–Sarah. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. But history shows that sticking with the Pope, through thick and thin, is always, always the right move in the end… even if it’s fraught with confusion in the short term. it is enough that he was accepted afterwards by the whole Church as Pope, those which the ordinary magisterium dispersed throughout the world unmistakably proposes to its members as something to be held (tenendas). Remember, I am writing these articles not to advocate a particular point of view, but to help Catholics understand the issues in this debate. At some time, we have all encountered a sedevacantist — if not in person, at least online. An important distinction needs to be made here, between disliking what a Pope says/does, and claiming that he is not really the Pope. If what they say is true then Jesus is a liar (which we know He isn't!) Well, they need prayers, lots of prayers, to remove the beam from their own eye(s). The 3rd group holds that they've all been heretics and lost their office. The Virus and the Bishops: Twisting a Vatican Document to Further an Agenda. But instead of getting caught up in the details of the individual sedevacantist arguments, it’s important to focus on the one fundamental issue that most of these groups have in common: they hold that at some point in the past century or so, the Popes in some way, for some reason, were not validly elected. It would be funny if it weren't so serious and sad. Pfeiffer appears to have succeeded in conning some poor people into consecrating him a bishop. I don't know who the consecrating bishop was (on the left in the photo) but wow - based on previous reports it took him close to a decade (apparently Bishop Williamson refused) to find someone to consecrate him as a bishop. The name Sedevancantists comes from the Latin term'Sede Vacante', meaning'the seat is vacant'. In this Facebook page you will see pictorial/ visual and other evidences of external heresy and apostasy from the Vatican II Anti- Popes thus … Not the least of which is that the sedevacantists have to reimagine the doctrine of dogmatic facts in order to rationalize their position. Basically they reject the entire post-Vatican II Church. They base their argument on two points. Sedevacantism and the Manifest Heretic 5. But since sedevacantists tend to cite (incorrectly) a lot of canon law in support of their positions, it seems reasonable to assume that they are aware of both the Church’s position on the crime of schism, and the penalties that may accompany it. Bear in mind that it will be necessary to address this topic in general terms even though individuals who consider themselves sedevacantist may have varying beliefs, as well as ones that go much deeper than I will. Some sedevacantist groups have taken matters into their own hands, and elected a Pope themselves. If you don’t believe that this or that papal document was issued by a man who is/was really the Pope, then you naturally don’t intend to abide by whatever it says. P^3 h/t Eponymous Flower: http, + JMJ Canada recently lost two Catholic priests. St. Athanasius stood up against the Arian heresy which was a heresy that stated that Jesus was not God. Upon his election in 1513, Leo famously remarked, “God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it!”  He promptly began to spend church funds so lavishly that he soon ran out of money—and then made the infamous decision in 1516 to grant indulgences in exchange for financial donations. He is presently in good health, but the toils of his 'middle age' are taking their toll. The terms sedevacantist and sedevacantism come from a Latin phrase that means “the chair is empty.” Those taking this view consider themselves Catholic yet believe the current Pope espouses heresy, which disqualifies him from office. I now understand why it is wrong and why I should never go back to it. Since every Cardinal who’s been elected Pope since then has accepted the teachings of Vatican II—and in fact, every Pope between Pius XII and Francis actually attended Vatican II and helped shape the documents it produced—these people conclude that all of these men were heretics and thus cannot possibly have been legitimately elected as Pope. But I was more of a blind sheep that didn't do my research. To sum up: Sarah is on the right track about sedevacantism, but it’s more accurate to say that it is a schismatic movement rather than a heretical one. They must give a much stricter account for the time that the Master of the Vineyard granted to them. A Catholic who thinks that all the Popes since St. John XXIII were invalidly elected is obviously not going to obey anything that these Popes have said. The second principle Mr. Szijarto invokes against sedevacantism concerns “dogmatic facts.” Broadly speaking, a dogmatic fact is some fact so closely connected with a dogma that it is necessary for establishing or correctly explaining that dogma. A recent example is … And another sedevacantist group doesn’t seem to have a website: they held that Benedict XVI wasn’t really Pope because John Paul II didn’t actually die in 2005—rather, he went into hiding because his enemies were trying to kill him. Sede Vacante means empty chair. Sedevacantism is the position held by some people who identify as Catholic that the present occupier of the Holy See is not truly the pope due to the mainstream church's espousal of what they see as the heresy of modernism and that, for lack of a valid pope, the See has been vacant since the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958 or the death of Pope John XXIII in 1963. Under canon law it is considered a crime against religion and the unity of the Church, and thus a schismatic incurs a latae sententiae excommunication (c. 1364.1). The sedevacantist heresy is the claim that the See of Peter is vacant and that we have no true and visible head of the Church. They insist that a different Cardinal was actually elected, but was then “forced to abdicate immediately” in some unspecified way by unnamed evil forces. People were living in heresy but the do not know it. Every cardinal, bishop, priest, religious, and layman in the world gave adherence to an anti-pope, until someone came along and spotted that the emperor was wearing no clothes. When Can a Pastor be Removed From Office. The case of Nestorius provides us with an invaluable precedent that completely negates the Sedevacantist thesis. The Arian heresy, the heresy that taught that Christ is NOT God but merely human, permeated the Church such that nearly all were taken in by it. Concerning a Sedevacantist Thesis 3. Sedevacantism is the belief that the chair (sede) of Peter is vacant (vacante) meaning that the Catholic Church has no pope. In follow up to yesterday’s post concerning comments, as promised, here I will restate my opinion concerning sedevacantism. canonlawmadeeasy@yahoo.com But nevertheless they are wrong. However flawed or insufficient the document and the approach may be, there is at least this one thing one can definitely give them credit for: At least they’re trying to do something! Boniface, who also happened to be a canon lawyer, has gone down in history as arguably one of the worst Popes the Church ever had. the Church, bishops and faithful have be duped,defrauded. The Pope can't be wrong, this stuff is wrong, therefore he isn't Pope. Answer: Sedevacantism is the only valid position of our times. Have Pro-Abortion Politicians Excommunicated Themselves? A Little Catechism on Sedevacantism 2. Cekada 4. The Arian heresy, the heresy that taught that Christ is NOT God but merely human, permeated the Church such that nearly all were taken in by it. A pivotal point in the Sedevacantist debate is the question of the Four Marks of the Church. In other words, by refusing to accept the authority of the current Pope or his recent predecessors, a Catholic who’s a sedevacantist willfully puts himself into a state of schism. All rights reserved. At his last public audience before his resignation took effect in 2013, Pope Benedict XVI directly addressed the issue of the human flaws and failings that can always be found in the leaders of the Church: The Church is not mine, it is not ours, but it is His…. (It is interesting that they don’t explain why the College of Cardinals permitted this to happen, and then publicly accepted John XXIII as Pope, if they all knew they’d really elected someone else.) Hence the term sedevacantism means seat is vacant! Note to Sedevacantists: Heresy Does Not Automatically Sever One from the Church 8. Joseph Pfeiffer no longer ... now Bishop Joseph Pfeiffer (Can't see this being a problem...), Two Traditional Catholic Priests Called To God, A word about 'Traditional Catholic Forums'. The vast majority of Sedevacantists believe that Pope Pius XII was the last legitimate pope of the Church and that subsequent popes, by nature of their heresy, have separated themselves from the Church and have been consequently ineligible to become pope. New doctrines are not Catholic. Sedevacantism is a false theory, according to which the popes have not been popes since the Second Vatican Council, as a result of which the Petrine Throne is empty (latin: sede vacante). None of the content of this website may be reproduced, either in whole or in part, without the advance written permission of the author. If you’re Catholic, you don’t have to like the Pope or his predecessors; you just have to acknowledge that he is in fact the Pope, and as such he is the head of the Catholic Church on earth and thus our hierarchical superior. ... if the person of the Pope were uncertain, it would be uncertain what Bishops were in communion with the Pope; but according to the Catholic faith, as will be proved hereafter, communion with the Pope is a condition for the exercise of the function of teaching by the body of Bishops (n. 208) ; if then the uncertainty could not be cleared up, the power of teaching could not be exercised, and Christ's promise (St. Matt, xxviii. The Pope is infallible in certain conditions and there is a problem with many things that have been said, done and written, during and after the Second Vatican Council (even in the Council doc). Sedevacantism is the theory of those who think that the most recent popes, the popes of the Second Vatican Council, have not really been popes. Though he was still working within the "official" Church in 1967, he publicly took the position in 1968 that the Holy See was vacant and that the Church that had emerged from the Second Vatican Council was no longer Catholic. Sedevacantism is a false theory, according to which the popes have not been popes since the Second Vatican Council, as a result of which the Petrine Throne is empty (latin: sede vacante). Some Common Objections (2004) by Rev. The same assertion is also made by those who reject Pope Francis but accept the other … Introduction Continuing on with my treatment of the sedevacantist theory, we come to the issue of heresy. A: A tiny but consistent minority of Catholics would identify themselves as sedevacantists, and it’s a phenomenon that doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon. More can be read here at Vox Cantoris. The Conciliar Church is Anti-God and is a Cult of Man; The Human Element of the Catholic Church Has Been Trending Liberal; The conciliar mass and sacraments; When will the pope consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary? Would you consider sharing your wisdom and expertise to explain why Sedevacantism is heretical? Sedevacantism is no different. The sedevacantist will say yes, and draw upon the works of Saint Robert Bellarmine and Cajetan primarily. Many unrelated groups of sedevacantists will tell you, for example, that when Pius XII died, the Catholic Church’s leadership fell into heresy (and they will cite the entirety of the Second Vatican Council as proof of this). ... it is enough to say that if the Bishops agree in recognizing a certain man as Pope, they are certainly right, for otherwise the body of the Bishops would be separated from their head, and the Divine constitution of the Church would be ruined. The Catholic Church has gone through one rocky period after another, but it has never meant that the Pope should be disregarded as the true head of the Church. and it is He Who guides it, certainly also through those whom He has chosen, because so He has willed it. A pivotal point in the Sedevacantist debate is the question of the Four Marks of the Church. I won’t bore you with the theology of the sedevacantism except to say they hold that a heretic cannot be pope, with the most common strain affirming that Pius XII was the last legitimate pope (although I did once come across one who believed that Pius V was the last legitimate pope). By now, readers who have never heard of such things may be shaking their heads in amazement. Boniface promptly had Celestine imprisoned in such harsh conditions that he eventually died (apparently the new Pope was afraid his predecessor might want his job back). Stephen Somerville, who 'came to Tradition' who actually regretted his involvement in ICEL. 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