There are two ways to misquote someone, and one of them is to get the words wrong. The other is to get the words right but take them so far out of context that you misrepresent what the author meant. At Crisis, someone named Kennedy Hall is the latest to revive a common misquotation of Bellarmine that falls under the latter species. His article is titled “Pope Francis’s Schism.” He does not mean that Pope Francis is in schism, or could go into schism. He means that the pope would cause a schism if he decides to prohibit bishops from allowing the Tridentine rite without Rome’s permission. The problem I have with all of this is less that Catholics like Mr. Hall are going around prophesying schism. My problem is the abuse of Bellarmine to justify it.
At Crisis, misquoting Bellarmine to justify schism.
BY: Scott Eric Alt • February 25, 2023 • Liturgy; papacy; Pope Francis; Saints
There is a bizarre current of thought, among Catholics antagonistic to social justice, that says that such concerns detract from the call to holiness. The “SJWs,” they will declaim, “never talk about holiness. It’s all about social evil, never their own need for Christ.” Apart from the fact that this is so absurdly and demonstrably untrue, the saints — both declared and undeclared — never once speak of justice and holiness as though they are in conflict with each other. The very notion is uncatholic. You can not be holy unless you pursue justice: That idea runs through the entire Old Testament, and the entire New.
Too many people imagine that infallibility means nothing in the Church can change. They treat Church teachings or traditions as though they are museum pieces and must be kept in protective glass. It is not thus. The Church may grow in its understanding even of its infallible teachings, such as the Eucharist being the body and blood of Jesus Christ. So when change occurs before our eyes, there are those who panic and speak of crisis. But infallibility is not meant to force the Magisterium into an old wineskin. This is why the Magisterium is living. 
