Neo-Catholic Attitudes Towards The Papacy
Neo-Catholics believe that the Popes since the Second Vatican Council were good and, sometimes, great Popes. When faced with criticism of the actions or words of one of these Popes, they are quick to defend these actions as either orthodox, misunderstood, or misrepresented. Further, they hold that it is against Catholic teaching, or, more moderately, "UnCatholic" to criticize the Pope even with regard to his personal opinions or public actions. One Neo-Catholic apologist (Fr. John Trigilio of EWTN, Catholic Answers, and Opus Dei) describes criticism of a Pope as:
Call me an Ultramontanist, but I echo Saint Ambrose, who said UBI PETRUS IBI ECCLESIA. Even though there were some prudential judgments of Pope John Paul II that I myself would have done differently, or even a few I did not personally like, out of respect for the office and the Petrine authority, I would never identify or mention them in public or private.
This belief that the Pope in his behaviors and personal opinions is beyond criticism has caused some Catholics to accuse Neo-Catholics of "Papolatry" or "Pope-worship". Other Catholics cite the actions and words of St. Paul, St. Athanasius, and St. Catherine of Siena as good Catholics who criticized the actions and / or words of a Pope, arguing that at times criticism of a Pope is not only allowed, but obligatory.
Read more about this topic: Neo-Catholicism
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