Sedevacantism

Sedevacantismis atraditionalist Catholicmovement which holds that since the death ofPius XIIthe occupiers of theHoly Seeare notvalid popesdue to their espousal of one or moreheresiesand that, for lack of a valid pope, theSee of Romeis vacant.^[1]^[2]Sedevacantism owes its origins to the rejection of the theological and disciplinary changes implemented following theSecond Vatican Council(1962–1965).

The termsedevacantismis derived from the Latin phrasesede vacante,which means "the chair [of theBishop of Rome] being vacant ".^[2]^[3]The phrase is commonly used to refer specifically to a vacancy of the Holy See which takes place from the Pope's death orrenunciationto theelection of his successor.

The number of sedevacantists is unknown and difficult to measure; estimates range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.^[4]Various fractions ofconclavistsamong sedevacantists have proceeded to end the perceived vacancy in the Holy See by electing their own pope.^[5]

Positions[edit]

Origin[edit]

Sedevacantism owes its origins to the rejection of the theological and disciplinary changes implemented following theSecond Vatican Council(1962–1965).^[6]Sedevacantists reject this Council, on the basis of their interpretation of its documents onecumenismandreligious liberty,among others, which they see as contradicting the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church and as denying the unique mission of Catholicism as theone true religion,outside of which there is no salvation.^[7]They also say that new disciplinary norms, such as theMass of Paul VI,promulgated on 3 April 1969, undermine or conflict with the historical Catholic faith and are deemed blasphemous, while post-Vatican II teachings, particularly those related to ecumenism, are labelledheresies.^[8]They conclude, on the basis of their rejection of therevised Mass riteand of postconciliar church teaching as false, that the popes involved are also false.^[1]Among eventraditionalist Catholics,^[2]^[9]this is a quite divisive question.^[1]^[2]

Traditionalist Catholics other than sedevacantists recognize as legitimate the line of popes leading to and includingPope Francis.^[10]Sedevacantists, however, claim that the infallibleMagisteriumof the Catholic Church could not have decreed the changes made in the name of the Second Vatican Council, and conclude that those who issued these changes could not have been acting with the authority of the Catholic Church.^[11]Accordingly, they hold thatPope John XXIIIand his successors left the true Catholic Church and thus lost legitimate authority in the church. Anotorious heretic,they say, cannot be the Catholic pope.^[12]

Justification[edit]

While sedevacantists' arguments often hinge on their interpretation ofmodernismas being aheresy,this is also debated.^{[clarification needed]}^[13]

Positions within sedevacantism[edit]

Clergy, Mass, and sacraments[edit]

Some sedevacantists accept the consecrations and ordinations of sedevacantist bishops and priests, and the offering of Masses and the administration of sacraments by the said bishops and priests, to belicitbecause ofepikea,^[14]^[15]^[16]i.e. "the interpretation of the mind and will of him who made the law".^[17]In this case, the ecclesiastical laws (e.g. prohibition of consecrations of bishops without papal mandate; prohibition of administration of sacraments without ecclesiastical authorization) are interpreted to cease when to follow them would be impossible, harmful, or unreasonable,^[18]or would mean transgressing divine laws (e.g. the church must have bishops and priests; Catholics must attend Mass and receive the sacraments), and because of a historical precedent for consecrating Catholic bishops during a long vacancy of the Holy See.^[14]^[15]

Liturgy[edit]

Anthony Cekadaconsiders that a question among sedevacantists is whether it is permissible to go to"una cum"masses (Traditional Latin Masses where the name of the person considered by Catholics as Pope is spoken in theRoman Canon,specifically in the"Te igitur"prayer, where the priest says"una cum famulo tuo Papa nostro N"('together with Thy Servant N., our Pope')). Anthony Cekada argues that it is not, under any circumstances, permissible.^[19]

Relationship to sedeprivationism[edit]

In contrast to sedevacantists,sedeprivationistsaffirm theThesis of Cassiciacumof theDominicantheologian BishopMichel-Louis Guérard des Lauriersas being a valid position, which states that John XXIII and his successors are popesmaterialiter sed non formaliter,that is, 'materially but not formally', and that the post-Vatican II popes will become pope if they recant their heresies.

Such position is endorsed by theIstituto Mater Boni Consiliiand theOrthodox Roman Catholic Movement.^[20]^[21]^[22]

Demography[edit]

There are estimated to be between several tens of thousands and more than two hundred thousand sedevacantists worldwide,^{[citation needed]}mostly concentrated in the United States, Mexico, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia, but the actual size of the sedevacantist movement has never been accurately assessed. It remains extremely difficult to establish the size of the movement for a wide range of reasons, such as the fact that not all sedevacantists identify themselves as such, nor do they necessarily adhere to sedevacantist groups or societies.^[23]

Early proponents[edit]

Early proponents of sedevacantism include:

Francis Schuckardt,an American who was part of theBlue Army of Our Lady of Fátima,until he publicly took the position in 1967 that theHoly Seewas vacant and that the church that had emerged from theSecond Vatican Councilwas no longer the Catholic Church. He founded theCongregation of Mary Immaculate Queen(CMRI).
BishopDaniel Q. Brown,an American formerOld Catholicbishop who converted to sedevacantism and an associate of Schuckardt.
Joaquín Sáenz y Arriaga,aMexican Jesuitpriest and theologian who put forward sedevacantist ideas in his booksThe New Montinian Church(August 1971) andSede Vacante(1973). His writings gave rise to the sedevacantist movement inMexico,led by Sáenz,Moisés Carmonaand Adolfo Zamora, priests who formed theUnión Católica Trento(Tridentine Catholic Union).
Francis E. Fenton, an American priest who was inspired by Sáenz's writings and founded theOrthodox Roman Catholic Movementas an American parallel to the MexicanUnión Católica Trento.
Michel-Louis Guérard des Lauriers,aFrench Dominicanpriest and theologian who developed theThesis of Cassiciacumin the 1970s.
Several American priests of theSociety of Saint Pius X(SSPX):Daniel Dolan,Anthony Cekada,andDonald Sanborn,reportedly sedevacantists in the 1970s, who were expelled, along with several other priests, by ArchbishopMarcel Lefebvrefor holding this view. Nine of these priests later founded theSociety of Saint Pius V(SSPV) in 1983.
Oswald Baker,anEnglishpriest who was a sedevacantist by at least 1982, and reportedly some time prior to that.
Lucian Pulvermacher,an American missionary priest who left the Catholic Church in 1976 and in 1998 was elected pope of theconclavist"True Catholic Church"with the name of" Pius XIII ".

Bishops and holy orders[edit]

Catholic theologyholds that any bishop canvalidly ordainany baptized male to thepriesthood,and any priest to theepiscopacy,provided that, with the intention to do what the church does, he uses a rite of ordination or consecration considered valid by the Catholic Church.^[24]^[25]

Sedevacantist bishops[edit]

Consecrated before Vatican II[edit]

The only known Catholic bishop consecrated before the Second Vatican Council who publicly became sedevacantist was Vietnamese ArchbishopNgô Đình Thục(consecrated in 1938), former Vicar Apostolic ofVĩnh Long,Vietnamand former Archbishop ofHuế,Vietnam.

BishopAlfredo Méndez-Gonzalez(consecrated in 1960), former Bishop ofArecibo,Puerto Rico,though not a sedevacantist, at least not a public one, associated himself with sedevacantist priests and consecrated a bishop for them.

Thục line bishops[edit]

The "Thục line" bishops designates bishops who derive theirepiscopacyfrom ArchbishopThụcor from bishops of Thục's lineage. Many bishops in the "Thục line" are part of the non-sedevacantistPalmarian Catholic Church;this is due to Thục having consecrated BishopClemente Domínguez y Gómez,future head of the Palmarian Church, and the very numerous episcopal consecrations within this organization.

On 7 May 1981, Thục consecrated thesedeprivationistFrench priestMichel-Louis Guérard des Lauriersas a bishop.^[26]^[27]^[28]Des Lauriers was a FrenchDominicantheologian and a papal advisor.^[29]

On 17 October 1981, Thục consecrated the sedevacantist Mexican priestsMoisés Carmonaand Adolfo Zamora as bishops.^[27]^[28]Carmona and Zamora had been sedevacantist leaders and propagators in Mexico^[30]for many years, and were among the priests who formed the Tridentine Catholic Union.

The Vatican declared Thụcipso factoexcommunicatedfor these consecrations and for his declaration of Sedevacantism.^[27]

Méndez-line bishops[edit]

On 19 October 1993, inCarlsbad, California,United States,Bishop Méndez-Gonzalezconsecrated the sedevacantistClarence Kellyof theSociety of Saint Pius V(SSPV) to the episcopacy. By Méndez's wish, the consecration was kept secret until his death in 1995.^[31]

There are two sedevacantist bishops who descend from Bishop Méndez through Bishop Kelly.^[32]^[33]Both are bishops of theCongregation of Saint Pius V.

Whose lineages derive from earlier movements[edit]

A considerable number of sedevacantist bishops are thought to derive their holy orders from BishopCarlos Duarte Costa,who in 1945 set up his own independentBrazilian Catholic Apostolic Church.^[34]^{[page needed]}Carlos Duarte Costa was not a sedevacantist, and instead questioned the papacy as an institution: he deniedpapal Infallibilityand rejected thepope's universal jurisdiction.^[35]In further contrast to most Catholic traditionalism, Duarte Costa wasleft-wing.^[36]

Groups[edit]

Sedevacantist groups include:

Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen(CMRI), formed in 1967. It operates in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia; is based inOmaha, Nebraska,United States; and is headed by BishopMark Pivarunas.
Society of Saint Pius V(SSPV), formed in 1983 when nine American priests of theSociety of Saint Pius Xsplit from the organization over a number of issues including using the liturgical reforms implemented under Pope John XXIII.^[37]It operates in North America, is based inOyster Bay Cove, New York,United States, and was headed by BishopClarence Kellyuntil his death in December 2023.^[38]
Istituto Mater Boni Consilii(Institute of the Mother of Good Counsel; IMBC), formed in 1985 when four Italian priests of the Society of Saint Pius X split from the organization. It holds to the position ofsedeprivationism.It operates in Europe andArgentina,and is based inVerrua Savoia,Turin,Italy.Its bishop is Bishop Geert Stuyver.
Sociedad Sacerdotal Trento(Priestly Society of Trent; SST), formed in 1993 by the priests of the deceased BishopMoisés Carmona.Its bishop is BishopMartín Dávila Gandara.
Roman Catholic Institute (RCI), founded in 1993 by BishopDonald Sanborn.It consists of Sanborn, his priests, and some of his seminarians, and is based inBrooksville, Florida,United States.
Most Holy Family Monastery(MHFM), a traditional Catholic monastery in Fillmore, New York.

References[edit]

^^a ^b ^cAppleby, R. Scott(1995),Being Right: Conservative Catholics in America,Indiana University Press,p. 257,ISBN 978-0253329226
^^a ^b ^c ^dMarty, Martin E.;Appleby, R. Scott(1994),Fundamentalisms Observed,University of Chicago Press,p. 88,ISBN 978-0226508788
^Neuhaus, Richard John(2007),Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth,Basic, p.133,ISBN 978-0465049356
^Collinge, William J. (2012).Historical dictionary of Catholicism(2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 399.ISBN 978-0810857551.from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands
^Chryssides, George D. (2012).Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements(2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 99.ISBN 978-0810879676.
^Madrid, Patrick;Vere, Peter (2004),More Catholic Than the Pope: An Inside Look at Extreme Traditionalism,Our Sunday Visitor, p. 169,ISBN 1931709262
^Jarvis, E.Sede Vacante: the Life and Legacy of Archbishop Thuc,Apocryphile Press, Berkeley CA, 2018, pp. 8–10.
^Flinn, Frank K (2007),Encyclopedia of Catholicism,Facts on File, p.566,ISBN 978-0816054558
^Collinge, William J (2012),Historical Dictionary of Catholicism,Scarecrow, p. 566,ISBN 978-0810879799
^Gibson, David (2007),The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World,Harper Collins, p. 355,ISBN 978-0061161223
^Marty, Martin E; Appleby, R. Scott (1991),Fundamentalisms Observed,University of Chicago Press, p. 66,ISBN 0226508781
^Wójcik, Daniel (1997),The End of the World As We Know It: Faith, Fatalism, and Apocalypse in America,New York University Press, p. 86,ISBN 0814792839
^Jarvis, E.Sede Vacante: the Life and Legacy of Archbishop Thuc,Apocryphile Press, Berkeley CA, 2018, pp. 152–53.
^^a ^b"Episcopal Consecration During Interregnums".CMRI: Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen.22 September 2016.Retrieved2 December2023.
^^a ^b"The Consecration of Bishops During Interregna".CMRI: Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen.22 September 2016.Retrieved2 December2023.
^Rev.Anthony Cekada."Canon Law and Common Sense".
^Rev. Henry Davis. "Moral and Pastoral Theology", vol. 1, p. 188.
^Rev. Henry Davis.Moral and Pastoral Theology,vol. 1, p. 168. "Law need not be fulfilled even by a subject, if it has become impossible, or harmful, or unreasonable, or useless in general"
^Rev.Anthony Cekada."The Grain of Incense: Sedevacantists and Una Cum Masses".November 2007.
^Istituto Mater Boni Consilii(IMBC)."Who we are".Retrieved 29 August 2021.
^Most Rev.Donald Sanborn."The material Papacy".Retrieved 29 August 2021.
^Most Rev.Donald Sanborn."De Papatu Materiali"."Pars Prima"and"Pars Secunda".Retrieved 29 August 2021.
^Jarvis, E.Sede Vacante: the Life and Legacy of Archbishop Thuc,Apocryphile Press, Berkeley CA, 2018, p. 9.
^PopeLeo XIII."Apostolicae curae".
^Ahaus, H. (1911).Holy Orders.In The Catholic Encyclopedia.
^Likoudis, James; Whitehead, Kenneth D. (2006).The Pope, the Council, and the Mass: Answers to Questions the "Traditionalists" Have Asked.Emmaus Road Publishing. p. 148.ISBN 9781931018340.
^^a ^b ^c"Notification by the Vatican (L'Osservatore Romano, English Edition, 18 April 1983, Page 12)".
^^a ^bHeller, Eberhard. AFFIDAVIT DECLARING THE EPISCOPAL CONSECRATIONS OF THEIR EXCELLENCIES BISHOP M. L. GUERARD DES LAURIERS, BISHOP MOISÉS CARMONA AND BISHOP ADOLFO ZAMORA. 14 February 1992. InEinsicht,February 1992.Retrieved 24 February 2022.
^M.L. Guérard des Lauriers, Dimensions de la Foi, Paris: Cerf, 1952.
^"Tradicionalismo católico postconciliar y ultraderecha en Guadalajara"(PDF).Universidad de Guadalajara.Retrieved14 September2021.
^Photographs and documentation of the episcopal consecration of Bishop Kelly.
^Video of the episcopal consecration of Bp. Joseph Santay.
^Video of the episcopal Consecration of Bp. James Carroll, CSPV.
^Jarvis, E.God, Land & Freedom: the True Story of ICAB,Apocryphile Press, Berkeley CA, 2018
^Jarvis, E.God, Land & Freedom: the True Story of ICAB,Apocryphile Press, Berkeley CA, 2018, pp. 64–69, 236–44.
^Jarvis, E.God, Land & Freedom: the True Story of ICAB,Apocryphile Press, Berkeley CA, 2018, p. 64.
^A more comprehensive list of objections can be found at"Letter of 'the Nine' to Abp. Marcel Lefebvre",The Roman Catholic,Traditional mass, May 1983
^"Obituary of The Most Reverend Clarence J. Kelly | Dufresne & Cavanaugh Funeral Home".dufresneandcavanaugh.com.Retrieved11 December2023.