The Dean of the Roman Rota went on to accuse Cardinals Raymond Burke, Carlo Caffarra, Walter Brandmüller and Joachim Meisner of questioning the Holy Spirit. Archbishop Pio Vito Pinto made his astounding accusations during a conference to religious in Spain.
Archbishop Pio Vito's indictment against the four cardinals, and other people who question Pope Francis and Amoris Laetitia, was that they not only questioned one synod of bishops on marriage and the family, but two synods, about which, "The action of the Holy Spirit can not be doubted.".
The Dean of the Roman Rota went on to clarify that the Pope did not have to strip the four senior cardinals of their "cardinalate", but that he could do it.
He went on to confirm what many commentators have suspected that Pope Francis' interview with Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops, was the Holy Father's indirect response to the cardinals' dubia:
During the conference, Pius Vito made
clear to those present that the Pope did not respond directly to these
four cardinals, "but indirectly told them that they only see white or
black, when there are shades of color in the Church."
In response to a question asking if it was better to grant divorced and civily remarried couples nullity of marriage so they can marry in the Church before they receive Holy Communion Archbishop Pio Vinto expressed preference for Pope Francis's "reform":
Pope Francis' reform of the matrimonial
process wants to reach more people. The percentage of people who ask for
marriage annulment is very small. The Pope has said that communion is
not only for good Catholics. Francisco says: how to reach the most
excluded people? Under the Pope's reform many people may ask for
nullity, but others will not.
The Dean of the Roman Rota appears to be overlooking the canonical rights of the faithful, including cardinals, to make their concerns about the state of the Church known to the people of God. Can. 212 §3 sets out this solemn right and duty:
According to the knowledge, competence,
and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times
the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters
which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without
prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward
their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of
persons. (Can. 212 §3).
For the Dean of the Roman Rota to warn the four cardinals that they could be stripped of their cardinalate for acting in accord with the law of the Church is oppressive.