Bagheera wrote:
Could you summarize what you mean?
Do you mean to summarize everything or only my previous post? It's hard to summarize everything in a single post, so I'll try to do it in several posts.
I think that the fastest way to understand which side is right is to focus our attention on certain procedures. Why? Because they are visible signs of love, and love is visible sign of truth: "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another." (John 13:35). Here are some procedures and why they are signs of love:
1) When one carefully investigates whether doctrines of his Church correspond to the teaching of the Church Fathers, — а procedure which is said to be necessary by the Fifth Ecumenical Council, — he thus shows his love to the Church Fathers, especially in our time, when their writings have become available online in the internet. This is explained well in the famous treatise of St. Vincent of Lerins against novelties. This criterion, "novelties", was not his own invention, — it was approved by the Third Ecumenical Council.
2) Let's assume that there is someone infallible who "has all knowledge". But what if he doesn't care for his spiritual children who fall in heresy or in schism, doesn't love them? "And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:2). "But if any man have not care of his own and especially of those of his house, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel." (1 Timothy 5:8).
For example: why Council of Pisa deposed both Popes? Because they refused to arrive at the Council and thus showed that they didn't care for their spiritual children. There was real necessity of participating of the popes in the Council of Pisa, because during Western Schism, as Catholic Encyclopedia says (article
Western Schism), even saints were divided:
The saints themselves were divided: St Catherine of Siena, St. Catherine of Sweden, Bl. Peter of Aragon, Bl. Ursulina of Parma, Philippe d'Alencon, and Gerard de Groote were in the camp of Urban; St. Vincent Ferrer, Bl. Peter of Luxemburg, and St. Colette belonged to the party of Clement.
So if one of popes arrived at the Council and gave some explanations, he would help half of his spiritual children to leave the schism.
(To be continued...)