Roberto de Mattei steers us through centuries of Church history concerning both the wise,
and the disastrous, decisions of popes and councils: from the role of Pope Liberius in
the Arian crisis to the troubled Vatican compromises with the French Third Republic;
from the Ostpolitik and liturgical rupture of Paul VI to the erosion of dogmatic truths and
moral absolutes under Pope Francis. In these, popes have been mistaken in their political,
pastoral, and even magisterial acts, and the resistance of the faithful to such acts is a duty
and a cause of benefit. Along the way we are offered an illuminating catechism in  ecclesiology, the  nature of the Magisterium, and the limits of papal authority. 

Especially helpful are de Mattei’s discussion of the hypothesis of a heretical pope,  the difference between filial resistance and disobedience, and the significance and  implications of recent public remonstrations with the current pontificate.

232 pp. Softcover. STK# 8840 * $17.95