http://www.sspx.ca/Communicantes/Dec2004/Is_That_Chair_Vacant.htm4.3. The Case of Cardinal Siri: It is being argued by some Sedevacantists that some very serious defects affected the Conclaves that elected Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, then, consequently John-Paul I and John-Paul II. It is being claimed that Cardinal Giuseppe Siri, the former Archbishop of Genoa, Italy was elected pope in the 1958, 1963 conclaves, and possibly also in 1978. Cardinal Siri was extremely popular in Italy, mostly for his strong social accomplishments in Genoa. He was also considered as a strong conservative, even though he did not publicly stand in defense of Tradition during the Vatican II council. So, apparently, Cardinal Siri had been 'elected' pope at the conclave that followed the death of Pope Pius XII. Some are going as far as telling us that he had accepted the election of his fellow cardinals, and had taken the name of Gregory XVII. Shortly before such 'election' was to be made public to the world, a group of cardinals would have revolted against him, and forced him to renounce to the supreme pontificate. Then, Cardinal Roncalli was chosen and appeared to the world as Pope John XXIII. Some Sedevacantist pulled out a recent report from the FBI to prove such thesis. They added on that 'Pope Siri' secretly appointed cardinals to succeed to him in the future. Frankly, such theory doesn't make sense, for a number of reasons. First of all there is a Church law that binds under secrecy all the proceedings of a conclave, under the penalty of excommunication for whoever would break such seal. Even if Cardinal Siri was properly elected as a pope, it is a matter of fact that he never showed it in public. He was among the cardinals that paid allegiance to both Popes John XXIII and Paul VI. After the 1958 and 1963 conclaves, he went back to his diocese of Genoa. In 1969, though reluctantly, he adopted the Novus Ordo Missae. Meanwhile, a French priest, Father Guérin, had established a 'conservative' community of priests in Genoa. Back in the seventies, Father Guérin was living in Paris, France, where he used to say a weekly Novus Ordo Mass all in Latin, with biretta and incense, which I attended a couple of times. I know personally two members of Fr. Guérin's community that have been ordained priests by Cardinal Siri. They have now an apostolate in France, and say the Novus Ordo Mass. Their ordination was held with the New Mass, though in a more conservative way. Finally, Cardinal Siri died in 1989. But, the most important reason why we must discard the "Pope Siri" theory is the fundamental principle that a peaceful acceptance of a pope by the Universal Church is the infallible sign and effect of a valid election. All theologians agree on that point. Cardinal Billot says: "God may allow that a vacancy of the Apostolic See last for a while. He may also permit that some doubt be risen about the legitimacy of such or such election. However, God will never allow the whole Church to recognize as Pontiff someone who is not really and lawfully. Thus, as long as a pope is accepted by the Church, and united with her like the head is united to the body, one can no longer raise any doubt about a possible defective election… For the universal acceptance of the Church heals in the root any vitiated election."21 Now, the kick: let us imagine that I am totally wrong, and that, indeed, Cardinal Siri was the real pope that came out of the 1958 and/or 1963 conclaves. Let's go even further: imagine for a moment that 'Pope Siri' secretly appointed cardinals, to be able to provide for a successor after his death. Such secretly appointed cardinals would be called cardinals in pectore (close to the heart). It happened a number of times in the history of the Church that popes appointed cardinals in pectore. For different reasons, the popes didn't want to make public their names at least for a while. Usually, the reason was to protect the life of such cardinals, who were living in countries where the Church was persecuted. This was the case for Cardinal Slipyj, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church from 1944 till 1984. There is a rule which says that the name of any cardinal appointed in pectore had to be made public by the pope who appointed him. Thus, all cardinals appointed secretly whose name had not been revealed before the death of the pope who nominated them would automatically lose their title.22 This was the case of Cardinal Slipyj, who was made Cardinal in pectore by Pope John XXIII in 1960. As John XXIII never released his name, Cardinal Slipyj was unable to participate in the 1963 conclave. However, in 1965, Pope Paul VI officially restored Cardinal Slipyj's title, thus giving him all the rights and privileges of a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church. Consequently, any and every 'cardinal' that was appointed secretly by 'Pope Siri' lost their title in 1989, upon the death of Cardinal Siri, and automatically lost their right to participate in the election of 'Pope Siri's' successor. Such an argument may not be final to some people. They may try to tell us that 'Pope Siri' changed the law of a papal election, in order to allow cardinals in pectore to participate, thus allowing the election his successor. When it goes that far, the only thing we can say is that such conspiracy nuts have lost complete contact with reality.
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