I think I might have asked this before, but refresh my memory. Did +Guérard des Lauriers abandon this position at the end of his life like some claim?
.
I have heard this too and wonder if anyone can shed any light on it. My recollection is that I heard that he came up with the theory after the election of Paul VI as a sort of temporary explanation of what is going on in the Church, but he didn't intend it to be a permanent system that could exist indefinitely, as its proponents claim it is today.
.
See, in the first years of Paul VI, the cardinals were all appointed by true popes, so they were definitely true cardinals, and the same goes for the vast majority of bishops in the world. So there was little problem in saying they had been legitimately appointed to those offices, and held them materially. But as time went on and the situation did not get resolved (still hasn't been), Bp. des Lauriers realized he actually didn't believe his system could account for material popes, cardinals and bishops creating more material popes, cardinals and bishops indefinitely, and that is why he abandoned his thesis.
.
Not sure if all that is true, but that's my recollection of what I heard on that topic. I would really like to know if anyone else has more information on this.
.
edit: formatting