Tag Archives: B16 Sedevacantism

Faith

The Heresy of classical Sedevacantism

7 Comments

by Br. Alexis Bugnolo

UPDATED: Nov. 27, 2025 A. D..

“Sedevacantism” is the term for the ideological position that there has not been a legitimate occupant of the Apostolic See, that is of the Catholic Bishopric Diocese of Rome, since time X, because long ago there was some secret conspiracy during a conclave which rendered that conclave invalid.

Those who hold such positions, for the most part, either go back to the Conclave of 1958 or that of 1963. These are called “sedevacantists”, and I call them “classical” because of new types such as those who hold after the death of Pope Benedict XVI there can no longer be valid popes — a thesis encouraged by Andrea Cionci and Don Minutella, here in Italy.

But one of the core theological positions often found with classical Sedevacantism is that the ritual for the consecration of Bishops in the New Rite after Vatican II cannot validly effect the consecration of a Bishop.

There are a number of problems with their position, such as this, that they reject the principles of sacramental theology explained so well by Saint Thomas Aquinas and sustained by Saint Alphonsus dei Liguori.

Their chief motivation for adopting this denial is to justify their conspiracy theories about invalid conclaves and invalid popes. They say, for example, that Pope Benedict XVI could not validly be a pope because he was never validly consecrated as a Bishop, even though his principle consecrator, Msgr. Josef Stangel, was consecrated a Bishop in 1957, in the “Old Rite”.

They contradict the Code of Canon 1917 about Heretics losing office

Regarding their principal thesis, that a formal manifest and public heretic automatically loses his office, their position is patently or clearly CONTRARY to the Code of Canon Law of 1917, which says (Source:  p. 629, in footnote 2 of the 1917 Code, in Canon 2314)

Canon § 2314:

§1. Omnes a christiana fide apostatae et omnes et singuli haereticis aut schismasticis :

        1. Incurrunt ipso facto excommunicationem;
        2. Nisi moniti resipuerint, priventur beneficio, dignitate, pensione, officio aliove munere, si quod in Ecclesia habeant, infames declarentur, et clerici, iterata monitione, deponantur;

From which it is clear that the position of those who hold that formal manifest a public or notorious heresy, of itself, causes the loss of office, are manifestly contradicting the 1917 Code of Canon Law., for the English of this Canon reads:

Canon §2314

§1. All apostates from the Christian Faith and all and each heretic or schismatic:

        1. Incurs ipso facto excommunication:
        2. Unless they come to their senses after having been warned, let them be deprived of  benefice,  dignity, pension office or other munus, if they have any in the Church; let them be declared infamous, and let the clerics, after having been warned again, be deposed;

For clearly, “let them be deprived” is not “they are deprived” ipso facto, but rather commands a juridical act of a competent superior, to remove them from office. I will repeat it: but commands a juridical act of a competent superior, which is someone with jurisdiction, not a priest or laymen who claims to have good judgement in matters of the faith, but wants to usurp the power of government in the Church!

The Contradict the Perennial Magisterium on the valid Formulae for Episcopal Consecration

As regards their position about invalid episcopal consecrations: the problem with this theological position of theirs regarding episcopal consecrations is that the formula or prayer used during the new rite for the ordination of Bishops is modeled nearly word-for-word with those used by the Maronites and Copts from time immemorial, at least from the 4th Century after Christ.

So if these formulae or prayers, which form the essential part of the very act of consecrating a Bishop, were not able to validly consecrate a celibate Catholic man as a Bishop, these Churches would then not have valid sacraments of the Eucharist, Ordination, Penance, Extremunction and Confirmation.

But the Roman Church has always regarded these eastern Rites as having valid sacraments.

So if you sustain the position of classical Sedevacantists, you have to admit that the Roman Church fell into error with these two other Churches before the 4th century A. D., and that therefore the Roman Church is not a legitimate Church, and its Bishops have never been true successors of the Apostle Saint Peter.

However, being inconsistent, classical Sedevacantists will claim that their position against the ordination of Bishops in the New Rite is based on the teachings of Pope St. Pius X and Pope Leo XIII!

I hope you now can see that Sedevacantists who hold such a theological position against the validity of episcopal consecration in the Novus Ordo are actually a form of extreme protestant who believes that the Church fell away from Christ in the first centuries, and that they alone are true Christians, since their private personal judgement is the only thing infallible since Christ ascended into Heaven, and if you do not bend to their magisterium of error you will be damned.

The reality is however that they are heretics and schismatics far worse than any form of heretic and schismatic since the time of the Donatists in 5th Century North Africa, and that they surely will be damned in the worst pits of hell for attacking the very legitimacy of Holy Mother Church from ancient times.

What these classical Sedevacantists are doing, in addition, is diverting the attention of Catholics away from the deficiencies in the New Rite towards the bogus argument denying validity. These ideologues actually have a very shallow understanding of the Sacraments and ignore totally the impetratory and sanctificatory nature of prayer and ritual. — The true Catholic position, however, is that, in the New Rites, in which many rituals or prayers were removed, which formerly asked more explicitly for grace, and inculcated better and more effectively the spirit of humility and the dispositions to practice theological Faith, Hope and Charity, are thereby not as able to prepare for and communicate grace to those who attend them, as the old rites were. — And by this shell game, of misdirection, Sedevacantists actually perpetuate the errors of the Aggiornamento, by creating a distraction, based on the false claim of invalidity, to terrorize and psychologically control Catholics through fear and error.

I won’t even mention that most of them cannot read Latin and know nearly nothing about how to make theological or philosophical distinctions. Nor, that they do not actually believe what they attempt to convince others to believe, because they have never filed a canonical complaint for heresy or an invalid election against any of the Popes they reject. Never. Ever! — Even though, in the Catholic Church from at least the 18th Century, to the Code of Canon Law of 1983, if you did not denounce a heretic, within 30 days, you yourself would be suspect of heresy.

It is good and sane to keep in mind, that consecration as a Bishop of itself does not guarantee that a man be holy or even honest, nor does it make him impossible to fall into error. All the Bishops who approved of Vatican II were consecrated in the old rites, but that did not prevent them from being beguiled by the notion of “aggiornamento” (updating). Contrariwise, just because a Bishop is ordained in the New Rites does not mean he is a dishonest man, since at present in the Roman Rite, at least, it would be considered illicit to be consecrated in the Old Rite. These divisions, errors and sins in the Church can only be exorcised with a Catholic Pope, legitimately elected, at Rome. They cannot be solved by complaining and then doing nothing or running away from that battle.

For those who want more information about Episcopal Consecrations, you can read my two part study, published more than 5 years ago, about the Ritual for Consecration of Bishops, with original texts in Latin and English translation, by clicking this image below:

Ecclesiology, Editorials, Faith

False and True Catholic Militancy

3 Comments

by Br. Alexis Bugnolo

Traduction française

In the world controlled by Freemasonry, the hallmark of their civilization is to constantly offer the masses the fake version of the truth.

We see this in every aspect of daily life.

In the supermarket, you can find cheese food, instead of natural cheese; wonder bread, instead of real bread; corn syrup instead of sugar; and vegetarian meat substitute instead of real meat.

In the personal care aisle, you can find sunscreen with cancer causing chemicals, body wash with lubricants, cold remedies which cure nothing, and vitamins with daily dosages at toxic levels.

I could go on about almost every other aspect of life, from political parties which claim to be nationalistic, run by Jews, and home construction companies selling houses which will fall apart within 5 years, or appliance companies making dishwashers which self destruct.

And in the Catholic Church we have been given in Vatican II the fake varieties of nearly everything, from the priesthood which is dedicated to social justice, rather than the salvation of souls; religious nuns and monks who are concerned more with action than prayer and personal santification; a Mass which is about entertainment, rather than the worship of God, etc..

False Militancy in the Church

But the push to turn the Catholic Church into a globalist control and recruitment NGO is chiefly advancing because Catholics are beset on all sides with fake offers of militancy.

I say “fake offers” of “militancy”, because as the Church Militant our chief duty is to hear the Holy Spirit and take up arms, sometimes even physical ones, against the opponents of God, Divine Revelation and Sacred Tradition.

But an offer of fake militancy neutralizes this work of the Holy Spirit by convincing Catholics that the tried and true work of Catholic Saints preaching against sin, rebuking errant clergy, and calling for the deposition of heretics, schismatics and the perverse, while sometimes even supporting and participating in Crusades, is wrong, evil, out of date or inappropriate.

On top of that, the forms of militancy which we are urged to embrace are actually designed to take us out of the fight and let the enemies of Christ take control of the battle field.

Among these false forms are Sedevacantism, Sedeprivationism and Traditionalism.

Sedevacantism, a concept developed by a pedophile, is the assertion that after Pius XII or any other given pope, there can never be another valid pope simply because I say so. Sedevacantists use the protestant error of private judgement along with the masonic journalistic error of misquoting your alleged opponent, to convince Catholics to despair that Christ wills the restoration of His Church and will give victory to those who enter the battlefield.

Instead, Sedevacantists push a gospel of despair while satisfying themselves with a spirituality of Jansenists, who thought that their select few were the only righteous persons to be saved.

Sedevacantists spend all their time, accordingly, trying to convince good Catholics to give up the fight, by calling this or that Pope or cleric a heretic, instead of trying to remove from office the cleric they attack.

The other kind of false militancy is Sedeprivationism, where it is claimed that because the Pope(s) has (have) erred or veered from the right path, while he (they) remain(s) in office, there is nothing other Catholics can do but ignore him (them) and found their own churches.

This kind of false militancy attempts to convince Catholics to give up the effort to liberate the Church from ecclesiastical criminals and to simple settle back at be satisfied with their own private chapels.

The most common form of classical sedeprivationism is Cassicianism, which holds or held that Paul VI veered so much from the Faith, that while remaining Pope, he no longer could morally oblige any Catholic by his decrees.

Those who recognized that Pope Benedict XVI was pope until death but refused to seek that he have a successor are also involved in a false militancy, which has dedicated them to seeking a pope in Don Minutella or in making useless petitions to the Cardinals who have no authority to act (Cioncism).

But the most common form of false militancy today is the Traditionalist movement which aims only at having the perfect Latin Mass Chapel, either independent from the local Bishop or under him, as if having the perfect liturgy celebrated by pacifists is going to win this war. In each case, having the chapel and traditional Latin Mass is put at the top of the list, and everything, even fighting corruption in the Church or in the group which says the TLM is sacrificed for that.

True Catholic Militancy

As readers of FromRome.info know, I am always advocating militancy, but of the true kind.

Love for Christ, when it is true, will always lead to the love of the salvation of souls and hence for love of the Catholic Faith, Religion and Church. Such love will always include the desire to remove criminals from the clergy, correct errors in practice and denounce heresies and apostasy, while opposing sacrilege, simony and blasphemy.

True love of Christ requires that we actually rebuke those who are guilty and not be satisfied to talk about their sins in public or private.

True love of Christ is founded also upon an unshakeable trust in Christ that He will always be at one’s back if one fights to purify and protect His Church, His faithful and His teachings.

Thus true militancy is the consequence of a soul on fire with the Holy Spirit, inspired to do something constructive to solve a problem in the Church and in a canonical that is lawful manner. It aims not at acquiring some advantage for myself but for the whole people of God. It employs one’s own personal reputation, resources, talents, time and effort, and it crusades with the zeal of charity and truth, never separating.

True Militancy follows the examples of the Saints of old, putting prayer in the first place, personal integrity of life in the second, and specific goals for reconstructing what has always been on the agenda of the Holy Spirit.

This is why true Militancy today requires a different approach than sedevacantism or sedeprivationism.

And the approach is not pretending that there is no problem with Fiducia supplicans.

  • Nor is it pretending that it is tolerable that some priests comply with that Declaration and others do not.
  • Nor is it in pretending that whatever my priest does in private does not concern me.
  • Nor is it satisfied in only having some voices speak against it now and then forgetting about it tomorrow.
  • Nor does it consist in grifting on the issue today and moving on to grifting on another issue tomorrow.
  • And it certainly DOES NOT consist in listening to grifters for entertainment today and forgetting about the controversy tomorrow, as the grifter moves on to something else.

Rather, it recognizes that Fiducia supplicans must be withdrawn and entirely repudiated by everyone in the Church, beginning with the Pope. And in demanding everyone who has endorsed it, to repent. And if they fail to repent, in removing them from office in the Church.

This true Catholic Militancy is not for the self-centered Catholic. The warriors in this crusade need to be those who never lay down their arms until victory is won. They also have to be true lovers of Christ who fight for the whole Mystical Body and not just to conquer back their neighborhoods.

We must recognize that this horrendous sin of endorsing Fiducia supplicans puts the Apostolic See and every diocese, where its bishop endorsed it, into an impeded state. We must stop funding all their projects and insisting that until they repent they have lost all moral authority to rule over us, being as they are enemies and rebels against God, and we must urge the clergy who remain Catholic to publicly rebuke them for their public sin.

We should form a committee in our diocese, if our Bishop is guilty of such a sin, to see this done, and recruit militant Catholics to participate. And we must constantly emphasize and demonstrate the wickedness concealed in this horrendous document.

Let us pray to the Holy Spirit that He might raise up a generation of Catholics who truly love God and His Church, who truly care for the salvation of all and who are awake enough to avoid the fake forms of militancy which are offered to us to control and neutralize any effort to fight against the enemies of God.

Here at FromRome.info we sponsor the Sutri Movement, which is the effort to get Pope Francis removed from office using the Canonical Means of a Provincial Council. — In addition, I explain to Bishops and clergy that their best canonical position for resisting Fiducia supplicans is in recognizing and publicly declaring the Apostolic See impeded by the horrendous betrayal of Pope Francis of the Gospel. — These two efforts require work and self-sacrifice. They also commit you to true militancy, because they aim at solving the problem for everyone, not simply lamenting it.

For those who want to seek the repentance of their own clergy and Bishop who support Fiducia  supplicans, FromRome.info will be publishing this week a free pamphlet in English, and then in other languages, explaining the horrible evil of the document. This pamphlet will be offered in PDF format so that you can, without charge, have it printed locally in the thousands and get your friends and fellow Catholics to distribute it in your Diocese. The purpose of this pamphlet will be to raise up an army of Catholics who militate for the repentance of your local clergy and the repudiation of this Declaration.