There was no Church dogma added to the deposit of Faith right after the crisis began -- affirming Sedevacantism OR excluding it.

Yes, truth and error are not equals, and error has no rights.

But in this Crisis, there is no "truth", unless God has spoken to you personally about what you should do in this crisis. As far as I know, no Catholic has received such a revelation.

Therefore we're on our own, left with using our wits, prudence, faculty of reason, and Church history to try to figure out what a good Catholic should do to keep the Faith.

Those who choose a different path from you might be wrong, but you can't declare "infallibly" that they're in error, the same way we CAN do so about a protestant who denies the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Eucharist.

That's why when it comes to the Crisis I believe it's best to give the benefit of the doubt to our fellow Catholics. This is not a garden variety problem in the Church, it's a crisis of epic proportions.

I don't believe in "Extra Societatem Nulla Salus" (Outside the Society/SSPX there is no salvation" or Dogmatic Sedeplenism (an article of Faith that states the Chair of Peter is occupied).

Even Archbishop Lefebvre wasn't 100% sure about the Pope. He just thought it was imprudent at that time to take that step.
He wasn't a man of rash actions.

Matthew

It does make me wonder why sedevacantist are  shunned by the many, with the exception of Matthew.  

Matthew can you explain why you allow us here?

Matthew,

Though you are not a renowned theologian or spiritual author (as far as I know), this summary of your views on the present day predicament of the Church is very profound because it is eminently practical and conducive to charity and edifying discussion between Catholics. Such clarity and earnestness of expression is far more endearing (at least to me) than the long-winded polemical tracts filled with all sorts of complex theological and dogmatic formulae and deftly stratified arguments that are authored by so many "lay theologians" nowadays.

Indeed, that about sums it up, Matthew :)

It does make me wonder why sedevacantist are  shunned by the many, with the exception of Matthew.  

Matthew can you explain why you allow us here?

He just did.

Indeed, that about sums it up, Matthew :)

Hypocrat--PFT spews the the most vitriolic, acrimonious, ad hominum BS at moi whenever the election of Pope Gregory suggested.

I have even been described as 'witchy'.

Hello and welcome udoc89!

Recently, another member expressed similar concerns. What follows is more or less what I replied to him.

Although I personally accept the "sedevacantist" explanation of the current predicament of Holy Mother Church as the most accurate one, it behooves me to candidly confess that I find myself bereft of the competence and authority to oblige individual consciences thereto (Deo gratias, for that is one less thing for which I will have to render an account on Doomsday): therefore, I cannot reject as Catholic those who in good faith disagree with the sedevacantist thesis (be they SSPX, diocesan, etc.) so long as the integrity of the dogmas of the infallibility and the primacy of the Roman Pontiff as defined by the Vatican Council [the one convoked by Pope Pius IX], is kept inviolate.

The fact that you are concerned about the salvation of your soul should assure you that you have the purity and earnestness of intention that [if you prayerfully cultivate it further and persevere therein] will not allow you to fall into any errors that may imperil your soul.

If you choose to study the positions of the various traditionalist persuasions that are out there, then I would advise you to do so prayerfully, all the while earnestly practicing the self-abnegation and mortification that will ensure the efficient and effective operation of the virtue of studiousness; which shall prevent you from being seduced by idle and perilous curiosity or bedeviled by endlessly confusing polemical exchanges that oftentimes in many cases rather choke the life of the soul by so much distraction and remote occasions of intellectual vanity or acedia, rather than help the individual to attain to Christian perfection.

I would rather have you focus all your energy on cultivating the interior life by reading books on the spiritual life (written by the Saints and approved theologians) rather than focus on polemical exchanges and run the risk of committing errors wrought by some polemicists which result in their spiritual ruin. Whatever position you adopt will be of no avail for you if you do not give yourself over to works of piety, charity and penance; perseveringly practice interior and exterior mortification; and frequent the holy Sacraments and seek the spiritual direction of a devout and learned Priest.

Other forum members endowed with better minds and hearts will be glad to point out to you the intricacies of the controversial issues. But if you neglect the life of prayer, devout fulfillment of your duties of state, and works of charity and penance, all research and learning will only have a devastating effect upon you, so that you would wish you had never known about such things.

Persevere in the devotion of the Holy Rosary and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and abandon yourself with filial confidence to the Providence of God, humbly recognizing that self and all other created or creatable things are to be spurned in order to serve more perfect the Lord, "at Whose beauty the sun and moon do marvel" (Office of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr).

I'm just layman, so don't cite me as an authority (please!).

My God. I am trying to digest all this. Really trying. I am a convert. I was a member of a protestant, heretical faith most of my life. I seriously believed I had come home. Now I don't know which way to turn. I accept that the Latin Mass is sublimely beautiful and holy and clearly superior to the Novus Ordo and that the Novus Ordo is nothing more than an imitation of my former heretical Anglican communion service with a little bit of Martin Luther thrown in. But having been OUTSIDE looking in for so many years, I thought the most important aspect of my conversion was being in communion with Rome and the Pope after my family having been apostate for several hundreds of years. My local church is not one in which lots of outrageous practices occur. (Maybe it would have been easier to leave it if my husband and I had witnessed clown masses and liturgical dancing and such...) Our priest has made the Latin Mass available to us. But then I visited an SSPX Mass. Their position seemed spot-on to me, but there is not a chapel within two hours of where I live. Recently, I began looking at the beliefs of the Sedevacantists. Again, what they espouse makes good sense. So now I am throughly confused. I am emphatic about one point; namely, that I do not wish to spend eternity in hell.

If someone can offer some guidance, please do. But don't be rude or condescending. (I spent some time on Fisheaters under a different name.) I am finding that there appears to be a singular lack of charity on some of these websites. I hope Catholic Info is different. In fact, I pray it is.

If you pray daily and sincerely a little prayer something like this, in your own words, you will not be lost in eternity.

Dear Lord, please give me the grace to know the truth when I hear it, love the truth and your grace to act on this truth.  Please allow me to die united to your Holy Faith, I pray for myself, my husband, children and all I love.

Those above are my words you can talk to God your style, He will not allow you to be lost, if you are sincere, and I believe you are.