The Catholic News Agency portal reports on November 30, 2025, that antipope Leo XIV visited the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul, praising the “courageous Christian witness” of Armenian schismatics and participating in ecumenical activities with the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I. The article highlights his call for “full communion” between Rome and Oriental Orthodox Churches while ignoring doctrinal differences, and emphasizes naturalistic peacebuilding over Catholic eschatology. This constitutes a radical departure from the Church’s perennial condemnation of schism and heresy.
Schism Glorified as Virtue: The Betrayal of Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus
The blasphemous assertion that Armenian Apostolics – who reject papal supremacy and multiple dogmas – provide “courageous Christian witness” directly contradicts the infallible teaching of the Council of Florence: “The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church… can have a share in life eternal” (Session 11, February 4, 1442). By equating schismatic communities with the True Church, antipope Leo XIV commits the heresy of indifferentism condemned by Pius IX in Quanta Cura: “They do not hesitate to foster that erroneous opinion, especially fatal to the Catholic Church… that the way of eternal salvation can be found in any religion whatsoever” (1864).
The article’s reference to the 1915 Armenian massacres as “genocide” while omitting their martyrdom for Catholic faith exemplifies modernist reduction of supernatural realities to ethnic narratives. True martyrs are those who die in professione veritatis christianae (professing Christian truth), not victims of political conflicts. The Armenian Church’s formal heresy regarding the nature of Christ (Monophysitism) remains unmentioned, revealing the abandonment of doctrinal clarity for false ecumenism.
Nicene Creed Weaponized Against Catholic Unity
Antipope Leo’s distortion of the First Council of Nicaea’s legacy constitutes theological sabotage. The 325AD Council established “unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam” (one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church) under Peter’s successors, not some nebulous “shared apostolic faith” among heretics. His claim that full communion involves “exchange of gifts” between Churches inverts the Catholic principle articulated by Pius XI: “The Catholic Church… possesses alone… the complete and perfect unity of Christ” (Mortalium Animos, 1928).
The celebration of Nerses IV Shnorhali – an Armenian heretic declared “saint” by the conciliar sect – demonstrates the depth of apostasy. True saints are canonized solemniter per Ecclesiam (solemnly by the Church), not through ecumenical gestures. This pseudo-canonization fulfills Pius X’s warning in Lamentabili Sane that modernists would reduce sanctity to “a certain interpretation of religious facts” (Proposition 22).
Ecumenical Liturgy: Sacrilegious Simulation of Divine Worship
Participation in Orthodox Divine Liturgy constitutes formal cooperation in schismatic rites condemned by Canon 1258 of the 1917 Code. The article’s description of antipope Leo and Bartholomew I exchanging blessings confirms the establishment of parallel pseudo-hierarchy – precisely the “pan-Christian” false church denounced by Pius XI as “altogether abandoning the divinely revealed religion” (Mortalium Animos).
The call for Catholics and Orthodox to collaborate on technology and ecology substitutes the Church’s divine mission with naturalistic activism. Pius X’s condemnation resonates: “The Modernist… refers everything back to humanity; humanity… with its needs as the sole measure” (Pascendi Dominici Gregis, 1907). True Catholic action flows from gratia elevans (elevating grace), not humanitarianism.
Omission of Christ’s Social Kingship: The Core Apostasy
Throughout the article, the absence of any reference to the Regnum Christi (Kingship of Christ) exposes the conciliar sect’s rejection of Pius XI’s encyclical Quas Primas: “Nations will be reminded by the annual celebration of this feast that not only private individuals but also rulers and princes are bound to give public honor and obedience to Christ” (1925). Instead, antipope Leo promotes a false peace based on “prayer, penance, contemplation” divorced from doctrinal truth – the very indifferentism condemned in the Syllabus Errorum as “erroneous opinion… that the Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself to progress, liberalism, and modern civilization” (Proposition 80).
The article’s concluding appeal for cooperation with “all men and women of good will” institutionalizes the heresy of Americanism condemned by Leo XIII: “The underlying principle of these new opinions is that… the Church ought to adapt herself… to modern civilization” (Testem Benevolentiae, 1899). True ecumenism consists in the return of heretics to Rome, not joint ventures with schismatics.
Conclusion: From Apostolic Journey to Apostatic Betrayal
This Turkish expedition demonstrates the conciliar sect’s complete inversion of Catholic mission. Where saints once preached “extra Ecclesiam nulla salus” to schismatics, antipope Leo offers mutual validation. Where martyrs died refusing communion with heretics, Vatican officials now share liturgical ceremonies. The warning of St. Paul applies: “If any man preach to you a gospel besides that which you have received, let him be anathema” (Gal 1:9). As the structures occupying the Vatican accelerate their descent into apostasy, faithful Catholics cling to the depositum fidei (deposit of faith) preserved by true bishops consecrated before 1958, awaiting the restoration of Christ’s Church.
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UPDATED: Pope Leo XIV honors 'courageous Christian witness of the Armenian people' in Istanbul (catholicnewsagency.com)
Date: 30.11.2025