The Popes Speak
Pope Saint Damasus I: The Chief See is judged by no one.Pope Saint Sylvester I: The Judge can never be judged. (DZ 330)Pope Saint Boniface I: Our judgment is not to be reviewed, for it has never been permitted to go over anything once it has been decided by the Apostolic See. (DZ 110 Retro Majoribus Tuis)Pope Boniface VIII: Therefore if the earthly power err, it shall be judged by the spiritual power; but if the lesser spiritual power err, by the greater. But if the greatest, it can be judged by God alone, not by man, the Apostle bearing witness. A spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is judged by no onePope Saint Leo IX (DZ 352), September 2, 1053: By passing a preceding judgment on the great See, concerning which it is not permitted any man to pass judgment, you have received anathema from all the Fathers of all the venerable Councils….Pope Saint Boniface I (DZ 120), March 11, 422: To the Synod (of Corinth) … we have directed such writings that all the brethren may know … that there must be no withdrawal from our judgment. For it has never been allowed that that be discussed again which has been once decided by the Apostolic See. Pope Saint Zozimus (DZ 109), March 21, 418: Although the traditions of the Fathers has attributed such great authority to the Apostolic See that no one would dare to disagree wholly with its judgment, and it has always preserved this by canons and rules, and current ecclesiastical discipline up to this time by its laws pars the reverence which is due to the name of PETER, from whom it has itself descended … ; since therefore PETER the head is of such great authority and he has confirmed the subsequent endeavors of all our ancestors, so that the Roman Church is fortified … by human as well as by divine laws, and it does not escape you that we rule its place and also hold power of the name itself, nevertheless you know, dearest brethren, and as priests you ought to know, although we have such great authority that no one can dare to retract from our decision, yet we have done nothing which he have not done voluntarily referred to your notice by letters. … not because we did not know what ought to be done, or would do anything which by going against the advantage of the Church, would be displeasing … Pope Eugene IV: Where I am, there is all Christendom.Pope Saint Clement: Accept Our counsel and you shall have nothing to regret. But should anyone disobey what has been said through Us by Christ, let them understand that they will entangle themselves in great danger.Pope Leo XIII (Satis Cognitum): Can the Apostolic College be said to have been above its master in authority? This power over the Episcopal College to which we refer, and which is clearly set forth in Holy Writ, has ever been acknowledged and attested by the Church, as is clear from the teaching of General Councils. "We read that the Roman Pontiff has pronounced judgments on the prelates of all the churches; we do not read that anybody has pronounced sentence on him" (Hadrianus ii., in Allocutione iii., ad Synodum Romanum an. 869, Cf. Actionem vii., Conc. Constantinopolitani iv). The reason for which is stated thus: "there is no authority greater than that of the Apostolic See" (Nicholaus in Epist. lxxxvi. ad Michael. Imperat.) wherefore Gelasius on the decrees of Councils says: "That which the First See has not approved of cannot stand; but what it has thought well to decree has been received by the whole Church" (Epist. xxvi., ad Episcopos Dardaniae, n. 5). Vatican Council Session 4 (DZ 1830): And since the Roman Pontiff is at the head of the universal Church by the divine right of apostolic primacy, We teach and declare also that he is the supreme judge of the faithful, and that in all cases pertaining to ecclesiastical examination recourse can be had to his judgment; moreover, that the judgment of the Apostolic See, whose authority is not surpassed, is to be disclaimed by no one, nor is anyone permitted to pass judgment on its judgment. Therefore, they stray from the straight path of truth who affirm that it is permitted to appeal from the judgments of the Roman Pontiffs to an ecumenical Council, as to an authority higher than the higher than the Roman Pontiff.Can We Judge the Pope?
From Election Update: Although we may elect the Pope we cannot exercise any power over him, or bind him in any way as the Pope has no superior on earth.
The sovereign is said to be ‘exempt from the law’, as to its coercive power, since, properly speaking, no man is coerced by himself, and law has no coercive power save from the authority of the sovereign. Thus then is the sovereign said to be exempt from the law, because none is competent to pass sentence upon him if he acts against the law. … (I-II, Q96, A5)The Primatial See can be judged by no one. Canon 1556. This is a restatement of the Vatican Council (1870) in DZ 1830, which refers to DZ330: The first seat will not be judged by anyone., Saint Nicolas I to Michael the Emperor, 865. Saint Leo IX on September 2, 1053 states (Chap. 32) . . . As the hinge while remaining immovable opens and closes the door, so Peter and his successors have free judgment over all the Church, since no one should remove their status because “the highest See is judged by no one.” (DZ 353)Baldus de Ubaldis, during the debates circulating during the Western Schism wrote: Canon law expressly states that nobody shall try a Pope; on the contrary, Canon Law lays down the dictum that in doubtful situations, the man elected has to be held as Pope, (DIST. lxix).Saint Alphonsus: I am satisfied as long as I have not lost the grace of God. The Pope wills it; the Lord God be blessed!” When anyone referred to the matter in conversation, he would change the subject saying: “The Pope thought he had to act in this manner; God be blessed; the will of the Pope is the Will of God; it is not for us to pose as judges. Who has appointed us to judge between ourselves and the Pope? Let us bow our head and be obedient. If the Pope has wounded us by one rescript he can heal the wound by another. Therefore let us be obedient and make no excuse or explanation. The Catholic Encyclopedia its entry on Pope St. Leo III by Horace K. Mann states: In the following year (800) Charlemagne himself came to Rome, and the pope and his accusers were brought face to face. The assembled bishops declared that they had no right to judge the pope; but Leo of his own free will, in order, as he said, to dissipate any suspicions in men’s minds, declared on oath that he was wholly guiltless of the charges which had been brought against him. At his special request the death sentence which had been passed upon his principal enemies was commuted into a sentence of exile.Ecclesiasticus 8:17 Judge not against a judge: for he judgeth according to that which is just.
Gregory the Great only added one phrase to the Canon: "diesque nostros in tua pace disponas" [may you order our days in Thy peace] to the Hanc Igitur of the Canon. The Romans were outraged at this act and threatened to kill the pope because he had dared to touch the Sacred Liturgy. Of course, the Pope cannot be judged by anyone, so such an act would have been criminal.
Is the Pope Bound By Ecclesiastical Law?
From Van Noort’s Dogmatic Theology, Christ’s Church, page 282: The pope is not bound by customs or ecclesiastical laws laid down in any way whatsoever. Thus the third article of the ‘Declaration of the Gallican Clergy’ was rightly condemned: “The use of the apostolic power must be restrained by the canons, for they have been founded by the Spirit of God and consecrated by the reverence of the entire world. …” (DZ 1325) On page 283 he continues: One final point remains to be mentioned: the Roman Pontiff is subject to no one on earth and consequently cannot be called to judgment by anyone. He is obliged to render an account for his decisions to no one but Him alone Whose visible vicar he is, Jesus Christ.As the supreme lawgiver of the Church, the Pope is not legally bound by ecclesiastical decisions and usages, but by divine law alone. This demands that the Papal power, in consonance with its purpose, should be employed for the building-up of the Mystical Body of Christ, not for its destruction (II Corinthians 10:8). The divine law, therefore, is an efficacious brake on arbitrariness. The third Gallican article, which demanded a far-reaching limitation of the exercise of the Papal power, was properly rejected. D 1324. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, Ludwig Ott, page 286.The Church has no power to change the form of her government, nor to control the destiny of him who, once validly elected, is no vicar of hers but Vicar of Christ. Consequently she has no power to punish or depose her head. She is born to obey. This truth may seem hard, but the best theologians have never attenuated it; rather, they have accentuated it. To make us aware of all that we ought to be ready to suffer for the Church, of how much heroism she can ask of us, they have proposed extreme cases. They have supposed a Pope who shall scandalise the Church by the gravest sins; they have supposed him to be incorrigible; and then they ask whether the Church can depose him. Their answer is, no. For no one on earth can touch the Pope. -The Church of the Word Incarnate by Monsignor Charles Journet (Professor at the Major Seminary of Fribourg) Volume One: The Apostolic Hierarchy Sheed and Ward London and New York 19
Michael Fighting
The supreme see is not subject to the judgment of any one. Pope Saint Gelasius I (D496)
