontiff in order to be formally “of a Council”, such refusal of the approved decisions of the Council is a refusal of subjection to the Roman Pontiff. But an Ecumenical Council is a gathering of the body of Bishops with the Roman Pontiff. Therefore, refusal of submission to an Ecumenical Council is both a refusal of submission to the body of Bishops and to its head the Roman Pontiff. Then, once an Ecumenical Council is approved by the Pope, the indefectibility of the Church and the graces of the Holy Spirit ensure that successive Popes and the body of Bishops successively will accept the Council’s teachings.

Therefore, those who reject the teachings of an Ecumenical Council, if they do not repent, will next have to reject the teachings of the successive Popes and body of Bishops. And this process never ends. Those who reject the teachings of Vatican II can never be reconciled to the Church until they accept those teachings. The indefectibility of the Church, the never-failing faith of the Roman Pontiff, and the confirmation by the Pope of the faith given to the body of Bishops guarantees that The Pope and the body of Bishops will never at any time, no matter how far into the future, reject the teachings of any Ecumenical Council.

The claim that Vatican II was only pastoral, or only taught non-infallibly, or similar claims does not take away the obligation of all Catholic Christians to give submission to the authority of the Pope and the body of Bishops, who provide the authority of any valid approved Council. A Catholic who refuses to accept the non-infallible teachings of any Ecumenical Council is refusing submission to the Pope and to the body of Bishops. And no Ecumenical Council has ever had its teachings, whether infallible or (supposedly) non-infallible, rejected or refuted or nullified by any subsequent Ecumenical Council, Pope, or body of Bishops. Even if an Ecumenical Council teaches non-infallibly, the continued teaching of those doctrines by successive Popes and the body of Bishops successively eventually makes those doctrines infallible under the ordinary universal magisterium.

For the Pope and the body of Bishops “proclaim Christ’s doctrine infallibly whenever, even though dispersed through the world, but still maintaining the bond of communion among themselves and with the successor of Peter, and authentically teaching matters of faith and morals, they are in agreement on one position as definitively to be held.” [LG 25]. This is the doctrine of the ordinary universal magisterium, taught by Vatican II. And this has always happened with the teachings of every Ecumenical Council in Church history. Anything taught non-infallibly by the Council ends up being confirmed infallibly by the ordinary universal magisterium.

As for any non-infallible teachings of the Second Vatican Council, the successive Roman Pontiffs and the body of Bishops dispersed in the world, successively, have always taught the same teachings given to the Church by Vatican II, each teaching as one position definitively to be held. The many documents of the successive Popes, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the documents of Bishops’ Conferences and individual Bishops, have continuously taught from and cited the documents of Vatican II, innumerable times and without dissent, disagreement, or equivocation.

Certain few Bishops and certain scattered communities of clergy and laity have opposed the teachings of Vatican II. But they did so in open contradiction to the successive Roman Pontiffs and the body of Bishops continuously. And they have been many times rebuked for this refusal of submission and refusal of belief by the Popes, Bishops, clergy and laity who are faithful to the Magisterium.

Therefore, the teachings of Vatican II meet the criteria for teachings on faith and morals to fall under the ordinary universal magisterium, which is infallible. Even if Vatican II only taught under the non-infallible magisterium, those teachings have continued to be taught, without a single teaching being rejected or set aside by any Roman Pontiff or by the body of Bishops. And the Popes and the Bishops have always, for each teaching, been “in agreement on one position as definitively to be held”. None of the teachings of Vatican II have been corrected or rejected by any Pope or by the body of Bishops at any time. This fact makes any teachings of the Second Vatican Council, formerly judged to be non-infallible, to now fall under the infallibility of the ordinary universal magisterium. And infallible teachings of the Magisterium require the full assent of faith. Obstinate denial or obstinate doubt regarding any infallible teaching by the Magisterium is the grave sin of heresy.

Any Catholic who today rejects the teachings of Vatican II is a schismatic and a heretic. They live by a vain sinful false hope, who think that a future Pope or Council will set aside, nullify, correct, or reject the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, or of any other Ecumenical Council.

Acceptance of each and every Ecumenical Council in its authority over doctrine and discipline, and certainly in its teachings, whether infallible or non-infallible, has always been required of every Catholic Christian. The decisions of discipline of a Council can change, as discipline is inherently changeable. The OT disciplines, written into Sacred Scripture, were dispensed by Christ and His Church, in their entirety, as the Council of Florence taught. So the disciplines of an Ecumenical Council can change. Even so, they must be accepted by the faithful, until and unless proper authority in the Church might change or nullify them.

I am not convinced that Vatican II only taught non-infallibly. The section of LG 25 on the ordinary universal magisterium is certainly infallible. Other teachings may also meet the criteria for infallibility. Not only the definitions of Popes and Councils are infallible, but also any definitively proclaimed teachings without a formal definition. In addition, refusal to accept the Second Vatican Council in whole is a type of rebellion against the Church.

Pope Saint Paul VI: ““With the special assistance of the Holy Spirit, the popes and the ecumenical councils have acted in this common way. And it is precisely this that the Second Vatican Council did. Nothing that was decreed in this Council, or in the reforms that we enacted in order to put the Council into effect, is opposed to what the 2,000 year-old tradition of the Church considers as fundamental and immutable. We are the guarantor of this, not in virtue of Our personal qualities but in virtue of the charge which the Lord has conferred upon Us as legitimate successor of Peter, and in virtue of the special assistance that He has promised to Us as well as to Peter: ‘I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail’ (Lk. 22:32). The universal episcopate is guarantor with us of this.

“Again, you cannot appeal to the distinction between what is dogmatic and what is pastoral to accept certain texts of this Council and to refuse others. Indeed, not everything in the Council requires an assent of the same nature: only what is affirmed by definitive acts as an object of faith or as a truth related to faith requires an assent of faith. But the rest also forms part of the solemn magisterium of the Church to which each member of the faithful owes a confident acceptance and a sincere application.”
[…]
“What is indeed at issue is the question — which must truly be called fundamental — of your clearly proclaimed refusal to recognize in its whole, the authority of the Second Vatican Council and that of the pope. This refusal is accompanied by an action that is oriented towards propagating and organizing what must indeed, unfortunately, be called a rebellion. This is the essential issue, and it is truly untenable.”
[…]
“Christ has given the supreme authority in his Church to Peter and to the apostolic college, that is, to the Pope and to the college of bishops una cum Capite [one with the Head].

“In regard to the pope, every Catholic admits that the words of Jesus to Peter determine also the charge of Peter’s legitimate successors: ‘… whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven’ (Mt. 16:19); ‘… feed my sheep’ (Jn. 21:17); ‘… confirm your brethren’ (Lk. 22:32). And the First Vatican Council specified in these terms the assent due to the sovereign pontiff: ‘The pastors of every rank and of every rite and the faithful, each separately and all together, are bound by the duty or hierarchical subordination and of true obedience, not only in questions of faith and morals, but also in those that touch upon the discipline and government of the Church throughout the entire world. Thus, by preserving the unity of communion and of profession of faith with the Roman pontiff, the church is a single flock under one pastor. Such is the doctrine of Catholic truth, from which no one can separate himself without danger for his faith and his salvation’ (Dogmatic Constitution Pastor Aeternus, Ch. 3, DZ 3060).” [Letter to Lefebvre, 1976]

Catholic Christians have always been required to accept each and every Ecumenical Council, including its supreme authority, its teachings and its decisions on discipline.

Lateran Council of 649 (not Ecumenical): “If anyone does not, following the holy Fathers, confess properly and truly, in word and mind, to the last point, all that has been handed down and proclaimed to the holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of God by the holy Fathers and by the five venerable ecumenical councils, let him be condemned.”

At the point in time of the local Council of 649, there were only 5 Ecumenical Council so far. Now there are 21 Ecumenical Councils (also called “general Councils”). Anyone who does not accept everything “to the last point” that an Ecumenical Council approved by the Pope decides is condemned by the Church. Not everything is infallible, but all of it is required to be accepted as the Council exercises the authority of the Roman Pontiff and the body of Bishops who together are the successors of all the Apostles.

Pope Francis: “The Gentle and merciful Jesus, the Shepherd of our Souls, entrusted to the Apostle Peter and to his successors the power of the keys to carry out the work of truth and justice in the Church; this supreme and universal power of binding and loosing here on earth asserts, strengthens, and protects the power of Pastors of particular Churches, by virtue of which they have the sacred right and duty before the Lord to enact judgment toward those entrusted to their care.” [Pope Francis, Apostolic Letter Mitis et misericors Iesus, n. 1.]

Pope Francis: “In this regard, I reiterate the words of Saint Paul VI, addressed to the first General Assembly of the CEI after Vatican II: ‘We must look to the Council with gratitude to God and with confidence for the future of the Church; it will be the great catechism of the new times’ (23 June 1966).”

“This is magisterium: the Council [Vatican II] is the magisterium of the Church. Either you are with the Church and therefore you follow the Council, and if you do not follow the Council or you interpret it in your own way, as you wish, you are not with the Church. We must be demanding and strict on this point. The Council should not be negotiated….”

“No, the Council is as it is. And this problem that we are experiencing, of selectivity with respect to the Council, has been repeated throughout history with other Councils. It makes me think of a group of bishops who, after Vatican I, left, a group of lay people, groups, to continue the ‘true doctrine’ that was not that of Vatican I: ‘We are the true Catholics’. Today they ordain women. The strictest attitude, to guard the faith without the Magisterium of the Church, leads you to ruin. Please, no concessions to those who try to present a catechesis that does not agree with the Magisterium of the Church.” [Pope Francis, Address to Members of Italy’s National Catechetical Office, Jan. 30, 2021]

Pope Francis on Vatican II: “To doubt the Council is to doubt the intentions of those very Fathers who exercised their collegial power in a solemn manner cum Petro et sub Petro [with Peter and under Peter] in an ecumenical council, and, in the final analysis, to doubt the Holy Spirit himself who guides the Church.”

Then the teachings of Pope Francis above, and Pope Saint John Paul II below, expound upon the requirement that the faithful accept the teachings of the Magisterium by the Pope and by the Second Vatican Council, even when a teaching is non-infallible.

Pope Saint John Paul II: “The mainspring of this deepening must be a principle of total fidelity to the Sacred Scriptures and to Tradition, authoritatively interpreted in particular by the Second Vatican Council, whose teachings have been reasserted and developed in the ensuing Magisterium.” [Apostolic Letter Spiritus et Sponsa, 2003, n. 7.]

John Paul II: “I feel more than ever in duty bound to point to the Council as the great grace bestowed on the Church in the 20th century: there we find a sure compass by which to take our bearings in the century now beginning….” [Apostolic Letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 57.]

John Paul II: “This is Christ’s promise, our consoling certainty: the Petrine ministry is not founded on human abilities and strengths, but on the prayer of Christ who implores the Father that Simon’s faith ‘may not fail’ (Lk 22:32).” [22 February 2000, Homily of the Holy Father.]

John Paul II: “The assistance that Christ promised to Peter also accompanies his successors, who are entrusted with the same task for the Church: ‘I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren’ (Lk 22:32). So Peter becomes the ‘rock’ on which Christ can build his Church in history, by a gift from on high: the gift of faith, solemnly confessed at Caesarea Philippi: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (Mt 16:16). But it is also in virtue of his response of singular love that he is chosen to be the foundation of the Church: ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?… Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you’ (cf. Jn 21:15-19). On the rock of this faith and this love, the Lord holds together his mystical Body and assures the permanent unity and mission in the varied events of history.” [Address to the Associations of Saints Peter and Paul, 16 June 2001.]

John Paul II: “Moreover, Peter — and like him each one of his successors and head of the Church — has the mission of encouraging the faithful to put all their trust in Christ and in the power of his grace, which he personally experienced. This is what Innocent III writes in the Apostolic Letter Sedis primatus [the First See] (November 12, 1199), quoting the text of Luke 22:32 and commenting on it thus: ‘The Lord clearly signifies that Peter’s successors will never deviate from the Catholic faith. Rather, they will help the deviating to return and will strengthen the vacillating’ (DS 775). That Pope of the Middle Ages considered that the declaration of Jesus to Peter was confirmed by the experience of a millennium.” [Audience, 2 December 1992; inner quote from Pope Innocent III.]

John Paul II: “Indeed, if Christ himself gave Peter this special mission in the Church and exhorted him to strengthen his brethren, he also made clear to him his human weakness and his special need of conversion: ‘And when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren’ (Lk 22:32). It is precisely in Peter’s human weakness that it becomes fully clear that the Pope, in order to carry out this special ministry in the Church, depends totally on the Lord’s grace and prayer: ‘I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail’ (Lk 22:32). The conversion of Peter and that of his Successors is upheld by the very prayer of the Redeemer, and the Church constantly makes this petition her own. In our ecumenical age, marked by the Second Vatican Council, the mission of the Bishop of Rome is particularly directed to recalling the need for full communion among Christ’s disciples.” [Encyclical Ut Unum Sint, 25 May 1995]

Pope Saint John Paul II, Audience, 24 March 1993: “First of all, the councils affirm that the infallibility attributed to the Roman Pontiff is personal, in the sense that it corresponds to him personally because he is the successor of Peter in the Church of Rome. In other words, this means that the Roman Pontiff is not simply the bearer of an infallibility that actually belongs to the Roman See. He exercises his teaching and, in general, the pastoral ministry as vicarius Petri: that is what he was called during the first Christian millennium. That is to say, in him an almost personification of Peter’s mission or authority is realized, exercised in the name of the one to whom Jesus himself conferred them.

“However, it is evident that the Roman Pontiff has not been granted infallibility as a private person, but because he holds the position of pastor and teacher of all Christians. Moreover, he does not exercise it as one who has authority in himself or by himself, but ‘by his supreme apostolic authority’ and ‘by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, promised to him in the person of Saint Peter.’ Finally, he does not possess it as if he could dispose of it or count on it in any circumstance, but only when he speaks ex cathedra, and only in a doctrinal field limited to the truths of faith and morals, and those that are closely related to them.” [Audience, 24 March 1993]

Pope Saint John Paul II, Audience, 24 March 1993: “According to the conciliar texts, the infallible magisterium is exercised in the doctrine of faith and morals. It is the field of truths revealed explicitly or implicitly, which require an adherence of faith and whose deposit, entrusted to the Church by Christ and transmitted by the Apostles, she guards. And she wouldn’t guard it properly if she didn’t protect her purity and integrity…. Those principles of reason which, even if they are not contained in the truths of faith, are intimately connected to them, fall within the area of truths that the magisterium can definitively propose.” [Audience, 24 March 1993]

John Paul II, 24 March 1993: “Alongside this infallibility of the ex cathedra definitions, there is the charism of assistance of the Holy Spirit, granted to Peter and to his successors so that they do not err in matters of faith and morals and instead give good illumination to the Christian people. This charism is not limited to exceptional cases, but embraces to varying degrees the entire exercise of the magisterium.” [Audience, 24 March 1993]

Pope Saint John Paul II, Audience, 17 March 1993: “This supreme authority of the papal magisterium, which is traditionally defined as apostolic, also in its ordinary exercise, derives from the institutional fact by which the Roman Pontiff is the successor of Peter in the mission of teaching, confirming his brothers and guaranteeing the conformity of the preaching of the Church with the deposit of faith of the Apostles and with the doctrine of Christ. But it also derives from the conviction, matured in the Christian tradition, that the Bishop of Rome is the heir of Peter also in the charisms of special assistance that Jesus assured him when he told him: “I have prayed for you” (Lk 22:32). This means continuous help from the Holy Spirit throughout the exercise of the doctrinal mission, aimed at making the revealed truth and its consequences in human life understood.

“For this reason, the Second Vatican Council affirms that all of the Pope’s teaching deserves to be heard and accepted, even when he does not expound it ex cathedra, but rather presents it in the ordinary exercise of the magisterium with the clear intention of enunciating, recalling, or reaffirming the doctrine of faith. It is a consequence of the institutional fact and of the spiritual inheritance that give the complete dimensions of the succession of Peter.” [Audience, 17 March 1993]

We see from the many quotes above that Catholics are required to accept not only the infallible teachings of the Magisterium, but also the non-infallible teachings, especially those of the Roman Pontiff and every Ecumenical Council. And this is due to the dogma that every Roman Pontiff is the successor of Peter, with the same papal charisms as Peter himself. The Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit guide the Church at all times, and keep the Church always indefectible.

Ronald L Conte Jr