Furthermore, although the correction seeks to avoid scandal, the correction itself has served as a cause of scandal. It insinuates that the pope is a heretic, it thereby weakens people's trust in the pastors of the Church, and it provides the mass media with the opportunity to paint a false picture of the Church, in which those who believe the Church's teaching about marriage, sin, and grace are seen as somehow opposed to the pope.
What authority does the correction have?
The correction is a private act on the part of the individual signatories, which they have undertaken in their capacity as baptized members of the Church (Can. 212, §3). The correction therefore has no magisterial authority in the Church.
Are Catholics required to follow the correction?
No. Since the correction lacks magisterial authority, Catholics are not required to agree with it or to follow it.
What is heresy?
"Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same…" (CCC 2089).
Does this mean that the pope is a heretic?
No. Despite the document's title, the signatories acknowledge in the document that they lack the authority to judge whether the pope has committed the sin of heresy or the canonical crime of heresy. The difference between the sin and the crime of heresy, and an answer to the question about whether the pope can be a heretic, are discussed here.
If the signatories cannot convict the pope of heresy, what sin do the signatories claim that the pope has committed?
The signatories claim that the pope has failed to stop the spread of heresy, rather than that he has committed the sin of heresy himself.
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What heresy do the signatories claim that the pope has failed to stop?
The signatories claim that the pope has failed to stop the spread of seven heresies. Most of these concern the Church's teaching on mortal sin. The Church's teaching is that we cannot with full knowledge and deliberate consent choose to perform grave evil without cutting ourselves off from God's grace (CCC 1857), and that we cannot live in a state in life which is contrary to God's law without cutting ourselves off from the Sacrament of the Eucharist (CCC 1650).
Are those heresies contained in Amoris Laetitia?
None of the passages of Amoris Laetitia cited by the correction explicitly denies that a person who knowingly and willingly commits grave evil cuts himself or herself off from God's grace.
Amoris Laetitia does explore the possibility that a person who commits grave evil may in some cases not have full knowledge or deliberate consent when doing so, but precisely insofar as they lack full knowledge and/or deliberate consent, such a person is not necessarily committing mortal sin.
Amoris Laetitia also explores the process of healing the gravely sinful elements of a state in life which is contrary to God's law, without necessarily abandoning that state in life altogether. Amoris Laetitia only speculates as to what may be possible in this context, and its teaching is not clear. The Church teaches that in ambiguous cases such as this one, "everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way." (CCC 2478) That means interpreting ambiguous statements in continuity with the faith and practice of the Church, not in terms of a rupture with that faith and practice.