I do think well of Bp. Guerard des Lauriers, just not his thesis. If it has theologians who ever taught it you would think they would have used them.
Why would anyone have taught it? Is theology a science, or just a collection of words written by men long since dead? Is a theological article illegitimate unless it is full of quotations from St. Thomas?
The present crisis is different as to kind, not just degree, when compared with all that has come before. Is it not fitting, or at least understandable that no one had discussed such things before they came to pass?
The theory in my mind was made with a good motivation, it was to find a solution to the problem of the visibility of the Church and the apostolic succession.
Of course it was and I am happy to see you say so.
But, the fact remains, it has no basis in theology. It was made from whole cloth and is a novelty. By saying that I mean no disrespect. I believe many hold it in good faith.
Saying it "has no basis in theology" and pointing out that no previous theologians discussed such a thing in any kind of detail are very different things. Material succession without formal succession is a fact with 1000 years of experience supporting it. It can happen; it has happened; it will continue to happen until the Eastern schismatics die off or return to Rome. Whether or not it has happened in Rome itself during this era is a separate question. Surely something of incomprehensible gravity and magnitude has occurred.
The Thesis, which could be rightly called "novel" -- just as this entire crisis could be called novel -- is entirely founded upon the sciences of philosophy and theology. I readily grant that it may be wrong, even profoundly so, or it may not adequately address the present situation, but it most certainly IS a philosophical and theological attempt to explain what has happened. Think what you will, but the fact that no long-since-dead theologians addressed a situation they never lived to see or even imagined means little (at most) when discussing the Thesis or its contents.
FWIW, I do not necessarily adhere to the Thesis in its entirety, but I do believe it is a much more sensible and coherent explanation than most seem to grasp or admit. I tend to think that, once the dust has settled and normalcy has returned, we will all be surprised to learn what really took place during this lamentable era. God bless and keep you and yours.