William of Ockham: Defending the Church, Condemning the Pope | Issue 56 | Philosophy Now

On June 6, 1328, Franciscan theologian William of Ockham was excommunicated by Pope John XXII. From the article:

"William of Ockham: Defending the Church, Condemning the Pope

Ian Smith on why Ockham thought the Pope wasn’t a Catholic.

William of Ockham is readily acknowledged as one of the most preeminent philosophers of the medieval period, and is known primarily for his work in metaphysics and logic. But in 1328 it was controversy over his political writings that forced him to flee Avignon, France, to escape the reach of Pope John XXII. He fled to Munich with Michael de Cesena, and was protected there by Emperor Ludwig of Bavaria. In response to his departure, John XXII excommunicated Ockham. Ockham would spend the remainder of his life defending his own views by writing political and religious treatises which called for the removal of Pope John XXII, and later his successor Benedict XII, on the grounds that they were heretics. I will examine Ockham’s standards for considering whether someone is a heretic, and then evaluate Pope John XXII according to those standards. I will also examine how Ockham’s position on heresy rules out the possibility of papal infallibility."