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- In his first letter [to Sergius, Pope Honorius] he repeats several times that "the Scriptures clearly demonstrate that Jesus Christ is the same one who works in divine and human things"; that "Jesus Christ works in both natures, divine and human." Nothing could be clearer or more obvious. The heresy is immediately overthrown. It is therefore evident that Honorius confesses in Jesus Christ not only two natures, but also two wills and two operations. Thus, this Pontiff professes Catholic truth in his letters; he only rejects the new words used to express it, and this for reasons of prudence, so as not to appear to favor Nestorianism or Eutychianism, and also because Sergius astutely portrayed these new expressions as causing trouble in the Church and an obstacle to the return of the Monosophysites to orthodoxy.
…I do not deny the condemnation; on the contrary, I accept it according to what I said a moment ago; but I distinguish the word "heretic," which is quite imprecise and was even more so at the time of the councils in question. It designated not only those who knowingly and obstinately professed heresy, but also those who benefited from it in any way, whether by their silence and negligence when their responsibilities required them to act, by defending people or writings of heretics, or even by their communication with these heretics, or by having unwittingly accepted their doctrines.
…From this I conclude that Honorius could have been condemned as a heretic by these three councils, and that he in fact was, not for having taught error, but solely for not having exercised the necessary vigor in his duties as Head of the Church, for not having vigorously used his authority to suppress heresy, for having prescribed silence on the manner of expressing a truth, and thus having contributed to the spread of error.
This is the same conclusion reached by almost all those who dealt with this question during the Vatican Council. Dom Guéranger, Abbot of the Benedictines of Solesmes, said on this subject: “The true Sixth Council, the one to which the Roman Pontiff gave the necessary and canonical form, the one that requires the respect of the faithful, condemned Honorius only as an unfaithful guardian of the deposit of faith, but not as if he himself had been an adept of heresy. Justice and truth forbid us to go further.” (en)
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