Sensus Fidei Empowering the Catholic Laity
Dayly Knightly
“Not only in words, but in tears, we beseech you to save the Catholic Churches from any longer continuance of these most grievous injuries, and of their present intolerable persecutions and insults, which moreover they are enduring, which is monstrous, from our brethren. Surely your clemency should listen to the voice of those who cry out so loudly, ‘I am a Catholic, I have no wish to be a heretic.” [Link 1]
The words above, you would think, refer to the many grievances faithful Catholics and the Catholic Church face today from terrorist groups such as ISIS to secular governments including the Obama administration which, for example, is trying to force ‘The Little Sisters of the Poor’ to do their work under the mandate of ‘Obamacare’ care (which would violate the religious beliefs of the sisters) [Link 2], to the removal of God from public life and the military, to contributing to the break- down of true family and marriage through laws that allow abortion, same-sex marriage and transgender guidelines where men can access women’s bathrooms and locker rooms [Link 3]. Highlighted in Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman’s important study on the role of the laity in the Church, this quotation was in fact penned by Saint Hilary to Emperor Constantius, over 1,600 years ago, in the 4th century AD
Check also Fr. Holliowell’s homily, ‘Arian Heresy, Bishops Fighting.’
Therefore, dear faithful Catholics, do not despair about the present and seemingly overwhelming dire stresses being forced onto Mother Catholic Church today, she has been through diabolical attacks of the enemy in the past, as in the case above which was to do with the heresy of Arianism (the belief that Christ was a great man but was not divine). In this case, it took 60 years or more from AD 325 (Council of Nicae, where Christ’s Divinity was affirmed and the Nicene Creed was finalized) to AD 381 for the heresy to be finally stamped out but in that time almost the entire hierarchy of bishops had abandoned the sacred apostolic tradition of the Church and turned Arian. Many abuses occurred against faithful Catholics such as exile, financial and property loss and even martyrdom before the orthodox faith, Catholicism, was finally affirmed and restored. Incidentally, it took up to 11 councils of bishops or synods (some were heretical) between AD 325 and AD 381 before the heresy of Arianism was finally defeated. The Church was in turmoil with much confusion and dark days faced by many faithful Catholics and the clergy who stayed loyal to the Magisterium. There were times when the situation seemed hopeless and lost. Here are St. Hilary’s words on this conflict,
“Since the Nicene Council, we have done nothing but write the Creed. While we fight about words, in- quire about novelties, take advantage of ambiguities, criticize authors, fight on party questions, have difficulties in agreeing, and prepare to anathematize each other, there is scarce a man who belongs to {451} Christ. Take, for instance, last year’s Creed, what alteration is there not in it already? First, we have the Creed, which bids us not to use the Nicene ‘consubstantial;’ then comes another, which decrees and preaches it; next, the third, excuses the word ‘substance,’ as adopted by the Fathers in their simplicity; lastly, the fourth, which instead of excusing, condemns. We determine creeds by the year or by the month, we change our own determinations, we prohibit our changes, we anathematize our prohibitions. Thus, we either condemn others in our own persons, or ourselves in the instance of others, and while we bite and devour one another, are like to be consumed one of another.” Ad Const. ii. 4, 5. [Link 4]
And Saint Gregory further writes in AD 382,
“If I must speak the truth, I feel disposed to shun every conference of Bishops: for never saw I Synod brought to a happy issue, and remedying, and not rather aggravating, existing evils. For rivalry and ambition are stronger than reason,—do not think me extravagant for saying so,—and a mediator is more likely to incur some imputation himself than to clear up the imputations which others lie under.” —Ep. 129. [Link 4]
Again, one would easily be forgiven if it were thought these observations by the saints were on the condition of the Catholic Church today. But that is exactly what is so striking about the attacks on the Church in the 4th century in that they mirror the attacks she faces today. The link between these two distant epochs in Catholic history is ‘SENSUS FIDEI’ [Link 5], or a sense of faith of the faithful, the laity, who in times of doctrinal crises, lack of leadership or silence by the hierarchy, speak up and come to the defense of the teachings of the Catholic Church by reaffirming her sacred traditions as taught by Jesus Christ. When Pope Francis asked the Church, clergy and laity throughout the world, to provide input to the Synod of the Family in 2014, he was in fact tapping into a tradition of the Church, which previous popes had relied on, for example, in the pronouncement of the Immaculate Conception [Link 6]. Note, when it became apparent that concerted efforts were being made, not just false reporting by the secular media but even from members within the Church hierarchy itself, to hijack the agenda and conclusions of the Synod on the Family, (2015, 2016), a clarion call went throughout the world to all faithful Catholics to stand up and petition the Pope directly that no changes be made to the doctrine of family and marriage [Links 7, 8, 9]. It is without doubt that the Pope did indeed listen to the faithful laity as well as those cardinals and bishops who remained loyal to the Magisterium and the truth as has been preached by the Church for over 2,000 years. The conclusion of this Synod on the Family was the Pope’s Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, [Link 10], which has clearly reaffirmed the sanctity of marriage, the family and life for all from unborn children to the elderly. SENSUS FIDEI, the influence of faithful lay people, inspired by the Holy Spirit, was clearly at work here.
But although the 4th century spiritual and temporal battles have passed, we can take heart that our forefathers of the one true holy apostolic Church have shown us that if we have SENSUS FIDEI and as Cardinal Robert Sarah implores us, remain faithful [Link 11], if we are prophetic [Link 11] and can dis- cern the erroneous teachings of false shepherds and if we pray [Link 11], we can, as they did, overcome the heretical and diabolical attacks no matter how long it takes or how costly, even if at times it seems a lost cause or that there is nothing we can do. Christ has already spoken, “And so I say to you, you are Pe- ter, and upon this rock I will build my church, the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” [12, Matt. 16:13 – 19] and He sent the Holy Spirit in His place to give us strength, courage and wisdom to defend, protect and be champions for His Church. We have our past champions and saints of the Church as proof of this. Do not fear, bask in the honour that we have been given, a chance to share in the battle for truth and treasure of Christ’s Holy Apostolic Catholic Church. It’s our chance to walk shoulder to shoulder not only with each other but also with our courageous generations of past Catholic heroes and saints.
So how can we measure if we have SENSUS FIDEI? The Church provides guidelines, which are summarized here below. The reader is urged to read the full text on these guidelines to truly appreciate how one is to know if they are operating under SENSUS FIDEI. Suffice to say, the key points are that the laity who stand up to defend the teachings of the Church and who actively participate in the life of the Church. Articles (88) to (103) concretely describe these criteria [Link 5].
Dispositions needed for authentic participation in the sensus fidei
- Participation in the life of the Church
- Listening to the word of God
- Openness to reason
- Adherence to the Magisterium
- Holiness – humility, freedom and joy
- Seeking the edification of the Church
One critical point to note is that SENSUS FIDEI is not public opinion. The Catholic laity must be on the guard against usurpers, false shepherds and hijackers who twist the meaning of SENSUS FIDEI. Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis both warned the faithful against these abuses [Link 13][Link14] [Link 15].
The following is an excerpt from the SENSUS FIDEI document, (Chapter 2 Applications) on the Vatican website which deals directly with this point [Link 5].
- b) The sensus fidei and public opinion
- It is clear that there can be no simple identification between the sensus fidei and public or majority opinion. These are by no means the same thing.
- i) First of all, the sensus fidei is obviously related to faith, and faith is a gift not necessarily possessed by all people, so the sensus fidei can certainly not be likened to public opinion in society at large. Then also, while Christian faith is, of course, the primary factor uniting members of the Church, many different influences combine to shape the views of Christians living in the modern world. As the above discussion of dispositions implicitly shows, the sensus fidei cannot simply be identified, therefore, with public or majority opinion in the Church, either. Faith, not opinion, is the necessary focus of attention. Opinion is often just an expression, frequently changeable and transient, of the mood or desires of a certain group or culture, whereas faith is the echo of the one Gospel which is valid for all places and times.
The following is an excerpt from the SENSUS FIDEI document, (Chapter 2 Applications) on the Vatican website which deals directly with this point [Link 5].
b) The sensus fidei and public opinion
118. It is clear that there can be no simple identification between the sensus fidei and public or majority opinion. These are by no means the same thing.
i) First of all, the sensus fidei is obviously related to faith, and faith is a gift not necessarily possessed by all people, so the sensus fidei can certainly not be likened to public opinion in society at large. Then also, while Christian faith is, of course, the primary factor uniting members of the Church, many different influences combine to shape the views of Christians living in the modern world. As the above discussion of dispositions implicitly shows, the sensus fidei cannot simply be identified, therefore, with public or majority opinion in the Church, either. Faith, not opinion, is the necessary focus of attention. Opinion is often just an expression, frequently changeable and transient, of the mood or desires of a certain group or culture, whereas faith is the echo of the one Gospel which is valid for all places and times.
To illustrate how the meaning of SENSUS FIDEI was twisted and used to mean public opinion, one need only read the article, ‘Is recognising same-sex marriage Catholic?’ by Fr. William Grimm on the same-sex marriage vote in Ireland, which as editor of UCA NEWS he published in September 2015 [Link 16]. Here Father Grimm deceptively claims that majority opinion of the people of Ireland should be listened to by the Catholic hierarchy and alludes to the reference in history made by Cardinal John Henry Newman when the laity in the 4th century defended the Catholic faith and sacred teachings of the Church from the heresy of Arianism. But this is a false parallel. The catholic laity in the 4th century was acting from its faith, SENSUS FIDEI, for the orthodoxy of the Church’s traditional teachings, which was under devastating attack for up to 60 years from Arians. This is what Cardinal. Newman described in great detail. Fr. Grimm speaks of the voters in Ireland as though they were acting out from SENSUS FIDEI, which is clearly not the case when measured against the guidelines for knowing what SENSUS FIDEI is (as outlined in this article). Instead Fr. Grimm has mistakenly cited a public opinion in the culture which does not adhere to Catholic teachings.. For a full treatment and dismantling of Fr. Grimm’s misleading claims, the reader is referred to Pinoy Catholic’s article, ‘Catholic cleric ‘giddy’ for same “sex marriage”? [Link 17].
Yet another clear example of SENSUS FIDEI of the laity comes from the following anecdote from the 4th century when the Arian emperor Valens wanted to kill Catholics gathered at the St. Thomas’s Church, in Edessa. Word spread of his intentions and many flocked there including a woman and her young child so they could defend their Catholicism and become martyrs for the faith,
5. EDESSA. “There is in that city a magnificent church, dedicated to St. Thomas the Apostle, wherein, on account of the sanctity of the place, religious assemblies are continually held. The Emperor Valens wished to inspect this edifice; when, having learned that all who usually congregated there were enemies to the heresy which he favoured, he is said to have struck the prefect with his own hand, because he had neglected to expel them thence. The prefect, to prevent the slaughter of so great a number of persons, privately warned them against resorting thither. But his admonitions and menaces were alike unheeded; for on the following day they all crowded to the church. When the prefect was going towards it with a large military force, a poor woman leading her own little child by the hand, hurried hastily by on her way to the church, breaking through the ranks of the soldiery. The prefect, irritated at this, ordered her to be brought to him, and thus addressed her: ‘Wretched woman, whither are you running in so disorderly a manner?’ She replied, ‘To the same place that others are hastening.’ ‘Have you not heard,’ said he, ‘that the prefect is about to put to death all that shall be found there?’ ‘Yes,’ said the woman, ‘and therefore I hasten, that I may be found there.’ ‘And whither are you dragging that little child?’ said the prefect. The woman answered, ‘That he also may be vouchsafed the honour of martyrdom.’ The prefect went back and informed the Emperor that all were ready to die in behalf of their own faith; and added that it would be preposterous to destroy so many persons at one time, and thus succeeded in restraining the Emperor’s wrath.” Socr. iv. 18. “Thus was the Christian faith confessed by the whole city of Edessa.” Sozom. vi. 18. {457}, [Link 18]
What faith and bravery! But it is also clear that the laity in the 4th century knew their faith and knew when heresy was being foisted upon them. They resisted even to death in some cases. The vote for same sex marriage in Ireland was largely a result of the machinations of public opinion not based on the truth of Catholic teachings and not from SENSUS FIDEI. It was more to do with a secular agenda against the Church.
In the times of the Arian heresy, the attack on the Church was a singular attack on the faith of the clerical hierarchy who in large numbers abandoned Catholic Truth. Today, the attack on the Church is two-pronged, not only are members of the clerical hierarchy succumbing to the agenda of the secular world devoid of God’s presence but the laity too have been ‘dumbed down’ by poor catechises and relentless Godless messages in the culture. The Church must reaffirm her teachings and exhort from the laity new champions and saints to come to the rescue as in past generations of Mother Church, (see Abp Schneider’s clip).
We must pray for our priests and bishops that they remain steadfast in their witness to Christ’s teachings and the sacred tradition of the Church and for those priests who have been lost to the secular agenda that they can be blessed with a new conversion back to the Church through the Holy Spirit. Let us finish with Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman, in his study of the 4th century Arian heresy, who best describes SENSUS FIDEI, this sense of the faith and action of the laity when he wrote,
THE episcopate, whose action was so prompt and concordant at Nicæa on the rise of Arianism, did not, as a class or order of men, play a good part in the troubles consequent upon the Council; and the laity did. The Catholic people, in the length and breadth of Christendom, were the obstinate champions of Catholic truth, and the bishops were not. Of course there were great and illustrious exceptions; first, Athanasius, Hilary, the Latin Eusebius, and Phœbadius; and after them, Basil, the two Gregories, and Ambrose; there are others, too, who suffered, if they did nothing else, as Eustathius, Paulus, Paulinus, and Dionysius; and the Egyptian bishops, whose weight was small in the Church in proportion to the great power of their Patriarch. And, on the other hand, as I shall say presently, there were exceptions to the Christian heroism of the laity, especially in some of the great towns. And again, in speaking of the laity, I speak inclusively of their parish-priests (so to call them), at least in many places; but on the whole, taking a wide view of the history, we are obliged to say that the governing body of the Church came short, and the governed were preeminent in faith, zeal, courage, and constancy. [Link 4]
This is a very remarkable fact: but there is a moral in it. Perhaps it was permitted, in order to impress upon the Church at that very time passing out of her state of persecution to {446} her long temporal ascendancy, the great evangelical lesson, that, not the wise and powerful, but the obscure, the unlearned, and the weak constitute her real strength. It was mainly by the faithful people that Paganism was over- thrown; it was by the faithful people, under the lead of Athanasius and the Egyptian bishops, and in some places supported by their Bishops or priests, that the worst of heresies was withstood and stamped out of the sacred territory. [Link 4]
— Dayly Knightly
[1] Note 5. The Orthodoxy of the Body of the Faithful during the Supremacy of Arianism – Cardinal John Henry Newman
http://www.newmanreader.org/works/arians/note5.html
[2] Unanimous Win for Little Sisters of the Poor at Supreme Court – The Becket Fund
http://www.becketfund.org/little-sisters-supreme-court-victory/
[3] Dead on arrival: 12 states reject Obama’s transgender bathroom policy
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/doa-governors-refuse-to-implement-obamas-transgender-bathroom-policy
[4] CHRISTENDOM GENERALLY. St. Hilary to Constantius – ad Const. i. 1, 2
On Consulting the Faith in Matters of Doctrine – Cardinal John Henry Newman
http://www.newmanreader.org/works/rambler/consulting.html#note2
[5] Sensus Fidei in the Life of the Church – International Theological Commission, Vatican Website
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_cti_20140610_sensus-fidei_en.html
[6] Sensus Fidei in the Life of the Church – International Theological Commission, Article 27 :- Vatican Website
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_cti_20140610_sensus-fidei_en.html
[7] Sign this Petition to Pope Francis to “Save the Family” – TFP Student Union
http://www.tfpstudentaction.org/sign-petition-to-pope-francis.html
[8] Ask Pope Francis to uphold Church teachings on marriage, family at the Synod
https://www.lifesitenews.com/petitions/pope-francis-appeal
[9] Filial Appeal To His Holiness Pope Francis On the Future of the Family –
http://www.filialappeal.org/
[10] Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation – Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis,
https://w2.vatican.va/content/dam/francesco/pdf/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20160319_amoris-
laetitia_en.pdf
[11] Cardinal Robert Sarah – Address at the 12th Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, May 17, 2016.
[12] Matt. 16:13 – 19)
[13] Pope Benedict Challenges dissenters misusing sensus fidelium to mean public opinion
http://protectthepope.com/?p=6150
[14] Unprofessional Tablet completely ignores Pope Francis’ observation that the Sensus Fidelium cannot be reduced to majority
opinion
http://protectthepope.com/?p=9400
[15] Pope Francis dashes the hopes of dissenters by insisting on the importance of faithfulness to the doctrines of the Church
http://protectthepope.com/?p=9880
[16] Is recognising same-sex marriage Catholic?
http://www.ucanews.com/news/is-recognizing-same-sex-marriage-catholic/73704
[17] Catholic cleric ‘giddy’ for same “sex marriage”? – The Pinoy Catholic
http://thepinoycatholic.blogspot.jp/2015/09/catholic-cleric-giddy-for-same-sex.html
[18] Note 5. The Orthodoxy of the Body of the Faithful during the Supremacy of Arianism, Chapter 2, article 5]
http://www.newmanreader.org/works/arians/note5.html
