EWTN News portal (May 24, 2026) reports on the various types of documents issued by the one currently occupying the Vatican, referred to as “Pope Leo XIV,” such as encyclicals, apostolic constitutions, and motu proprios. The article explains the historical and modern uses of these documents, emphasizing their role in leading the “Catholic Church” and revealing the “pope’s pastoral and theological vision.” It specifically mentions the upcoming release of Leo XIV’s first encyclical, *Magnifica Humanitas*, and his focus on artificial intelligence. The article also details how Catholics are expected to interpret these documents, noting that even when not “ex cathedra,” they require “a religious submission of the mind and will.” This entire framework, however, rests upon the fundamental and catastrophic error of acknowledging Robert Prevost, known as Leo XIV, as a legitimate successor of St. Peter, thereby lending an air of authority and binding force to the pronouncements of an antipope and perpetuating the modernist revolution that has desecrated the Church.
The Usurper’s Ink: A Guide to the Documents of an Antipope
The article from EWTN News, “Why do popes issue papal documents and what are they?,” published on May 24, 2026, serves as a primer on the various documents emanating from the Vatican, specifically focusing on the pronouncements of Robert Prevost, who illegitimately occupies the Chair of St. Peter under the name Leo XIV. While presented as an informative guide for “Catholics,” the article implicitly and explicitly reinforces the foundational error of the post-conciliar period: the recognition of modernist usurpers as legitimate popes. This recognition, as will be demonstrated, is not merely a matter of ecclesiastical polity but a profound theological error that undermines the very nature of the Church and its infallible Magisterium.
The Illegitimacy of the Source: No Pope, No Papal Documents
The entire premise of the article, and indeed of the conciliar sect itself, hinges on the acceptance of Leo XIV as a true pope. However, from the perspective of integral Catholic faith, this is a demonstrable falsehood. As established by St. Robert Bellarmine and other eminent theologians, a manifest heretic loses his office *ipso facto* (by that very fact) and without any declaration from the Church. The “popes” from John XXIII onward, including Leo XIV, have consistently and publicly promulgated, endorsed, or failed to condemn doctrines and practices that are directly contrary to the immutable Catholic faith. These include:
* Religious Liberty: The conciliar declaration Dignitatis Humanae directly contradicts the consistent teaching of the Church, as enshrined in Pope Pius IX’s Syllabus of Errors (propositions 77-80), which condemned the idea that “the Catholic religion should not be held as the only religion of the State” and that “the Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern civilization.”
* False Ecumenism: The conciliar decree Unitatis Redintegratio promotes a false unity that compromises the Church’s exclusive claim to be the one true Church of Christ, contrary to Pope Pius XI’s Mortalium Animos, which unequivocally stated that “the union of Christians can only be promoted by promoting the return to the one true Church of Christ.”
* Sacrilegious Liturgy: The Novus Ordo Missae, promulgated by Paul VI and subsequently modified by Benedict XVI and Francis, is a rupture with the Traditional Latin Mass, which Pius V, in Quo Primum, declared was to be celebrated in perpetuity. This new rite, with its Protestantizing tendencies and ambiguities regarding the propitiatory sacrifice, has led to a catastrophic decline in faith and devotion.
Given these and countless other manifest heresies and errors, Leo IV, like his predecessors, is not a valid pope. He is an antipope, a usurper, and therefore, any documents he issues, regardless of their historical form (bull, encyclical, motu proprio), possess no authority, no binding force, and no claim to the “religious submission of the mind and will” of Catholics. To attribute such authority to his pronouncements is to fall into the very trap of modernism, which seeks to undermine the Church’s doctrinal stability and replace it with an ever-evolving, humanistic agenda.
The Content of the Usurper’s Documents: A Reflection of Modernist Apostasy
The article highlights the upcoming encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, and Leo XIV’s focus on artificial intelligence. This focus itself is symptomatic of the modernist mentality that prioritizes worldly concerns and technological progress over the supernatural truths of the faith and the salvation of souls. While the Church has always engaged with the world, its primary mission is to lead souls to Christ and His Kingdom, not to offer pastoral guidance on every fleeting technological trend.
The article states that encyclicals “carry significant doctrinal weight” and that Catholics are required to give “a religious submission of the mind and will” to them, citing Lumen Gentium (No. 25). This is a classic example of how the conciliar documents are used to bolster the authority of the very individuals who are responsible for the Church’s destruction. Lumen Gentium itself, with its collegialist and democratic undertones, is a modernist document that subtly redefines the nature of the Church and the papacy. To use it to demand submission to an antipope’s teachings is a profound theological absurdity.
Furthermore, the article’s mention of Leo XIV’s addresses on “peace, the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council, and artificial intelligence” reveals the conciliar sect’s persistent efforts to legitimize the revolutionary council and its aftermath. The “interpretation of the Second Vatican Council” is, in reality, a constant re-interpretation and misinterpretation, often aimed at furthering the modernist agenda under the guise of “continuity.” True peace, as Pope Pius XI unequivocally stated in Quas Primas, can only be found “in the Kingdom of Christ,” a kingdom that explicitly denies the modernist principles of secularism and religious indifferentism.
The Language of Submission: Blind Obedience to Error
The article’s language, while seemingly neutral, is designed to instill a spirit of uncritical obedience to the conciliar authorities. Phrases like “reveal the pope’s pastoral and theological vision for the Church” and “Catholics should treat with respect” are subtle demands for submission to a false authority. This is precisely the “religious submission of the mind and will” that the modernists demand, not for the immutable doctrines of Christ’s Church, but for the ever-shifting pronouncements of a revolutionary regime.
The true Catholic, guided by the unchanging teachings of the pre-conciliar Magisterium, understands that obedience to God and His Church means rejecting error, regardless of its source, even if it purports to come from the highest authority. As St. Pius X warned in Pascendi Dominici Gregis, the modernists “proceed to the extent of asserting that the authority of the Church is not infallible” and that “the progress of the sciences requires a reform of the concept of Christian doctrine.” To submit to such authorities is to betray Christ and His Church.
The Call to Resistance: Rejecting the Usurper’s Authority
The EWTN News article, by its very nature, serves to normalize the presence and authority of the antipope and the conciliar sect. It treats the documents of Leo XIV as legitimate instruments of Church governance, thereby misleading the faithful into believing that these pronouncements carry any weight or demand any obedience.
For the true Catholic, the path is clear: complete rejection of the authority of Leo XIV and all his predecessors from John XXIII onward. Their documents, regardless of their form or stated intent, are null and void in terms of true ecclesiastical authority. They are the pronouncements of a modernist sect that has hijacked the outward structures of the Church. Our allegiance is to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, whose true Magisterium is preserved in the unchanging teachings of the pre-conciliar popes, councils, and doctors.
Let us not be deceived by the usurper’s ink. Let us hold fast to the immutable truth, even if it means standing alone against the tide of modernist apostasy. Non possumus! (We cannot!) – we cannot compromise with error, nor can we submit to those who betray the faith of our fathers.
Source:
EWTN News explains: Why do popes issue papal documents and what are they? (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 24.05.2026