UNITED STATES
Church Militant
by Christine Niles, M.St. (Oxon.), J.D. • ChurchMilitant.com • March 16, 2017
The scholarly gathering will examine canonical issues surrounding heretical pontiffs
PARIS (ChurchMilitant.com) – An upcoming gathering of canon lawyers, theologians and scholars will explore the extraordinary question of the mechanisms for deposing a pope. Titled “Deposing the Pope: Theological Premises, Canonical Models, Constitutional Challenges,” the conference is inspired by the recently published book by Laurent Fonbaustier, “The Deposition of the Heretical Pope.”
Sponsored by several French universities, including the Sorbonne, the itinerary will include 15 speakers offering talks on topics like “Conciliarism and the Deposition of a Pope Through the Prism of Gallicanism,” “The Downfall of the Pope: Between Renunciation and Deposition,” and “The Deposition of John XXIII and Benedict XIII at Constance, 1415–1417.”
Fonbaustier’s book itself was inspired by a renewed interest in Gratian’s decretal: “The pope is not judged by anyone — unless he deviates from the Faith.”
The site of the conference is significant: It was in the 1300s that the University of Paris explored the question of the possibly heretical Pope John XXII. A debate erupted over the primacy of the pope, with some scholars issuing the Defensor Paces, which argued that all Church power, including that of the pope, must be subject to the State. The document was anathematized by papal bull in 1327, condemned by the University of Paris, with theologians defending the primacy of the pope.
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