Applying the Sedevacantism Kill Chain

JMJ

Theoretical Models are pretty when written down in a research paper. Their real worth is whether or not they function in the real world.

As it turns out Pope Francis has providentially provided an opportunity to apply the model to a fresh real-life example.

So what did Pope Francis say?

Abortion is not the lesser of two evils. It is a crime. It is to throw someone out in order to save another. That’s what the Mafia does. It is a crime, an absolute evil. On the ‘lesser evil,’ avoiding pregnancy, we are speaking in terms of the conflict between the fifth and sixth commandment. Paul VI, a great man, in a difficult situation in Africa, permitted nuns to use contraceptives in cases of rape. ... On the other hand, avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil. In certain cases, as in this one, such as the one I mentioned of Blessed Paul VI, it was clear. I would also urge doctors to do their utmost to find vaccines against these two mosquitoes that carry this disease. This needs to be worked on. (Source)

And what do we have from 1997:

The Church has always taught the intrinsic evil of contraception, that is, of every marital act intentionally rendered unfruitful. This teaching is to be held as definitive and irreformable. Contraception is gravely opposed to marital chastity, it is contrary to the good of the transmission of life (the procreative aspect of matrimony), and to the reciprocal self-giving of the spouses (the unitive aspect of matrimony); it harms true love and denies the sovereign role of God in the transmission of human life" (Vademecum for Confessors, 2:4, Feb. 12, 1997).(Source)

I could go on with Humani Vitae and its footnotes - but that isn't really necessary. Suffice to grant from this point that 'every marital act intentionally rendered unfruitful' is intrinsically evil, mortally sinful and that this is 'definitive and irreformable'.

Let's apply this to the kill chain.

Baptism

At this point, I believe it is safe to assume that Pope Francis was baptized as this is one of the documents that needs to be produced for entry into the seminary.

External Denial or Doubt of Catholic Doctrine

Obviously, what the Pope said publicly contradicts Church Doctrine.

Doctrine In Question is a Catholic Dogma

Here we face the first serious difficulty, is the doctrine that the Pope contradicted at the De Fide doctrinal level?

This is a critical link in the chain, if this be broken, the argument stops at this point.

A little research, I found a short and good article on the levels of Doctrine on EWTN's website. The following line is of particular interest:

SENTENTIA COMMUNIA (common teaching) like the Church's prohibition & proscription of artificial contraception.

So the link is broken and any further argument is baseless.

Conclusion

While definitely against common teaching and worthy of condemnation, the Pope's words do not constitute heresy. The reason being that the teaching of contradiction is not a De Fide teaching of the Church.

No De Fide, no heresy is possible.

Lord Protect us from rash judges!

P^3

For further reading:
The SSPX's first response was to simply place the Pope's words in the context of the Teaching of the Church. Their second response went somewhat deeper.

Further, Dr. Joseph Shaw has also written an excellent article on this topic which I have linked here.

Comments

A Look Back: A short history of the SSPX

+ JMJ I started a timeline a while back but never finished it. Fortunately, here's one that brings us up to 1994!!! P^3 http://archives.sspx.org/SSPX_FAQs/a_short_history_of_the_sspx-part-1.htm A short history of the SSPX A presentation given by Fr. Ramon Angles in Kansas City, MO, on the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the SSPX and reprinted from the January 1996 issue of The Angelus . Part 1 The history of the Society of St. Pius X begins, of course, in the mind of God. But do not believe that its temporal origin is to be found solely at the time of the post-conciliar crisis. The Society of St. Pius X was made possible ...

Hermeneutic of the Hermeneutic of Continuity - sspx.org

+ JMJ Since I'm looking at the 'four things', I thought this article would be good. Unfortunately, with the new SSPX.org website, I've been unable to locate the original article. This is a copy the I emailed to myself. This is an article that, I believe, was written in response to a conference given by Msgr. Pozzo. P^3

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making. It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX. The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience. The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members. It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing: Answer for Reader

+ JMJ A reader asked the following question in the 2015 version of the article on the Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (link) : 117: "In the state of fallen nature it is morally impossible for man without Supernatural Revelation, to know easily, with absolute certainty and without admixture of error, all religious and moral truths of the natural order." Where can you find this in the documents of the Church? ( Link to comment ) Here's the reference from Ott: The citation that Ott provided was Denzinger 1786 and the source document is Dogmatic Consitution Concerning the Faith from the First Vatican Council (Papal Encyclicals - link) : Chapter 2 On Revelation, Article 3: It is indeed thanks to this divine revelation , that those matters concerning God, which are not of themselves beyond the scope of human reason, can, even in the present state of the human race, be known by everyone, without difficulty, with firm certitude and with no intermingling of error. Here's ...

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

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