Skip to main content

Re Blog: Yes Sally, Pope Francis IS the Pope and is in great need of our prayers!

+
JMJ

As a Traditional Catholic I find it ironic that I'm usually the one talking Modern Catholics off the sedevacantist ledge.

Recently, Louie Verrecchio has posted an article by a Fr. Campo, that is asserting that the abdication was forced and therefore invalid ... of something to that effect.

Sadly, the electrons spilled over this issue are in vain.

Here's a quick summary of the doctrine on Dogmatic Facts:

Now the point is this:
We want to believe that Pope Francis is not the Pope, because he is doing such a bad job.

However, we know that he is because of the doctrine of dogmatic facts.

Any action that we 'believe' that would invalidate the election is proved wrong by the acceptance of a newly elected Pope by all the Bishops and by extension the whole Catholic Church.

Pope Francis was accepted by the Bishops in Union with Rome, ergo - we have the assurance of the doctrine that he was validly elected.



P^3

PS.Now if the Church should determine that Pope Francis was invalidly elected, they will have to amend the doctrine of Dogmatic Facts as it pertains to the election of a Pope.

But until that hypothetical even occurs - we have the rely upon the present document.



Re Blogged  from Tradicat

The Church of Christ is Apostolic and this is also a 'Mark' of the Church.

Specifically it means: 
The true Church is also to be recognised from her origin, which can be traced back under the law of grace to the Apostles; for her doctrine is the truth not recently given, nor now first heard of, but delivered of old by the Apostles, and disseminated throughout the entire world. ... That all, therefore, might know which was the Catholic Church, the Fathers, guided by the Spirit of God, added to the Creed the word Apostolic. For the Holy Ghost, who presides over the Church, governs her by no other ministers than those of Apostolic succession.  (Tradicat: Marks of the Church Apostolic - Catechism of Trent)
The consequence of this is Dogma is that if there are no longer any Bishops, then the promise of Our Lord Jesus Christ that the Church would stand to the end of the world, was false. A secondary consequence of this would be the eradication of the priesthood.  Closely related to this Dogma is that defined during the First Vatican Council. Namely, that there will be successors of St. Peter until the end of the world.



The Church in Her wisdom has taken safeguards to ensure that the Apostolic Succession is not lost, specifically by normally having three bishops perform the consecration of a new bishop.  Having a consecrator and two co-consecrators ensures that if there is a defect in one, then the other two will supply.

This question is sometimes raised regarding the validity of Archbishop Lefebvre's own episcopal consecration as there were rumours that Cardinal Leinart was a free mason.

The first response is that there were no doubts of the co-consecrators. The second is that the rumours have never been proved. Lastly, the form was followed in the consecration and therefore, barring any authoritative investigation, the principle of the Church is to assume that when the form is followed the sacrament is conveyed.

A similar question is raised concerning Pope St. John XXIII and Pope Paul VI: If they were masons, then they weren't Pope etc.

This question is answered if one adheres to the doctrine (lower case) of the Church on this matter.

Specifically, it is a universally held theological conclusion that if the Bishops of the Church accept a newly elected Bishop as the Pope, then any perceived impediments were not real.  This is classified as an infallible dogmatic fact ( Dogmatic Fact or Fancy ).

Caveat, the sede-vacantists that I have encountered throw up lots of excuses to re-imagine this simple doctrine.  So if you cast about the internet you will find opinions that run counter to this doctrine. However, I would advise you to take the words of the Church as the Church has understood them and expressed by the theologians of the Church in a consistent and universal manner.
P^3

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Catholic Church and the Rule of Law- Part II: Dr. John Lamont

+ JMJ This is the second article from Dr. Lamont from his lecture given in May 2014. P^3 Source Part A: Society of St. Hugh of Cluny Source Part B: Society of St. Hugh of Cluny 8 May2014 The Catholic Church and the Rule of Law- Part II By John Lamont To understand how the Jesuit conception of obedience departed from earlier conceptions, it is helpful to compare it with the teaching of St. Thomas on obedience. The fundamental difference between the two is that St. Thomas considers the proper object of obedience to be the precept of the superior (2a2ae q. 104 a. 2 co., ad 3). Obedience that seeks to forestall the expressed will of the superior does not bear on what the superior wants or thinks in general, but only on what the superior intends to command. St. Ignatius’s lowest degree of obedience, which he does not consider to be virtuous, is thus what St. Thomas considers to be the only form of obedience. St. Thomas holds that St. Ignatius’s alleged higher forms of o...

Open Letter to Cardinal Gantin - July 6, 1988

There has been some discussion (read lots) about the term 'Conciliar Church'. I have posted this letter written by the Superior General and District Superiors of the SSPX after the 1988 Consecrations. Of particular interest is that the 'Conciliar Church' being referred to as a system. My paraphrase would be that the SSPX regards the 'conciliar Church' as an error within the Church. Source Open Letter to Cardinal Gantin Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops

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

Rome and the SSPX - Version 2026 Part 6b: Principles and Rules for Surviving this Crisis of the Catholic Church (Principle 1)

 + JMJ Principle 1: Realize that something is amiss in the Catholic Church The world in which I had my Traditional Awakening, is one in which practically anything pre-Conciliar such as liturgy, doctrinc, and even dogmas are either suppressed, ignored or re-framed to be acceptable to the ‘world’. What is more, the people adhering to these pre-conciliar teachings and liturgy are persecuted by other members of the Catholic Church. The things that non-Trads say about Trads can be quite extreme. For example, accusations against Traditionalists include that they are: A revival of the Jansenists (link) , Schismatics, Heretics, Uncharitable, Lefebrists Radicals Integrists When one group of Catholics is persecuted by the others for simply wanting to live as Catholics before them did for generations … well something is wrong. Further, we need to realize that when what was previously condemned is now promoted and what was previously promoted as the trut...

Forget the Reformation - It is time for Abrogation - Louie Verrecchio

Mr. Verrecchio has pointed out one solution to this crisis that is a dream of many Traditional Catholics of my acquaintance: The complete obliteration of the Novus Ordo Missae. If this were to occur, undoubtedly a revolt would occur within the Church, but the battle lines would be much clearer.  I assume that a lot of material heretics would make the transition to being formal heretics. P^3 Prayer Penance Patience Courtesy of Louie Verrecchio A recent article by Fr. Thomas Kocik on the New Liturgical Movement website,  Reforming the Irreformable? , is getting some well-deserved attention in traditional circles. (Do yourself a favor and read it in its entirety if you haven’t already.)