There have been a lot of people that I have come across who act as though the Holy Spirit acting in one’s life takes away the free will to act. Unbelievable. It has also been my experience that there are legions of people who believe that every spirit they feel or has prompted them to act is the Holy Spirit. The mandate we have all been given impels us to test the spirit. So many times that does not seem like it has been done.
When Fr. Arius, known for the doctrine of Arianism his teaching about the nature of Christianity emphasized Christ’s subordination under the Father. The Council of Nicaea was convened out of which came the Nicaean Creed which refuted this heresy and solidified the Church’s teaching of the consubstantiality of the three persons of the Trinity. Did Arius believe that it was the Holy Spirit leading him to this revelation/error? Maybe.
Archbishop Marcel LeFebvre, founder of the Society of Pope Pius X, was excommunicated in 1988. His crime was ordaining bishops outside of the authority of the Vatican to name bishops, There are also other issues but I don’t know enough about SSPX to comment. Did he think the Holy Spirit was leading him? There was an issue with obedience there. Note; you do not have to be obedient to a bishop or archbishop if what they are asking you to do is illegal or immoral, (sin). That was not the case here. God pushes back.
No matter what you think about the current pope one does not fall back on the trope that the Holy Spirit put him in place. Once again the Holy Spirit can be ignored. Looking at the history of the papacy that is obvious. We have had popes who were not chaste, popes with mistresses and illegitimate children, popes who had personal enemies killed it goes on and on. Pope Francis would not even make the top ten awful popes list so leave him alone.
Now, of course, this leads back to the abuse scandal in the Church. I’m pretty confident that the Holy Spirit did not tell the people involved, clergy and others, to do what they did. I’m equally confident that it was not the Holy Spirit telling bishops and their sycophants to cover-up the whole sordid issue This is an example of not being under the obligation of obedience. There may be a price to pay but isn’t your immortal soul worth it?
Many people who got caught up in this sad Church chapter used obedience as an excuse to do the wrong thing. It is the same excuse that was used by Concentration Camp guards. It smells to high heaven and will exact a severe punishment. Hell. A number of the guards were hung. (Just sayin.)
The point is that the Holy Spirit, God, does not render your free will moot. You decide. Please don’t ignore the Holy Spirit. You do so at your own peril. But ignore any spirit that contradicts God or asks you to lie. That will not go well.