Footnote Footsies - In Unitate Fidei's Pinch Of Poison

The body of Unitate Fidei reads as an apologetics exercise for religious indifferentism.  In it, Leo opines, "we must therefore leave behind theological controversies that have lost their raison d'etre in order to develop a common understanding and even more, a common prayer to the Holy Spirit, that He may gather us all together in one faith and one love".  It truly is wondrous how so much error can be crammed into one sentence.  Time does not permit me to unpack this mess completely.

Now go to UT's footnote 10.   It states that the phrase "and proceeds from the Father and Son (filioque) is not found in the text of Constantinople; it was inserted into the Latin Creed by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014 and is the subject of Orthodox-Catholic dialogue."  Italics mine.

Now why, oh why, is it the subject of all this "dialogue"?  The Council of Trent, held in the late 1500s and presided by Pope St Pius V, set the filioque in stone.  Recall please, that unlike Vatican II, Trent was a dogmatic council, convened with the express purpose of correcting various Protestant heresies.  A decree from the third session of that council was issued February 4, 1546.  It set forth, word for word, the creed recited at all Catholic Masses today, both Traditional Latin and Novus Ordo.  "Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son" is very plainly stated.

After the Council of Trent, St Pius V was quite solicitous to put the proceedings of the council into a format that could be taught to the Catholics in the pews at the time.  He, assisted by St. Charles Borromeo and perhaps others, developed a set of instructions to his priests on how to communicate these truths of the Faith.  It is known as the Catechism of the Council of Trent, and is readily available from TAN books.

Part 1 of this Catechism focuses on the Creed, that is, the Nicene Creed as amended by Pope Benedict VIII.  We proceed to Article VIII that deals with the Holy Ghost, and what the true doctrine states about Him.  There is a paragraph entitled "Who Proceedeth from the Father and the Son."  It says, and I quote, "with regard to the words immediately succeeding: who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, the faithful are to be taught that the Holy Ghost proceeds by an eternal procession from the Father and the Son, as from one principle."

So, despite his best efforts to the contrary, Pope Leo did get one thing right.  There is no need for controversy.  The Council of Trent settled the matter once and for all.  The Holy Ghost proceeds from both the Father and the Son.  Period.  No need for a bunch of dialogue.  And please - oh, please! - let there not be a whole slew of endless "synods" on the matter!  

It does behoove us to reiterate a few facts about "unity".  Unity is only good if it is founded on common assent to truth and Godliness.  Sometimes unity can serve evil and as such, is not at all to be desired.  Can any serious student of history gainsay that Nazi Germany, in the late 1930s, was unified?  They most certainly were, but that unity was based on evil.  Someone pointed this out to me: "It is better to be divided over the truth than united in a lie."  That latter kind of unity for which the pope is calling, unity brought about by allowing false notions of the nature of the Blessed Trinity, is false and dangerous, for it allows for the promulgation of error that could lead to the damnation of souls.

I understand that Pope Leo was not the first to eliminate the "filioque" while reciting a creed with Orthodox clergy.  Even Pope Benedict XVI scuttled truth for momentary convenience; for shame!  Before there is any more talk of "unity" and "ecumenism", Catholics must be absolutely committed to the Truths that Our Lord has revealed, understanding that these truths are not bargaining chips to be sacrificed to the false idol of "unity".