Pope Paul IV issued a Papal Bull solemnly declaring that the
election of a heretic as pope is null and void
In 1559 Pope Paul IV issued an entire Papal Bull dealing with the subject and the possibility of a heretic being elected pope.
A heretic cannot be the pope 34
At the time that Paul IV issued the Bull (quoted below) there were rumors that one of the cardinals was a secret Protestant. In order to prevent the election of such a heretic to the Papacy,
Pope Paul IV solemnly declared that a heretic cannot be validly elected pope. Below are the pertinent portions of the Bull.
Pope Paul IV, Bull Cum ex Apostolatus Officio, Feb. 15, 1559: “1… Remembering also that, where danger is greater, it must more fully and more diligently be counteracted, We have been concerned lest false prophets or others, even if they have only secular
jurisdiction, should wretchedly ensnare the souls of the simple, and drag with them into perdition, destruction and damnation countless peoples committed to their care and rule, either in spiritual or in temporal matters; and We have been concerned also lest it
may befall Us to see the abomination of desolation, which
was spoken of by the prophet Daniel, in the holy place. In view
of this, Our desire has been to fulfill our Pastoral duty, insofar as, with the help of God,
We are able, so as to arrest the foxes who are occupying themselves in the destruction of the vineyard of the Lord and to keep the wolves from the sheepfolds, lest We seem to be dumb watchdogs that cannot bark and lest We perish with the wicked husbandman and be compared with the hireling…
6. In addition, [by this Our Constitution, which is to remain valid in perpetuity We enact, determine, decree and define:-] that if ever at any time it shall appear that any Bishop, even if he be acting as an Archbishop, Patriarch or Primate; or any Cardinal of the aforesaid Roman Church, or, as has already been mentioned, any legate, or even the
Roman Pontiff, prior to his promotion or his elevation as Cardinal or Roman Pontiff, has deviated from the Catholic Faith or fallen into some heresy:
(i) the promotion or elevation, even if it shall have been uncontested and by the
unanimous assent of all the Cardinals, shall be null, void and worthless;
(ii) it shall not be possible for it to acquire validity (nor for it to be said that it has thus
acquired validity) through the acceptance of the office, of consecration, of subsequent
authority, nor through possession of administration, nor through the putative
enthronement of a Roman Pontiff, or Veneration, or obedience accorded to such by all,
nor through the lapse of any period of time in the foregoing situation;
(iii) it shall not be held as partially legitimate in any way…
(vi) those thus promoted or elevated shall be deprived automatically, and without need
for any further declaration, of all dignity, position, honour, title, authority, office and
power…
10. No one at all, therefore, may infringe this document of our approbation, reintroduction,
sanction, statute and derogation of wills and decrees, or by rash
presumption contradict it. If anyone, however, should presume to attempt this, let him
know that he is destined to incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed Apostles,
Peter and Paul.
Given in Rome at Saint Peter's in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 1559, 15th
February, in the fourth year of our Pontificate.
+ I, Paul, Bishop of the Catholic Church…”
With the fullness of his papal authority, Pope Paul IV declared that the election of a heretic is
invalid, even if it takes place with the unanimous consent of the cardinals and is accepted by all.
A heretic cannot be the pope 35
Pope Paul IV also declared that he was making this declaration in order to combat the arrival of the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel, in the holy place. This is astounding, and
it seems to indicate that the Magisterium itself is connecting the eventual arrival of the abomination of desolation in the holy place (Matthew 24:15) with a heretic posing as the pope
– perhaps because the heretic posing as the pope will give us the abomination of desolation in the
holy place (the New Mass), as we believe is the case, or because the heretical antipope will
himself constitute the abomination of desolation in the holy place.
The Catholic Encyclopedia repeats this truth declared by Pope Paul IV by asserting that the election
of a heretic as pope would, of course, be completely null and void.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, “Papal Elections,” 1914, Vol. 11, p.
456: "Of course, the election of a heretic, schismatic, or female
[as Pope] would be null and void."8
In line with the truth that a heretic cannot be the pope, the
Church teaches that heretics cannot be prayed for in the
canon of the Mass
A pope is prayed for in the Te Igitur prayer of the canon of the Mass. But the Church also teaches
that heretics cannot be prayed for in the canon of the Mass. If a heretic could be a true pope,
there would be an insoluble dilemma. But it’s actually not a dilemma because a heretic cannot be
a valid pope:
Libellus professionis fidei, April 2, 517, profession of faith prescribed under Pope St.
Hormisdas: “And, therefore, I hope that I may merit to be in the one communion with
you, which the Apostolic See proclaims, in which there is the whole and the true solidity
of the Christian religion, promising that in the future the names of those separated
from the communion of the Catholic Church, that is, those not agreeing with the
Apostolic See, shall not be read during the sacred mysteries. But if I shall attempt in
any way to deviate from my profession, I confess that I am a confederate in my opinion
with those whom I have condemned. However, I have with my own hand signed this
profession of mine, and to you, HORMISDAS, the holy and venerable Pope of the City of
Rome, I have directed it.”9
Pope Benedict XIV, Ex Quo Primum (# 23), March 1, 1756:
“Moreover heretics and schismatics are subject to the censure of major excommunication by
the law of Can. de Ligu. 23, quest. 5, and Can. Nulli, 5, dist. 19. But the sacred canons of the
Church forbid public prayer for the excommunicated as can be seen in chap. A nobis,
2, and chap. Sacris on the sentence of excommunication. Though this does not forbid
prayer for their conversion, still such prayer must not take the form of proclaiming
their names in the solemn prayer during the sacrifice of the Mass.”10
A heretic cannot be the pope 36
Pope Pius IX, Quartus Supra (# 9), January 6, 1873:
“For this reason John, Bishop of Constantinople, solemnly declared – and the entire
Eighth Ecumenical Council did so later – ‘that the names of those who were separated
from communion with the Catholic Church, that is of those who did not agree in all
matters with the Apostolic See, are not to be read out during the sacred mysteries.’”11
Endnotes for Section 6:
1 The Catholic Encyclopedia, “Heresy,” New York: Robert Appleton Co., 1914, Vol. 7, p. 261.
2 Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, Sheed & Ward and Georgetown University Press, 1990, Vol. 1, p. 578;
Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma, B. Herder Book. Co., Thirtieth Edition, 1957, no. 714.
3 The Papal Encyclicals, by Claudia Carlen, Raleigh: The Pierian Press, 1990, Vol. 4 (1939-1958), p. 41.
4 The Papal Encyclicals, Vol. 2 (1878-1903), p. 393.
5 The Papal Encyclicals, Vol. 2 (1878-1903), p. 393.
6 Denzinger 423.
7 The Papal Encyclicals, Vol. 2 (1878-1903), p. 401.
8 The Catholic Encyclopedia, “Papal Elections,” 1914, Vol. 11, p. 456.
9 Denzinger 172.
10 The Papal Encyclicals, Vol. 1 (1740-1878), p. 84.
11 The Papal Encyclicals, Vol. 1 (1740-1878), p. 415