An Introduction to the Errors in
the
Ecclesiology of Dr. Scott Hahn
Mr. John Salza, O.P.
December A.D. 2023
On October 24, 2023, Matt Fradd
interviewed Dr. Scott Hahn on Pints with Aquinas to discuss Hahn’s new
book Catholics in Exile. The book, which Hahn co-authored with Brandon
McGinley, aims to provide Scriptural wisdom for navigating the current storms
in the Church and the world. While we acknowledge the many positive
contributions Dr. Hahn has made to the Catholic Church over the years, some of
the statements he made in the interview with Fradd (along with similar
statements he wrote in the new book) are completely contrary to the teachings
of the Catholic Church.
As Hahn admitted in the interview, he was providing “coping
mechanisms” which have personally helped him deal with the problems of the
pontificate of Pope Francis. However, it appears that, in pursuit of these
mechanisms, Hahn has embraced a Protestant ecclesiology which views the Church,
in its essence, as invisible. In fact, as a result of his faulty ecclesiology,
Hahn stated, multiple times, that “the Pope is not the head of the
Church.” Hahn also said that “faith alone can illuminate the reality of
what we mean by Church.”[1]
Given that Hahn is such a popular apologist, and that the statements
he made in this interview have caused so much confusion among Catholics, we
believe it is necessary to address what Hahn “means by Church,” and show that
it is not at all what the Church teaches about itself. In fact, as we will see,
there is a deeper error in Hahn’s ecclesiology which led him to make (and then later
retract) his statement that the Pope is not the head of the Church.
To set the stage, at about the 45-minute mark of the
interview, Fradd laid out the struggles that many Catholics are currently having
with the present pontificate, whether it be the putative blessing of same sex
unions, the toleration of liberal German bishops, the underground Church in
China, and so on. In light of all of the problems in the Church, Fradd rightly
stated that many Catholics feel like they are in exile in the Church, that the
Church and Pope Francis are against them. Fradd also posited the two extreme
solutions to the problem, namely, that Catholics either conclude that
everything in the Church is fine, or that Bergoglio isn’t the Pope.
After Hahn properly noted that one can fall off the barque of Peter, either on the right side or the left side, he stated that “we need to step back and take stock of what do we mean by the Church.”[2] Hahn then explained his ecclesiology, that is, what he means by the Catholic Church:
[The Church] must include the parish down the street. But that’s not what the Church is in its essence. If we approach the Church strictly in terms of our parish…this is reductionistic…If you recognize that what you see is not all of what you get, and what you don’t see – heaven, the angels, the saints, the Lord of Lords enthroned – what you don’t see is even more of what you get. And this is where the faith alone can illuminate the reality of what we mean by Church, because the Pope is not the head of the Church. Perhaps we developed a bad habit of thinking that way. But it’s not just a bad habit; it is heretical to say that the Pope is the head of the Church. Christ is the head of the Church. We are the body of Christ. Not Pope John Paul or Pope Francis or whoever happens to be our favorite Pope like the flavor of the month sort of thing. No, Christ is the head of the Church. The Pope is not the object of our faith. He is not the head of the Church. He is the Vicar of Christ.[3]
In this one-minute clip, Hahn stated three times that the
Pope is not the head of the Catholic Church, and even said it is heretical
to say the Pope is the head of the Church (even though just the opposite is true).
Hahn repeated his assertion a fourth time later in the interview when he says
“We’re not no personality cult because the Pope is not the head of the
Church. He’s the Vicar of Christ, and He [Christ] alone is the
head.”[4] A
week later, Hahn doubled-down on his position in a talk he gave at the St. Paul
Center in Steubenville (November 3, called “The Jeremiah Option”) when he
stated: “We believe this, that the Pope is not the head of the Church; he
never has been! The only head of the Church is Christ!”[5]
Fortunately, after Hahn received fraternal correction from
many of his colleagues (including this author), he posted a video on his
YouTube channel a few weeks later, retracting his statement. While he admitted
that the statement about the Pope was, on its face, erroneous, and even
heretical “if it is taken out of context,” he went on to say that what he
really meant is that Christ alone is the head of the entire Catholic
Church, by which he meant the Church in heaven and on earth. It is the Catholic Church in that sense, said
Hahn, that he was referring to. He also
seemed somewhat surprised that the viewers didn’t realize this. After all, says
Hahn, “there is only one Church. The
Church in heaven and on earth are not two different Churches,” and it is
evident that only Christ is the head of the one Catholic Church. Dr. Hahn then
spoke of the importance of making distinctions, implying that if people had
made the proper distinctions, they would have understood what he meant.
What Dr. Hahn does not seem to realize is that there is a
deeper, more fundamental error in his ecclesiology; an error that making
distinctions does not clear up, but only clarifies. Indeed, while Hahn’s
retraction of his heretical proposition reveals his good will, his explanation
which accompanied his retraction further spotlights the errors in his
ecclesiology, and even creates a contradiction that didn’t exist in his
previous explanation (namely, that the Pope is the head of the Catholic Church,
but that the Catholic Church we profess in the Creed includes the entire
Mystical Body of which Christ alone is the Head). Thus, with Dr. Hahn’s latest
explanation, he has created an irreconcilable contradiction, and therefore “the
last state has become worse than the first” (cf. 2Pet 2:20).
As we will see, Dr. Hahn’s original statement that the Pope
is not the head of the Catholic Church remains the logical and necessary
conclusion of this deeper error, which concerns the very nature of the Church
we profess to believe in at every Sunday Mass (“One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic”). If it is true, as Hahn claims, that the “Catholic Church” of the
Creed is the entire Mystical Body of Christ (in heaven, on earth and in
purgatory), it is equally true that “Christ alone is the head of the Catholic
Church,” since only Christ is the head of the members of the Church Triumphant
in heaven and the Church Suffering in purgatory. In fact, if Dr. Hahn’s
ecclesiology is correct, it is indeed “heresy to say the Pope is the head of
the Catholic Church” as Dr. Hahn originally stated in his interview with Fradd.
This deeper error (that the Catholic Church is the entire Mystical Body of Christ), which Dr. Hahn is unaware of, and continues to spread in interviews, leads to the same conclusion as every form of Protestant ecclesiology – and Sedevacantist ecclesiology – namely, that the true Church is something other than the Roman Catholic Church, or what Hahn calls “the institutional Church,” that is, the visible, juridical, institutional Church on earth comprised of the local church of Rome, the dioceses (or canonical equivalents) throughout the world in union with it, and the laity and clergy who legally belong to it.
Hahn Views the Church as Essentially Invisible
(“its essence is only in heaven”)
In other words, Dr. Hahn does not view the visible society
Christ established on Earth, which we know as the Church Militant, as having
its own essence (that is, a divine, juridical constitution established
by Christ), that is separate and distinct from the Church Triumphant. Rather,
according to Hahn, the Church, in its essence, is “what you don’t see,”
that is, what is invisible. Thus, Hahn effectively subsumes the Church
Militant into the Church Triumphant, by viewing them as one Church whose
essence “is only in heaven,” rather than properly seeing the one true Church as
having three distinct essences which correspond to their three states
(Militant, Suffering, Triumphant; see CCC #954).
To reiterate, Hahn fails to see that the Church Militant has
its own juridical “constitution” (or essence) that was divinely established by
Christ, which includes a visible head who is the Pope (previously denied by
Hahn). This essence of the visible Church Militant is separate and distinct
from the invisible Church Triumphant. Hahn fails to see that the “institutional
church,” as he calls it, is “a perfect
society of its kind…whose juridical
principles…derive from the divine constitution given to it by Christ,”[7]
and “a perfect society, of its nature external and perceptible to the
senses, which in the future should carry on the work of the salvation of
mankind under one head [the Pope], with a living teaching authority.”[8]
Hahn has embraced a Protestant ecclesiology which views the Church as
essentially invisible, whose “essence is only in heaven,” and whose Head is
Christ alone.
As a result of this ecclesiology, which holds that the
Catholic Church includes the entire Mystical Body of Christ, Hahn is
forced to view the divinely established visible society on Earth as a mere human
institution. Because of this, Hahn sees the juridical society as separate
and distinct from the Church Militant, and even from the Mystical
Body of Christ itself. This is not our inference but what Hahn specifically
states in his new book Catholics in Exile.
In divorcing the institutional (juridical) society from the
Mystical Body, Hahn says: “The world is so hard, today more
than it has been in some time. The institutional Church—not, of
course, the mystical Body of Christ—sometimes even seems determined to
place discouraging hurdles in our path.”[9] As
you can see, Hahn actually says the “institutional Church” (which is the Roman
Catholic Church) is not “the Mystical Body of Christ.” In seeing the institutional Church
as something other than the Church Militant, Hahn also says: “When
we say ‘the Church,’ we are not just speaking of the institutional Church.
We don’t just mean bishops and cardinals and bureaucrats. We mean the entire
Body of Christ on earth, the Church Militant.”[10]
Again, Hahn divorces the Roman Catholic Church (the “institutional Church”)
from the Mystical Body of Christ and the Church Militant.
Needless to say, claiming
that the institutional Church (the juridical society that Christ established on
earth) is something other than the Mystical Body and the Church Militant
is contrary to the perennial teaching of the Magisterium. In fact, I would say
it is heretical. Hahn’s assertions flatly contradict, inter alia, Pope
Pius XII’s clear teaching that the Mystical Body of Christ on earth is
the “institutional Church,” that is, the “One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and
Roman Church,”[11]
or “juridical constitution” [12]
or “visible society”[13] that
Christ founded. Pius XII also says: “We think, how grievously they err who arbitrarily
claim that the Church is something hidden and invisible, as they also do who
look upon her as a mere human institution…”[14]
By believing that the Holy Catholic Church of the Creed is
the entire Mystical Body of Christ whose essence is only in heaven, Hahn fails
to see that the Church Militant has its own juridical “constitution” (or
essence) that was divinely established by Christ, which includes a visible head
who is the Pope (which Hahn originally denied, but is still the logical outcome
of his ecclesiology).
Hahn’s ecclesiology logically leads a person to conclude that
“Christ alone” is the “only head” of the Church - which would make sense if the
Catholic Church were the entire Mystical Body whose essence is in heaven with
all the angels and saints. This is what
led Hahn to originally conclude that the Pope is not the head of the Church in
the first place; and while he retracted that statement, he did not retract the
underlying ecclesiology which logically leads to the heretical conclusion.
This is why we said there is a deeper, more fundamental error
in Hahn’s ecclesiology that he has not yet grasped. And Hahn’s retraction now
poses a glaring contradiction in his ecclesiology, for one cannot maintain that
the Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, while also maintaining that this
“One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church” is the entire Mystical Body which
includes the Church Triumphant, for Christ alone is the Head of the Church in
heaven. This is also why we said Hahn’s current explanation can be said to be
worse than his former one, due to the inherent contradiction.
Hahn Falsely Applies the Mark
of Catholicity
to the Church Triumphant
The main reason why Dr. Hahn believes the Catholic Church of
the Creed includes the Church Triumphant in heaven is because he has created an
entirely novel definition of the mark of catholicity (one of the Four
Marks of the Catholic Church set forth in the Creed),[17]
and then views the Church through the lens of his own self-created definition.
Specifically, as seen in the Catechism of the Catholic Church
(830-831), the term “catholic” of the Creed refers to the Church Militant or
“institutional church” on earth, and defines “catholic” to mean having the both
the “fullness of the means of salvation” and a world-wide mission “to the whole
of the human race.”[18]
Thus, the term “catholic” refers to the salvific means and mission of
the Church Militant on earth. However, Hahn changes the meaning
of catholicity to include all those united to the Mystical Body, particularly
those in the Church Triumphant. While Hahn correctly states that
“catholic” means “universal,” he improperly extends the Creedal mark of
“catholicity” to the Church in heaven.
Based on his own explanations, Hahn seems to do this by conflating the Communion of Saints (which includes all members of the Mystical Body, including those in heaven) with the mark of catholicity (which refers only to the members of the Church Militant on Earth). Let us hear from Dr. Hahn in his own words:
The truth, the meaning, the definition of ‘Catholic’ is
not global, it’s not planetary, it’s not international. It’s universal.
It’s the holos, it’s the totality of creation. And so there aren’t two
Churches, one up there, and one down here. There’s not two Churches, one in the
Vatican and one in the diocese or one in my neighborhood. There is one – I
believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church – One, Holy, Catholic
and Apostolic. And it’s not just because the successors to the Apostles now
run the show. It’s because the Apostles aren’t dead. From Revelation 21
and 22 we discover they’re more alive than we are. They are more alive
than they were back in the first century.[19]
Notice that Dr. Hahn bases his ecclesiology upon “the definition of ‘Catholic,’” which he gets from the Creed (“I believe…”), but then tells us that the meaning of “Catholic” is not “global, planetary or international.” In other words, Hahn changes the meaning of catholicity. He does this by stating the mark of catholicity is not limited to or even essentially a quality of the Church Militant on Earth (even though the very meaning of catholicity of the visible Church on Earth is, in fact, global, planetary and international – just the opposite of what Hahn claims). For Hahn, the mark of catholicity is found essentially in heaven, in the invisible Church, where the original Apostles and all the saints (in Apocalypse 21 and 22) reign with Christ. This demonstrates that Hahn conflates the mark of catholicity with the Communion of Saints, which gives rise to a grave error in his ecclesiology.
Hahn confirms he is appropriating the word “Catholic” from the Creed, as the basis for his ecclesiology:
This is what we’ve been professing ever since we learned the Creed.
Now, why is it we don’t possess these twelve articles of the Creed, or at least allow them to possess and transform us.” He
further says: “We’re the Church Militant, they’re the Church Triumphant, but
we’re not two Churches.[20]
[We] recognize that the Catholic Church is not international, it’s not planetary, it’s not global. It’s Catholic, which means its universal. And so where is the Church located primarily, in its essence and perfection? In heaven, with the angels, the saints, the martyrs, and are loved ones as well. And they don’t form an older denomination, they don’t form a different Church. We believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. They’re the Church Triumphant. We’re the Church Militant.[21]
Again, Hahn was led to conclude that
the Pope is not the head of the Church, because he views the Church as
“primarily,” and “in its essence,” an invisible society in heaven. This is why
he claims Christ alone is the one and only Head of the Church. Hahn has
developed this Protestant ecclesiology by redefining and misapplying the
visible Church’s mark of catholicity to the entire Mystical Body, with an
emphasis on the Church Triumphant. Hahn
thinks the mark of catholicity applies to the Church Triumphant because he conflates
the mark with the Communion of Saints, which includes all members of the
Mystical Body - which Hahn says is distinct from the “institutional Church” and
even the Church Militant.
To further justify his original contention that the Pope is not the head of the Church, Hahn privately interprets Matthew 16 (presumably, by “faith alone”) in an utterly novel way, which again, de-emphasizes the Church Militant and the Pope’s authority and headship, and views the Church as essentially a heavenly society whose only Head is Christ. Says Hahn, from his recent St. Paul center talk:
Jesus says upon this rock I will build my Church; and then He goes on to give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. So we believe this, that the Pope is not the head of the Church; he never has been! The only head of the Church is Christ! The Church is the Mystical Body, and the Pope is the Vicar of Christ on Earth, with the keys to the kingdom of heaven. But at the same time, we love the Pope. We pray for Pope Francis.[22]
As with his misapplication of the mark of catholicity (and,
in reality, all Four Marks) to the Church Triumphant, Dr. Hahn does the same
thing with the promises of Christ revealed in Matthew 16, again,
erroneously diverting them from the Church Militant on earth to the Church
whose “essence is only in heaven.” This misapplication not only furthers a
heretical ecclesiology but, far from serving as a “coping mechanism,” can
actually lead to a loss of faith, in times of crisis, in the indefectibility
and infallibility of the Church Militant - the visible, juridical society, to
which Christ’s promises exclusively apply.
Van Noort affirms that these promises of Christ apply to the visible Church on earth:
Once one proves that the one and only
Church which Christ founded is visible
from its very nature, then it necessarily follows: (a) that an invisible
Church such as that to which Protestants appeal is a pure fiction, and (b) that
all the promises which Christ made to His Church refer to a visible Church.[23]
Cardinal Billot also confirms that the promises of Christ apply to the visible Church on earth:
The Church of Christ, by the revelation and institution of Christ himself, is essentially visible; and this visible Church is the Church to which his promises pertain; promises, namely, that she would be perennial and indefectible, and that in her and by her men would find sanctity and salvation.[24]
In fact, the First Vatican Council connects “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” that St. Peter holds with his headship over the visible Church on earth, which is the Church of Rome and those juridically united to her:
Surely no one has doubt, rather all ages have known that the holy and most blessed Peter, chief and head of the apostles and pillar of faith and foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys of the kingdom from our Lord Jesus Christ… For this reason ‘it has always been necessary because of mightier pre-eminence for every church to come to the Church of Rome, that is those who are the faithful everywhere,’ so that in this See, from which the laws of ‘venerable communion’ emanate over all, they as members associated in one head, coalesce into one bodily structure.
The Mark of
Catholicity Applies Only
to the Church
Militant on Earth
The third mark of the Church is that she is Catholic, that is, universal…Unlike republics of human institution, or the sects of heretics, she is not confined to any one country or class of men, but embraces within the amplitude of her love all mankind, whether barbarians or Scythians, slaves or freemen, male or female.[25]
Cardinal Billot further explains:
There is but one Church, which our predecessors have named Catholic, so that they might demonstrate by her very name that she is “throughout the whole” (per totum); for this is what the Greek term καθ᾽ ὃλον (cath-holon) means.” Therefore, catholicity by the very meaning of the term signifies a certain universality, and in the present instance is taken to mean the universal diffusion (diffusio) of the Church throughout all the regions of the world and all nationalities of men.[26]
The Church’s theologians also make a
distinction between catholicity by right,
and catholicity in fact. Catholicity by right means the Church “has the aptitude to spread over the whole world
because there is nothing in its structural principles which bind it to one
nation.”[27]
As Van Noort explains, catholicity in
fact refers to: “The actual
spread of the Church throughout the world. If the actual
diffusion extends to all people, it is called absolute catholicity;[28]
if it reaches only a great number of people, it is called moral catholicity.[29]
Cardinal Billot further explains the difference between the mark of catholicity by right versus in fact, showing that the mark applies only to the visible Church on earth:
The Church of Christ is essentially catholic with a catholicity of right (juris), that is, by the universality of her destination and the mission that she has received from her Founder. Catholicity of fact, which follows from this as a necessary property, consists in two things: first, in a permanent and simultaneous diffusion throughout the world, by which it comes to pass that the true Church always retains in her bosom an enormous (ingentem) number of faithful from a plurality of nations; secondly, in the successive growth by which she must propagate herself more and more until the end of the world, so that she extends throughout all places of the earth without exception and encompasses all nationalities of men(…) once that short space of time had elapsed during which it was necessary, by the command of Christ himself, that the dissemination of the Word be confined to Judea and Samaria, catholicity of fact, consisting in the simultaneous and constant extension of the Church throughout the entire known world, and among the inhabitants thereof, became an inseparable character of the true Church of Christ.[30]
In his classic book, On Revelation, the brilliant twentieth-century Dominican Thomist, Fr. Reginal Garrigou-Lagrange, writes:
Christ willed that his Church be universal or catholic, that is, extended throughout all the nations. — Catholicity in general signifies universality or totality. As it applies to the Church, catholicity of right, or virtual catholicity, is the right and aptitude of the Church for spreading herself throughout all nations; catholicity de facto, or actual catholicity, is the progressive, visible extension by which a notable number of men belonging to the principal nations gradually become members of the Church. [31]
When discussing the mark of catholicity
in A Manual of Catholic Theology,
Wilhelm and Scannell explain that the Church “is truly Catholic, because she is
not restricted to any race, or tongue, or nation. Her numbers greatly surpass
those of any heretical sect or schismatic body – nay they probably surpass the
numbers of all the non-Catholic sects put together.”[32]
Finally, Fr. Joachim Salaverri elaborates further on this mark of the Church in his influential work, On the Church of Christ (1955):
Catholicity is a
necessary property of the Church. … Catholicity
in the strict sense is the vast extension of one Church throughout the
world, with a conspicuous multitude of members. (…)
Catholicity of right is the power, or right and duty, divinely given to the Church of gathering to herself all men from all parts of the world. Catholicity of fact is an actual great number of Church members to be found in every part of the world.
Before closing, we note that Dr. Hahn evidently learned much of his ecclesiology from the book, Introduction to the Mystery of the Church, by Benoit-Dominique de la Soujeole, O.P. After Hahn announced that he would be using the book to teach a class on ecclesiology, we immediately purchased and read the book. Having done so, we can unequivocally state that the book is totally heretical, by touting Lutheran ecclesiology as the true meaning of St. Paul’s teaching on the Church (e.g., “the Church consists of all those in a state of grace”; “Christ did not establish the Church as a juridical society”; etc.). We will have more to say about this book in the future.
Closing Comments
Many Catholics today are struggling to find “coping mechanisms” (in
Hahn’s words) for the current crisis in the Catholic Church. This is completely
understandable. Today we face a situation where the post-Vatican II Popes have
often not “confirmed the brethren” in the Faith of our Fathers. This includes
attempting to limit and even suppress the liturgical traditions of the Roman
Church, and also giving the impression that the unchanging doctrinal truths of
the faith (e.g., marriage; Holy Orders) may be subject to change, but without
actually changing any doctrines. Indeed, it seems that Pope Francis is steering
the barque of St. Peter directly into the violent storms.
Unfortunately,
this has led many to embrace one of two extreme “solutions” to this dilemma,
which Matt Fradd highlighted in his interview with Hahn: Either all is well and
good with Pope Francis, or Francis is not the true Pope. While Dr. Hahn has
presumably rejected both of these solutions, he has contrived an alternative
solution, which is to say that we should not be too worried about the
deviations of the Pope, because Christ is the true head of the entire Catholic
Church “whose essence is only in heaven.” While Hahn’s “solution” avoids the
heresy of Sedevacantism, it has led him to embrace a Protestant ecclesiology
which is also a heresy, and thus no solution at all – “If anyone says
the Pope is not the visible head of the Church, let him be anathema” (Vatican
I).
The heresies of
the early Church related primarily to Christology (the nature of Christ). But
due to the revolution within the Church at the hands of ecclesiastics during
the past 100 years (and particularly since Vatican II), the heresies of our
times relate almost exclusively to ecclesiology (the nature of the Church). We
see these ecclesiological errors promoted by groups who have separated from the
divine government of the Church, such as the Old Catholics, the Sedevacantists,
the SSPX, the SSPX-Resistance, the Beneplenists, the independent and
“canceled-priest” groups, and the like. And we see Catholics of every stripe
currently falling for these errors. The cottage-industry of podcasters who know
little about the Faith but pretend they do, and whose mission is to expose and
mock the wounds of the Body of Christ as she suffers her Passion, only further
contribute to the loss of Faith.
The solution to
this crisis of the Church Militant is not to attempt to discern the meaning of
the Church “by faith alone,” or create a novel ecclesiology by claiming the
“essence of the Church is only in heaven.” The solution is not to claim that
Christ alone is the only true Head of the Church (as Hahn and the Protestants
do), or that the post-conciliar Popes were anti-popes due to heresy (as the
Sedevacantists do), or that Francis is not the true Pope because Benedict XVI
never validly resigned (as the Beneplenists do). These are all false solutions
that lead to actual separation from the only ark of salvation.
Rather, we must do what all Catholics have done during times of crisis. We pray with Christ for the Holy Father, “that his faith fail not” (Lk 22:32) and believe and live what the Church has always taught (“hold fast to tradition”; 2Thess. 2:14). We also let the invisible Head (Christ) be the judge of the visible head (the Pope), especially if the latter departs from the Faith. In so doing, we will recognize that being united to “Christ alone” as the “only” Head of the Church is insufficient for salvation. As Pope Boniface VIII teaches, there is only “one head of the Church, namely, Christ and Peter” (and not “Christ alone”), and we must hold to this truth to save our souls. This is why that same Pope dogmatically declares: “Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”[33]
[1] Fradd
interview, 47.54.
[2]
47.04-10.
[3] 47.14-48.37
(emphases added).
[4]
2.06.09-12 (emphasis added).
[6]
55.10 (emphasis added).
[7]
Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi, 1943 (emphasis added).
[8]
Pope Pius IX, Mortalium Animos, 1928 (emphasis added).
[9] Hahn, Scott; McGinley, Brandon.
Catholics in Exile: Biblical Wisdom for the Journey Home (p. 112). Emmaus Road
Publishing. Kindle Edition.
[10]
Ibid.
[11] Mystici
Corporis Christi, no. 13.
[12]
Ibid., no. 66.
[13]
Ibid., no. 64
[14]
Ibid.
[15]
55.10 (emphasis added).
[16]
At 45.55. The
Catechism rejects the notion that the essence of the Church is only or
primarily in heaven; rather, it teaches that the true Church of Christ has three
distinct essences which correspond to its three states (Militant,
Suffering, Triumphant; see CCC #954).
[17]
The Church’s Four Marks are: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
[18]
See CCC #830-831.
[19]
Fradd interview, starting at 48.38.
[20]
Ibid., starting at 49.38.
[21]
At 45.55.
[22]
Starting at 11.33.
[23] Ibid.,
p. 13 (emphasis added).
[24]
Billot, Tractatus de Ecclesia Christi,
vol. 1, 3rd ed. 1927, p. 101.
[25] The Catechism of the Council of Trent,
p. 106.
[26] Billot,
Tractatus de Ecclesia Christi, book. 1, part 1, Thesis VI, Q. V.
[27] Christ’s
Church, p. 144.
[28]
It is commonly held that absolute catholicity
will be attained before the Second Coming. This will likely occur during the
period of peace promised by various prophets, including the Queen of Prophets,
Our Lady of Fatima.
[29] Christ’s
Church, p. 144
(italics in original; underline added).
[30] Ibid.,
book. 1, part 1, Thesis VI.
[31]
Garrigou-Lagrange, On Revelation as
Proposed by the Catholic Church, 2nd ed, 1921, bk 2, ch 5.
[32]
Joseph Wilhelm and Thomas Scannell, A
Manual of Catholic Theology, vol. II, 3rd ed. (London : K. Paul,
Trench, Trübner; New York, Benziger Bros., 1908), Book VII, Part I, ch. V, No.
245, p. 357.
[33]
Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam, November 18, 1302.
