Don’t believe this fake Pius IX quotation on a pope teaching heresy.

f a future pope teach­es some­thing con­trary to the Catholic faith, don’t fol­low him.” Trads who pro­mote dis­sent from Pope Fran­cis claim Pius IX said this in a let­ter to “Bish­op Brizen.” There’s one glar­ing prob­lem here: There has nev­er been a bish­op by that name, still less dur­ing the reign of Pius IX. Oops. But please do search.

Now, there is a Roman Catholic dio­cese of Brix­en. Per­haps this is where the con­fu­sion is. Pius IX, let us say wrote the let­ter to the “bish­op of Brix­en”; per­haps some quote gath­er­er mistyped this as “bish­op of Brizen”; per­haps a thief mutat­ed it fur­ther to “Bish­op Brizen.” That’s pos­si­ble.

Well, the bish­op of Brix­en dur­ing the reign of Pius IX was Vin­cent Fer­rer Gasser. He wrote a Rela­tio for Vat­i­can I on the top­ic of papal infal­li­bil­i­ty. (Find the full text here.) Dom Cuth­bert But­ler called Gasser “the most promi­nent the­olo­gian” of the coun­cil, and accord­ing to Fr. James O’Con­nor, Gasser pro­mot­ed the def­i­n­i­tion of infal­li­bil­i­ty adopt­ed by Pas­tor Aeter­nus. How fas­ci­nat­ing. And how incon­ve­nient for the pro­mot­ers of this fake quote.

Now, let us review (shall we, dear read­er?) what Pas­tor Aeter­nus says about the pope and infal­li­bil­i­ty.

First, it says that the pope has “supreme pow­er of teach­ing.”

Moreover,it says that the pope is the “supreme judge of the faith­ful.”

Sec­on­dar­i­ly, it says that the pope is “not sub­ject to revi­sion by any­one.”

Sixth and last­ly, it says that those who seek an “appeal” from the pope’s judg­ments “stray from the gen­uine path of truth.”

Third­ly, it says “no one can depart from [these truths] with­out endan­ger­ing his faith and sal­va­tion.”

And to con­clude, it says that when a pope teach­es ex cathe­dra he is infal­li­ble. The pope is pro­tect­ed by the Holy Spir­it from teach­ing error.

Bish­op Gasser pro­mot­ed all this in his rela­tio, and Pius IX con­firmed Vat­i­can I. And yet I am to believe—am I?—that these very same two men engaged in a cor­re­spon­dence with each oth­er on the top­ic of papal heresy, in which the pope said to the bish­op, “If a future pope teach­es some­thing con­trary to the Catholic faith, don’t fol­low him”? Real­ly?

Let me say that again. Pius IX, the very pope who taught that a pope can not err in faith and morals, held out the pos­si­bil­i­ty that a pope can err in faith and morals? He wrote this in a let­ter to the bish­op who pro­mot­ed the same idea—who believed that a pope can’t err in faith and morals? I am sup­posed to believe this?

Pius IX, the very pope who taught that the pope is the supreme teacher, from his judg­ments is no appeal, no one may revise him, and to say oth­er­wise is to stray from truth: That very same Pius IX said, “But a future pope may teach error, and if so, don’t fol­low him”? Real­ly?

I sure want to see that let­ter. Those who pro­mote this fake quote need to dig it up.