Without quoting Church teaching and quotes from Saints, I was hoping we who are known as sedevantist, although in truth are Roman Catholics, might tell the story from their own words of why and how they have reached this point. I only suggest using your own words, because I thought it would help others here understand us better.
To be known as sedevantist is not a position as TKGS, has pointed out, something we rejoice in. In fact is quite difficult.
For myself: Vatican II started when I was in my early 20’s; having attended the poorest Catholic schools in Chicago all my life. I had the elderly priests and nuns teach me, they were sent to schools like mine, where they could live out their life without causing too much harm for the newer, younger Modern nuns and priest who were already knocking at the doors of Catholic Schools even prior to Vatican II.
I was one of the lucky ones, nuns who told me as a young child, that it was possible for even a pope to fall from grace, they explained to us, that popes although sin and some sin seriously can still be considered a True Pope, but they cannot change the teachings of Christ, because if they do, they no longer are Popes. I was taught that even the anti-popes throughout history, never changed the teachings of Christ. Which is why today, I cannot consider these counciLIAR popes anti-popes, in my mind they are not even that! Although I realize it is a term used by many.
Getting back to my personal story, having been taught from a child that yes, a pope can fall out of office, and having been taught this prior to Vatican II helped me face the awful truth.
I was also taught to pray every day, to be united to the Church that Jesus Christ founded, to love the truth and know the truth, exactly in those words. Words I added to my daily prayers. That little phrase also added to the grace I needed when I became very confused with the changes.
One nun in particular, before class would say daily, “good is good even if no one is doing it, and bad is bad even if everyone in the world is doing it”…this was imbedded in my mind, because she never missed a day, without telling this to us.
I was married at the age of 21, and started to have my babies, one after another, I became very busy and although attended Mass every Sunday, I fell asleep to the changes that were creeping in. Not till my children were old enough to attend the Catholic school in my neighborhood. As my children grew grew, I was realizing they were not Catholic. I started to ask them questions and wondered why they did not know simple basic Catholic truths, especially since they were in a Catholic school. My eyes started to open and I began to SEE again. What in the world was happening to the Catholic Church, I was thinking. About that same time, I found my rosary and scapular all rolled up in a ball with some trinkets in a shoe box. My thoughts were; Why am I not wearing this scapular, why am I not praying my daily rosary, and most importantly, why is it that I never hear from my priests about the importance of the rosary and scapular? I started to read; to make a long story short, I was waking up.
God left me in that dilemma for 5 more years, I continued going to Mass, my children we getting older and my non-Catholic husband was listening to my complaints every Sunday when I came home from Mass. In fact he was the person who brought the newspaper ad to me, an ad he found in the newspaper about a lecture from a Catholic priest to explain what was happening in the Catholic Church.
I felt this strong urge to attend this talk, and it was as if, I had all the pieces to the puzzle, and suddenly they all came together for me.
BTW, my husband is now Catholic, by the grace of God.