When I was a child, it was common that the other kids would say “Is the Pope Catholic?”. This meant there could be no doubt about whatever was in question. Though at that time I wasn’t a practicing Catholic, I still knew about the Pope’s role as the leader of the church and was aware that he was considered, in matters of religion, infallible.
As an outsider I looked upon the Catholic church as a granite block made up of people who all shared the same set of eternal unshakeable beliefs. Little did I know that the church was embroiled in one of the greatest crises in its history, one which many people believe is even greater than the Protestant Reformation. This crisis is so extreme that there are an ever-growing number of Catholics who now ask “Is the Pope Catholic” as a real question dealing with their convictions.
There’s a large and growing number of those who feel that for the last 60 years the Papacy has lost its legitimacy. Some go further, saying that it’s preaching heresy. The strongest critics believe the religion promulgated by Rome isn’t Catholicism at all. The debate revolves around the Modernist Reforms dating back to the Council called Vatican II. At that council, traditions which had been in place for 1900 years were suddenly deleted, replaced or modified. These changes are most evident in how the Mass is performed and, in the encyclicals, commentaries and teachings coming out of Rome since the 1960s.
It's a complicated issue but the heart of the matter is the difference between a God-centered versus a man-centered religion. The clearest expression of the problem is summed up in an encyclical published by Pope Pius X called Pascendi. Though complex, it’s worth reading. While alive Pope Pius X fought against Modernism, which he defined as the summation of all heresies. The adherents of Modernism waited while slowly increasing their influence in the Vatican.
Today there are at least three groups of Catholics. The largest are the Novus Ordo Catholics, who, knowingly or unknowingly, follow the new teachings of Vatican II. Then there are the Traditionalists, represented by The Society of Saint Pius X who protest the changes but still acknowledge the Pope as their spiritual leader. And there are the Sedevacantists (in Latin, The Seat is Empty), represented by the Society of Saint Pius V, who reject the Pope, believing that the Papacy as established by Christ has been held by false Popes since the 1950s and the reforms of Vatican II.
The issue deals with the basis of faith itself. The beliefs one holds define who one is. In Catholicism it becomes crucial for it’s a question of the salvation or damnation of the soul.
The Bible, which is the revealed Word of God, says a number of things that rub people the wrong way. That is, they don’t always seem very nice, fair or inclusive. They’re at odds with many of the values that people in modern societies would prefer to live by. God’s values deal with the sanctity of life, the natural order of human existence and laws by which we should live, the exclusivity of Christ and the Catholic religion he established as the way to salvation. These all reflect the supernatural truth behind life which gives it purpose, direction and meaning.
Take it or leave it, but that’s the deal. A Catholic believes the word of God as revealed in The New Testament. Not even the Pope can pick and choose or modify the teachings to make them relevant with changing fashions. They were revealed to man for the purpose of being a bulwark, a solid rock, to support him through the vicissitudes of earthly life. Furthermore, it’s clearly written what awaits anyone who plays with the text. Saint Paul says: “Even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed!”
No Catholic would knowingly dare contradict these teachings, it would go against the core purpose of the faith: To save one’s soul. With that in mind, we can only ask, what do those who would change the teachings believe, that is, if they believe anything at all?