http://www.sspx.ca/Communicantes/Dec2004/Is_That_Chair_Vacant.htm5.3. Misunderstanding of the true nature of the Church: At this point, I would like to give a diagnosis of the Sedevacantist attitude. "Sedevacantists are truly obsessed by the question of the papacy. One may well wonder if in many of them this is not due to some psychological trauma. Their understandable ancestral veneration for the pope seems to unleash a veritable panic at the idea of contrasting their cherished, idealized image of the papacy with such popes as Paul VI and John Paul II. Sedevacantism appears to be more of a psychological than a theological problem… We now see only too well what effects those theological outpourings produce in passionate Catholics. They now have become their own pope. They judge their own priests. No longer do many of them have recourse to the sacrament of Confession. No longer do they hearken to the Church's infallible teachings. They generally bring moral ruin on their own families."26 Such cherished, idealized image of papacy is leading them to act in practice as if the Church was only a divine institution. On the contrary, the Church, as founded by Jesus-Christ, is both divine and human. It is divine in its origin, its founder and its invisible head… but it is human in its members, in particular in the visible head, the pope. As being divine, the Church is the unspotted and unblemished spouse of Christ… but, as human, the Church is composed of men who, like you and I are sinners. Then, we should not be surprised if the present pope can betray his master, as did St. Peter. Along with Sedevacantism, we see a revival of some of the old errors of John Wycliffe and John Hus, who pretended that sinners are no more members of the Church. Let me quote some of the propositions condemned by the Council of Constance (1414-1418): "if the pope is foreknown and evil, and consequently a member of the devil, he does not have the power over the faithful given to him by anyone, unless perchance by Caesar."27 and: "If the pope is wicked and especially if he is foreknown, then as Judas, the Apostle, he is from the devil… and he is not the head of the holy militant Church, since he is not a member of it."28
5.4. Subjectivism: No matter how they try to justify their position, we have to admit that the Sedevacantist thesis is not based on objective facts, but rather on subjectivism. The objective criterion required by Catholic theology for recognizing who is a true pope is the recognition of the one elected by the Cardinals, Bishops and by the Whole Church. In the Sedevacantist mind, such criterion cannot any longer be objective, but will necessarily make appeal to a fundamentally subjective source, even if an effort is made to make it appear as objective. Because the Sedevacantist attitude is not based on safe and objective principles of Catholic theology, we should not be surprised to witness some astounding reversals and turnabouts. Let me give one example among others: back in the 1980's, Father Olivier de Blignières, then an outspoken supporter of the Sedevacantist thesis of Fr. Guérard des Lauriers, had founded in France a religious community. Then, in the wake of the 1988 Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei Afflicta of Pope John-Paul II, the same Father de Blignières flipped over and put himself under the Ecclesia Dei commission. His community, called the Fraternity of St. Vincent Ferrer, was immediately recognized by the Roman authorities, and granted the status of Pontifical Right. In the doctrinal field, back in the 1980's, Fr. de Blignières thought that Religious Liberty was heretical. Now, he is writing books to justify Vatican II' Religious Liberty.
6. Judgement on Sedevacantism: Could we say that the Sedevacantist thesis is simply a wrong thesis, but that we should tolerate it in a spirit of charity? No, I think that Sedevacantism is very dangerous. It leads to an attitude which is not Catholic, but schismatic.
6.1. Schism: "It is consequently true that there can be some theological discussion as to whether Sedevacantists are formally schismatic or not. The answer to this depends on the degree of Sedevacantism. There are radical Sedevacantists that call us heretics since we are in communion with a heretic (Wojtyla), so they say. These are certainly schismatic, for they clearly reject communion with true Catholics, who are in no way modernist. By making their Sedevacantism a quasi-article of faith they certainly fall into the second category of persons that canon 1325, §2 declares to be schismatic: "He is a schismatic who rejects communion with members of the Church subject to him (i.e., the Sovereign Pontiff)." It is consequently by their refusal to be a part of the Church, and effectively making the "church" as they see it consist only in Sedevacantists that they are certainly schismatic."29 This is exactly the case of the CMRI (Mount St. Michael, Spokane), which states: "Are traditional Catholics subject to the local hierarchy and ultimately to Rome?... He (the Sedevacantist) recognizes that he is actually not subject and obedient to John Paul II." (30) Some other Sedevacantists claim that, on account of the failure of the hierarchy of Vatican II, they can now elect their own pope. Such theory is called Conclavism. This is the most radical brand, but somehow the most logical consequence of Sedevacantism. There are now about 20 'popes' in the world, for example 'Gregory XVII' from Palmar de Troya, Spain; another 'Gregory XVII' from St. Jovite, Québec; 'Pius XIII', in the USA… Certainly, Conclavism is schismatic. Does it mean that every Sedevacantist is a formal schismatic? No, I would not go that far. Among the people who follow the Sedevacantists theories, there are a number of confused Catholics who are being attracted by these 'simple' and 'clear' answers to the problems of the situation of the Church coming from the masters of Sedevacantism. It is mostly to these confused Catholics that this study is addressed: beware of the mirages of Sedevacantism. It will lead you astray from the Church and the Sacraments!
6.2. Spiritual illness of Sedevacantism:1. Intellectual desolation: How could we understand the state of a Sedevacantist mind? I think it is characterised by a fixed idea, which is almost an obsession. Their mind seems to freeze on the problem of the pope, which appears to them as being very serious and urgent. This is a typical case of Intellectual Desolation, by which their soul is being disturbed as long as a 'clear answer' has not been found for such a serious problem. Sedevacantists claim that it is urgently needed to make a judgment on the Vatican II popes. For them, it appears to be THE fundamental problem all Traditional Catholics should focus on. For example, let me quote Bishop Pivarunas: "As unpleasant as this subject may be, traditional Catholics are confronted by the terrible and burning questions: Is the Conciliar Church the Catholic Church? Is John-Paul II, as the head of the Conciliar Church, a true pope?…Suffice it to say, the issue of the pope is a difficult one, and unpleasant one, and a frightful one; yet it is a necessary and important issue which cannot be avoided."31 Let me summarize how Sedevacantists approach the question of the pope: #1 it is a question they have at heart; #2 they want to get a final answer with absolute certainty; #3 such problem is so urgent that it becomes the focus of their attention, up to the point that they cannot see anything else. Thus, they direct their arguments not much against the Modern Church, for which they care less, but against those fellow Traditional Catholics who do not share their conclusions. St. Francis de Sales suffered similar Intellectual Desolation. It was on the matter of predestination. His intellect froze on that question, and his heart was filled with the anguish that he may be damned no matter what. The more he was studying, the more he was finding serious objections against predestination. This was driving him nuts. How did St. Francis manage to free himself from that intellectual prison? One day, he fell on his knees before a statue of Our Lady and said: "O Holy Virgin, I think that I am going to be damned. If I have to curse God for all eternity, let me at least offer you this day in honor of God." When St. Francis de Sales got up, he was healed, being able to relocate his 'problem' at the second place, which is after the humble fulfillment of his daily duty. Let me apply that example to the sedevacantist bug: "Who knows if John-Paul II is pope? Who knows if the Society of St. Pius X is schismatic, as they recognize the pope, and don't obey to him?" In a Sedevacantist mind, such questions are producing deep emotional reactions, which lead to anger and panic: the Sedevacantist is looking for a final answer right now. This kind of Intellectual Desolation is very dangerous. It is threatening pious souls, who are being convinced that they would betray their consciences if they were to ignore these fundamental issues. Such problem affects persons tempted to intellectual pride, and having a tendency to look for the most extreme and desperate solutions, like Brother Michael Diamond, from Most Holy Family Monastery.
2. Remedy: In the book of the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius of Loyola gives some rules for Discerning the Spirits. Here are the ones that should be used to deal with the Intellectual Desolation of Sedevacantists: do not make any change to your previous resolutions (5th rule); counter attack the temptation, by prayer and penance (6th rule); make an act of will by which you will refuse to be locked in a controversy that you are not qualified to settle (12th rule). You need to practice intellectual self-discipline and mortification of the will, in other words humility. In our daily life, there are many problems which we are unable to settle, because we do not have the tools. Let us humbly recognize it. Moreover, I think it is important to de-passionate and de-dramatize the problem of the pope: when you will appear before him, do you think that St. Peter will ask you for your opinion on one of his successors? Let me be clear: I do not want to evacuate the real problem of the Church since Vatican II, but to give some simple rules of intellectual self-discipline in order to de-dramatize the Sedevacantist issue, which appears very clearly to be a case of Intellectual Desolation. Always remember that the devil is a liar. He is using the Sedevacantist bug to draw some pious souls away from the means of sanctification, the Mass and the Sacraments. Beware!
Topic: Spiritual Illness of Sedevacantism (Read 3803 times)