Just as he sent apostles, whom he chose out of the world , even as he had been sent by the Father, in like manner it was his will that in his Church there should be shepherds and teachers until the end of time.

In order, then, that the episcopal office should be one and undivided and that, by the union of the clergy, the whole multitude of believers should be held together in the unity of faith and communion, he set blessed Peter over the rest of the apostles and instituted in him the permanent principle of both unities and their visible foundation.

"Finally, what one may think of the possibility or the impossibility of an heretical pope, there is at least one point absolutely clear which no one can put in doubt, and it is that the acceptance, the adherence, of the Universal Church to a pope will always be, by itself, the infallible sign of the legitimacy of such-and-such a pontiff; and consequently of the existence of all the conditions required for legitimacy."

Quote from: Franzelin

16.  " ...When the Pope dies, says Cano [a leading theologian of the 16th century], the Church, without doubt, remains *one*, and the *Spirit of truth* remains in her; but she is left crippled [manca] and diminished without the Vicar of Christ and the one pastor of the Catholic Church.
 Therefore, although *truth even then is in the Church*; but if CONTROVERSIES OVER THE FAITH AND RELIGION SHOULD ARISE, *THE JUDGMENTS OF THE CHURCH* which is without a head on earth *WILL NOT BE AS CERTAIN*."  (Ibid. p. 223)

Quote

I have yet to see this proven.

It can be proven in many ways, two in particular, one shorter and one more lengthy. The first was discussed in the article, as according to the teaching of St. Alphonsus, Cardinal Billot and other most eminent authorities, the acceptance of a Papal election by the whole Church, in particular by the hierarchy, is an infallible sign and effect of a valid election, and therefore proves definitely that all the conditions required for validity, even in the internal forum, are satisfied.

Malleus The fact that an Election may have taken place doesnt mean a Heretic can assume the Papacy. One must always be Catholic in order to be elected Pope and in addition even Scripture itself describes the Anti Christ as sitting on the throne but Scripture never States it is a good thing or even that Catholics should follow him but rather beware that he will one day come .  Are we to now assume so long as an election takes place we are to follow   Anti Christ?  Did our Lord not warn us to beware of false Prophets who come clothed as sheep but inwardly are as ravening wolves?  What fruits do you see today?  Where you see a "Valid Election" we see a man who doesnt even practice or proclaim the Catholic faith and by those fruits do we know him.

The other is slightly more lengthy, and goes like this. It is received Catholic doctrine, recognized almost unanimously even by sedevacantists, that (i) Only a Pope can appoint a bishop to an office, thereby conferring on his person the power of ordinary jurisdiction attached to it (ii) All offices of the Church cannot be vacant, this being required by the Apostolicity of the Church. Formal Apostolic succession requires the succession of persons to an episcopal see.

Malleus: Apostolic Succession is through the Bishops not the Pope.  Even the Schismatic Orthodox have Valid Apostolic Orders and that schism is 1000 years old.  Granted , they are illicit - but Valid nonetheless. As for choosing a True Pope - Our Lord Chose St Peter - The Council of Constance chose Pope Martin V - or say perhaps the Orthodox were to abjur en mass because Our Lady who asked us to pray for Russia - The prayers were answered?  There are many ways in which a true universal Pope could emerge.  Nothing is impossible with GOD.


Taking the two of these considerations from doctrine together, combined with the facts of the alleged ongoing vacancy in the Holy See since 1958, we are left with the following conclusion - Since just about every bishop appointed by Pope Pius XII has either died or resigned his office, the Catholic Church, under sedevacantism, has ceased to be Apostolic, does not have a hierarchy having formal Apostolic succession, which is impossible.

That is a sufficient demonstration of the impossibility of 55 year sedevacantism.

Sorry , But GOD's will will be done.  Look no farther than the "OUR Father"  and besides that - we know from Fatima that in the End Her Immaculate Heart will triumph.

In explaining the concept of Apostolicity, then, special attention must be given to Apostolicity of mission, or Apostolic succession. Apostolicity of mission means that the Church is one moral body, possessing the mission entrusted by Jesus Christ to the Apostles, and transmitted through them and their lawful successors in an unbroken chain to the present representatives of Christ upon earth. This authoritative transmission of power in the Church constitutes Apostolic succession.

This Apostolic succession must be both material and formal; the material consisting in the actual succession in the Church, through a series of persons from the Apostolic age to the present; the formal adding the element of authority in the transmission of power. It consists in the legitimate transmission of the ministerial power conferred by Christ upon His Apostles.

Succession may be material or formal. Material succession consists in the fact that there have never been lacking persons who have continuously been substituted for the Apostles ; formal succession consists in the fact that these substituted persons truly enjoy authority derived from the Apostles and received from him who is able to communicate it.

For someone to be made a successor of the Apostles and pastor of the Church, the power of order — which is always validly conferred by virtue of ordination — is not enough; the power of jurisdiction is also required, and this is conferred not by virtue of ordination but by virtue of a mission received from him to whom Christ has entrusted the supreme power over the universal Church.

First, then, the Church is infallible when she declares what person holds the office of Pope; for if the person of the Pope were uncertain, it would be uncertain what Bishops were in communion with the Pope; but according to the Catholic faith, as will be proved hereafter, communion with the Pope is a condition for the exercise of the function of teaching by the body of Bishops (n. 208); if then the uncertainty could not be cleared up, the power of teaching could not he exercised, and Christ’s promise (St. Matt. xxviii. 20; and n. 199, II.) would be falsified, which is impossible.

This argument is in substance the same as applies to other cases of dogmatic facts. Also, it affords an answer to a much vaunted objection to the claims of the Catholic Church, put forward by writers who think that they find proof in history that the election of a certain Pope was simoniacal and invalid, and that the successor was elected by Cardinals who owed their own appointment to the simoniacal intruder; from which it is gathered that the Papacy has been vacant ever since that time. A volume might be occupied if we attempted to expose all the frailness of the argument which is supposed to lead to this startling conclusion; but it is enough to say that if the Bishops agree in recognizing a certain man as Pope, they are certainly right, for otherwise the body of the Bishops would be separated from their head, and the Divine constitution of the Church would be ruined.

"God some times can allow that the vacancy of the Apostolic See be for a certain time. He can allow also that a doubt may come concerning the legitimacy of such-and-such an election, but He cannot allow that the whole Church accept as a pontiff one who is not really legitimate. Therefore, from the moment that the pope is accepted by the Church and is united to Her as the head to the body, we can no longer raise the doubt on the possible bias of election or the possible lack of the necessary conditions for legitimacy. Because this adherence of the Church heals in its root all faults committed at the moment of election, and proves infallibly the existence of all the conditions required."