What Does “In Communion With The Pope” Really Mean?
By His Holiness Pope Michael II.
Our Society is characterized by plurality, multi-cultural and diversity of beliefs. But this plurality and diversity ends in anarchy. Our rich history and present circumstances authenticate this.
Our God is a God of order, unity and harmony. Our world was created beautiful, yet due to the lawlessness of our proto-parents, suffering and death came in. In order to regenerate the world, Jesus the Christ came into the world, incarnated and was born of the Virgin Mary in order to manifest God’s unconditional love. Because of this, Jesus Christ is the primordial sacrament of the Father. Christ is the best example of sonship. Hence, “This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased…” (Mark 1:11). “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6).
The Church as the assembly of believers is the sacrament of Christ. The Church as the mystical body of Christ is continuously witnessing to the presence of Christ until the end of time. (Matthew 28:20). Within the Church, we have the Seven Sacraments.
As the Holy Spirit is the invisible sign of unity, the Pope and the bishops are the visible sign of unity. The Pope and the bishops are acting “in persona capitis” (Headship of Christ). The Pope and the bishops are reminders of unity between the Head and its body. The Pope and the bishops are called to establish order, unity and harmony for the sake of “Salus Animarum” because “Salus Animarum est Suprema Lex.” (“The Welfare of the Soul is the Supreme Law”).
In communion with the Pope means:
You mention the name of the Pope and of your bishop at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This is elementary but important. The faithful are obliged to pray for the pope and for all your bishops. However, you must realize that “The authority of the Roman Pontiff is supreme, universal, independent; that of the Bishop’s limited and independent” ( Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum).
In the Pope resides the Three powers of the Government: The Executive, Legislative and Judicial. “It is absurd to claim that a Pope must obey Canon Law, or that he can be censured by the Church: for it is because of him that canon law exists.”
Docility and Obedience. Obedience means listening and listening means obedience. Obey first before you complain. Docility means submission and as a sign of gentle compliance, you need to wait for his orders, “Don’t take it ahead.” For example, a deacon is the one dictating the schedule of his ordination to the priesthood.
Another is Preempt the announcement of the Pope. Hence, “synodality” can be misleading. The Pope alone is the supreme authority in the Catholic Church. Before “Roma locuta est, causa finita.” (“When Rome speaks, the case is closed”) but now, “When Rome speaks, the argument begins.” That should not be. The authority in the Catholic Church is NOT collegial in nature, or the Supreme pontiff is just the first among many equal bishops. Hence, the College of Bishops must obey the Pope.
Support the “Saint Peter’s Charity.” The Pope has no salary but he has works of charity. Hence, your financial support to the Pope is necessary and mandatory.
CONCLUSION
Plurality of opinions or beliefs ends in confusion. Sedevacantism is wrong in as much as it leads to anarchy. Protestantism is anarchy. Therefore, an orthodox (adjective) Catholic Pope is essential to establish order and unity in the church to safeguard the deposit of faith for the sake of Salus Animarum.