Auguste Rodin’s Gates of Hell

WHEN I first came to the difficult conclusion more than two years ago that Jorge Bergoglio, aka “Pope” Francis, could not logically be a true pope of the Catholic Church, however much he may embrace some of the Faith, I experienced interesting reactions from readers.

Several told me that I must not endorse the position of “sedevacantism” publicly. If I wanted to retain any respectability, I should keep quiet. Sedevacantism (“sede” is seat, “vacante” is empty) is the view that the papal throne is formally vacant, and has been vacant since 1958, due to the public heresies of the Vatican II popes. It is a common sense position really, not some hard-to-grasp intellectual theory, though it is based on deeper theological considerations. It makes just as much sense to have a non-Catholic as head of the Catholic Church as it would to elect Putin as president of the United States. It is a position fully in conformity with Catholic doctrine, upheld by numerous statements by theologians, canon lawyers and even popes who have rejected the idea that popes or other bishops can be heretics. It is fully in conformity with Catholic doctrine despite grave misconceptions by some that it amounts to rejecting the papacy or that it means the gates of hell have prevailed against the Church in violation of God’s promises in Matthew 16:18 (see the recent post at Novus Ordo Watch on the “gates of hell” argument) or that it means that the sedevacantist upholds himself as a figure of authority when in fact he upholds all the true popes and the Magisterium.

Many people are scandalized by the very word “sedevacantism,” perhaps partly because it has a scary and foreign sound. Some treat the sedevacantist as a borderline lunatic, a brawler crashing down pews, a proud rebel who thinks he’s better than others, an apostate who has left the Church and joined something akin to a voodoo cult. That’s why some readers, who ironically were sedevacantists themselves, warned me to keep my views secret.

What a liar I would be if I did that.

Some Catholic readers stormed off and said insulting things. One was told by a priest that she must never read my blog again. I was scolded for going too far, as if one could go too far in criticizing an imposter in the position of Christ’s vicar on earth. Though the typical sedevacantist does not reject a single dogma of the Church and in fact upholds the papacy, these people were convinced that the position of sedevacantism was not worth considering, even in these dire times, after decades in which the practice of the Catholic Faith has literally imploded in America and Europe and turned into a Protestant cult characterized by buildings as stripped of images of saints and the Virgin as Quaker meeting houses and ski lodges.

This kind of fear and loathing toward sedevacantism amounts to irrational behavior. It’s one thing to think through the arguments, to read and study the issue, to debate and even reject it. It’s another to engage in bullying ostracism.

After all, it is the Vatican II Church that embraces voodoo (more here), eh? Not sedevacantists.

The truth is, the anti-sedevacantist who knows the basics — the doctrines contained in a simple pre-Vatican II catechism such as the Penny Catechism or the Baltimore Catechism — lives with contradiction.

He sees all kinds of blatant heresies coming out of Rome. He sees the strangest of all things: the supposed Catholic Church spreading anti-Catholicism. He stands by as the “pope” publicly blasphemes Christ (more here and here); publicly blasphemes the Mother of God (here and here); embraces Catholic divorce; publicly endorses homosexuality (see here, here, here, here and here); publicly endorses transsexuality; publicly endorses women known for their indecent, pornographic dress (see here and here); affirms Muslims in their unbelief and praises their holy days; insults devout Catholics again and again; insults the Church (more here and here), insults Catholic parents, calling their children “rabbits”; endorses pantheism; turns St. Peter’s Basilica over to a spectacle of environmentalist idolatry put together by anti-Catholic corporations; rejects the ceremonials (more here and here) of the papacy; prays towards Mecca; denies the dogma of Hell; denies the differences between Catholics and Protestants; praises the atheistic, One World government of the UN; pays homage to a Marxist dictator; approves of the destruction of national sovereignty through mass migration; teaches that the Jewish covenant is not over, thereby either consciously or not attempting to eradicate the Catholic Faith off the face of the earth and cruelly leaving the Jews as perpetual outsiders to God’s promises of salvation — you get the idea. This is just a brief catalogue of what the Argentine Apostate has done and what the anti-sedevacantist must incorporate into his view of the papacy presumably without coming smack up against contradiction, which would be contrary to God. Mystery we can have. Not contradiction. Sedevacantism is partly mysterious, but it does not embrace contradiction.

The anti-sedevacantist is divided against himself. If he is at all aware of the things Jorge Bergoglio has said, written and done, he is unable to show the obedience and reverence to him that all Catholics owe to a pope. The anti-sedevacantist often spreads the dangerous idea that Catholics can cut themselves off from the papacy or fight the pope as if he was the chief enemy on earth. The anti-sedevacantist is unable to answer the common sense inquiry of an innocent would-be convert who says, “But the pope doesn’t believe that. And if the pope doesn’t believe that, I don’t have to either,” without denying the indefectability of the Church. He has in effect barricaded himself within contradiction.

All this is by way of introduction to this excellent video by Fr. Anthony Cekada, a tireless apologist for sedevacantism. Fr. Cekada addresses the fears of traditionalists toward sedevacantism and he sums it all up clearly.

The video was posted at Novus Ordo Watch, the outstanding website selflessly run by volunteers who have kept a running log of the defections of the Argentine Bomber and the other Vatican II “popes,” and offered ongoing intellectual defense of sedevacantism.

Let the battle rage! Bring it on! May God forgive me for not waking up sooner. The sedevacantist will uphold the papacy. He will refuse to fight the pope. But he will never shrink from fighting an antipope.

— Comments —

Tim writes:

There is probably no bigger difference of opinion among Traditional Roman Catholics than the issue of Sedevacantism. In fact, I find some of the most violent and uncharitable behavior against those who hold this opinion from my fellow Trads. And that is all it is, an opinion, a theological opinion based on theological fact. It is not sinful to hold such an opinion either. So why all the angst?

I find too that Jorge Mario Bergoglio is causing considerable discontent among the recognize and resist group. To acknowledge him as “pope” is ludicrous in the face of his continued heresy, absurdity and downright hatred of the Catholic Faith. Behind that smiling face is a very dangerous man.

It is well to remember, for all of us, that Christ is the Founder of the Catholic Church and still its Invisible Head. He allowed one amongst his chosen twelve to betray Him, He allows it to happen today. Take heart. Christ is still in charge.

Laura writes:

Yes, it is ludicrous to deny his heresies. He truly hates the Faith. Only someone who is paying selective attention to what he has said and done can deny his hostility and defections.

For some people, sedevacantism appears to be a position of despair. But it’s not. The Faith remains untouched. The Church remains indefectible. It’s all still there. It is possible to be oriented toward papal authority even if the papal throne is empty, especially when we have such a wealth of writings from the true popes readily available to us. There is the mystery of how it will be ultimately resolved. But we are Catholics! We are not strangers to mystery!

God gave us so many eloquent, wise and brave popes. He gave us Catholic popes!! How can we complain? What right have we to feel sorry for ourselves during this period? They are with us. The throne is there, waiting for future occupants to lead and guide us. It’s all an overwhelming treasure, a magnificent inheritance, a miraculous gift that has lasted for 2,000 years and will last as long as this world. The empty throne should help us love and revere the papacy more, not less.

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