Talk:Sedevacantism

Counter-sedevacantist arguments
Nobody "forgets" that there is a period of sede vacante between the death of a pontiff and the election of the new one. But such a period is not part of the ordinary constitution of the Church. The longest sede vacante was three years in length, and was protracted as it was simply because the Cardinals could not decide on a single Pontiff. Iceberg3k 03:11, 26 June 2005 (UTC)

Bp. Mendez and sedevacantism
Hello. I am disputing that Bp. Alfredo Méndez-Gonzalez was a sedevacantist as is claimed in the page.

1. There is no evidence that he was a sedevacantist.

2. Although he consecrated the sedevacantist Fr. Clarence Kelly, Bp. Kelly, defending Bp. Mendez, in response to the then-Fr. Donald Sanborn, admits that Bp. Mendez probably may not have been a sedevacantist. He writes:

"If Bishop Mendez considered John Paul II to be a valid pope, he increasingly came to regard him as a bad pope. If he used his name in the Canon of the Mass, it was not to stay in the good graces of his superiors or to keep a position of importance, as was the case with Fr. Sanborn. Bishop Mendez did it because he thought it was the right thing to do. He did not do it out of expediency. Fr. Sanborn should realize by now that Catholics who do not agree with his position on the status of John Paul II, whatever that position might be at any given moment, are still Catholics if they have the true Faith. It is simply wrong to elevate one's opinion on the subject to the level of unchangeable dogmatic truth." (Bp. Kelly. "The Sacred and the Profane". 1997.)

3. As stated, this was in response to the then-Fr. Sanborn who wrote:

"He [Bp. Kelly] consents, however, to be consecrated by a bishop [Bp. Mendez] who is in open communion with the Novus Ordo, which Fr. Kelly has repeatedly called a non-catholic sect." (Fr. Sanborn. "Letter to the Catholic People". April 1995.)

Both sides then do not claim that Bp. Mendez was a sedevacantist, though it would have been beneficial to Bp. Kelly, who personally knew well and was consecrated by Bp. Mendez, if Bp. Kelly claimed that Bp. Mendez was a sedevacantist if he knew it to be true. King Pius (talk) 02:50, 16 September 2021 (UTC)
 * if no RS states what Mendez's religion was, then it is better not to say anything anout his religion. Veverve (talk) 04:44, 16 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes. King Pius (talk) 07:45, 16 September 2021 (UTC)

Ambiguity
The view of sedevacantists is ambiguously described in the first sentence of the article: "the present occupier of the Holy See is not a valid pope due to the mainstream Catholic church's alleged espousal of modernism and that, for lack of a valid pope, the See of Rome is vacant." This could mean "the main body of believers is modernist, so the Pope, a traditionalist, lacks authority", or "the main body of believers and the Pope they've appointed are modernists who've abandoned the true faith, so he cannot claim to be a true Catholic."

Ok, reading further into the article, I realise the latter meaning is intended. But it would be good to have it made clear in the lead. Maproom (talk) 08:12, 10 January 2022 (UTC)


 * 90% of people only read the lead (or something like that) so if it isn't clear just in the lead I support improving the phrasing. Santacruz  &#8258;  Please ping me!  08:16, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
 * I have tried to improve the lede. Veverve (talk) 14:29, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
 * I would re-add "alleged" (or other alternatives), as it is important to point out that it is in the sedevacantist's opinion that the current Pope espouses heresies. Removing the alleged makes it be said in wiki-voice. A. C. Santacruz &#8258; Please ping me! 14:33, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
 * I thought about it, but it is redundant with the "which holds that" which clearly states it is the position's opinion. Veverve (talk) 14:51, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
 * That's fair enough, . In any case, if it becomes an issue I guess we'll hear about it in the talk page sooner or later :P. For now this works. Thanks for making the edits ^u^ A. C. Santacruz &#8258; Please ping me! 15:06, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

"Catholic Resistance" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Catholic Resistance and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 August 7 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Veverve (talk) 22:00, 7 August 2022 (UTC)

Conspiracy Theory
The first sentence would be more clear if it expressed that Sedevacantists believe the doctrinal offices of the church have been subverted to spread heresy. My proposed edit would read "Sedevacantism is a Conspiracy Theory which holds that there has been no Pope since the Second Vatican Council. Theories vary if Pius XII or John XXIII was the last Pope, but Sedevacantists agree that the Pope loses his office by expressing heresy." "Conspiracy Theory" is the best term I can think of but maybe someone has a better idea. Thoughts? JacobMaximilian (talk) 16:18, 13 January 2023 (UTC)


 * I oppose.
 * What reliable sources describe Sedevacantism as such? Otherwise, it is OR and therefore unacceptable. We can only describe something the way other reliable source describe it.
 * How is it a conspiracy theory and not simply a form of Restorationism, or of conservative split (like the Old Catholics)?
 * Veverve (talk) 16:32, 13 January 2023 (UTC)
 * I must oppose.
 * I do not believe this fits the definition of conspiracy theory, but instead is best described as a doctrinal position, as the current article states. While many groups adhering to sedevacantism may also hold conspiracy theories regarding how this situation came to be, the two are fundamentally separate, as I hope the two following examples will show. The Siri Thesis, held by some sedevacantists, states that Giuseppe Siri was in fact elected Pope and was suppressed by hostile forces, and that this is why the See is vacant today. Starkly different is the Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church which did recognize Benedict XVI and all those before him, only to declare Benedict excommunicated in 2011 and only then declare a state of sedevacantism. Both of these are clearly sedevacantist in nature, yet have differing conspiracy theories to explain how and when the state of sedevacantism occurred. Count Cherokee (talk) 02:51, 18 January 2023 (UTC)

Schismatic character and other disputed terms
Veverve, how is the movement not schismatic? It is for all intents and purposes separated from the main body of the currently existing Catholic Church with the seat in Rome. The fact that it denies that this church is a legitimate Catholic Church does not make the problem go away - compare the Arsenite Schism.

The phrase "alleged occupiers" needs to be changed to "occupiers" because this is a factual issue, not one of recognition. The current Pope does sit in Rome, whether he is perceived as legitimate or not.

I also do not see any reason for removing the reference in the intro to the Second Vatican Council since it is its doctrine that is being repudiated - it is central to the existence of the movement and needs to be mentioned from the outset.

Finally, since you have written that the sources "absolutely" do not say what I have added to the article, here are two relevant leads for you to consider verifying: (By the way, both chapters ought to be cited appropriately, not by volume but by contribution, which I had overlooked to correct.) Is your disagreement with me that sedevacantists need an unbroken connection to the pre-1958 hierarchy, or that they need any pope at all (which I am not saying except for the fact that it makes things more difficult), or that it poses a difficulty? And is it with my characterisation of Thuc as an exceptionally staunch anti-Communist, or with making him the single most important figure of origin for episcopal continuity?
 * (1) "Closely aligned with the sedevacantist issue is the question of episcopal succession. This concern highlights the problem of legitimation faced by traditionalist Catholics..." (Dinges, ""We Are What You Were"", in Being Right, 257) (to any thinking person this is an immediate question - where does authority come from in the movement? who are its leading figures?);
 * (2) "Principal among this [i.e. the entire] sedevacantist segment are priests ordained bishops by the former Vietnamese archbishop Pierre Martin Ngo-Dinh-Thuc" (Dinges, "Roman Catholic Traditionalism", in Fundamentalisms Observed, 88).

Please let me know any objections - if I don't hear back from you I shall go with your version of the introductory definition with the three corrections as above, and restore the deleted sections on succession and archbishop Thuc.

VampaVampa (talk) 09:28, 2 December 2023 (UTC)


 * Your first paragraph is OR, I have nothing else to say, WP:BURDEN.
 * The phrase "alleged occupiers" needs to be changed to "occupiers" because this is a factual issue, not one of recognition: it is a theological issue so "alleged occupiers" is better.
 * A mention of Vatican II, like anything, needs sources.
 * here are two relevant leads for you to consider verifying: what you wrote on the WP article is absolutely not what you have quoted there.
 * Is your disagreement with me that [...]: my issue is using reliable sources and faithfully stating what they say on a WP article.
 * Veverve (talk) 11:10, 2 December 2023 (UTC)
 * @Veverve, kindly be specific. I have no clue what you are disputing and will not keep guessing. If "alleged occupiers" is a specialised theological term then please provide a source to illustrate to a mere mortal. Vatican II does not need a source - that is already there at the start of the next section ("Origins"). The purpose of the intro is to cover the defining issues. VampaVampa (talk) 14:12, 2 December 2023 (UTC)
 * kindly be specific. I have no clue what you are disputing and will not keep guessing: on what do you require more details?
 * alleged occupiers" is a specialised theological term: it is not a specialised term.
 * Vatican II does not need a source - that is already there at the start of the next section ("Origins"): I agree on that and I have added the information to the lede.
 * Veverve (talk) 14:51, 2 December 2023 (UTC)
 * I would require more details if there is no schism, if the principal source of the continuity of episcopal succession is not Thuc, and if his politics is not relevant to the movement.
 * With regard to "alleged occupiers" my issue is that it is used in Wikipedia's voice. If you look at the sentence, it presents "alleged occupiers" as a neutral descriptor, whereas it is rather part of the sedevacantist position and needs to be reported as such. Theology may not be politics, but PRC and ROC not recognising each other seems a decent analogy. Which is why from a neutral point of view it is a schism, a splitting into two incompatible parts of which each repudiates the other, which nonetheless affects them both. VampaVampa (talk) 15:32, 2 December 2023 (UTC)
 * I would require more details if there is no schism, if the principal source of the continuity of episcopal succession is not Thuc, and if his politics is not relevant to the movement: again, this is but your own reflexion and criteria. Whatever you claim must be supported by a reliable source, not by your original research.
 * it presents "alleged occupiers" as a neutral descriptor, whereas it is rather part of the sedevacantist position and needs to be reported as such: I get what you mean. However, the issue is already difficult to explain to the common reader with this wording. Do you have a better wording that would not confuse the common reader?
 * Veverve (talk) 16:29, 2 December 2023 (UTC)
 * The current definition unnecessarily repeats the terms "Holy See/See of Rome" and "valid pope". My proposal would be:
 * Sedevacantism is a traditionalist Catholic movement which holds that the Holy See has been vacant since the death of Pope Pius XII due to the espousal of one or more heresies by his alleged successors in Rome.
 * With regard to Thuc, I will hold off on this until I have verified the lineages of sedevacantism, but I insist that the principal figures of the movement should be named in the introductory section. VampaVampa (talk) 17:36, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Your definition proposal is more confusing than the current one (Vatican City is not the Holy See and even less the Italian city of Rome). Sometimes, it is better to add redundancy than to be unclear. Veverve (talk) 19:53, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Perhaps some nuance eludes me but Rome is the metonymy of the Holy See for all I know, and Vatican, while sovereign, is just an enclave within Rome. Then I propose (as I originally intended):
 * Sedevacantism is a traditionalist Catholic movement which holds that the Holy See has been vacant since the death of Pope Pius XII due to the espousal of one or more heresies by his alleged successors
 * You do realise that to say "the alleged occupiers of the Holy See are not valid popes" is logically circular? If they are alleged (and your understanding of "alleged" amounts to "not valid"), then that is the same as not being valid. You only make the redundancy worse by saying that the seat is vacant because, well, the occupiers are only alleged. There is no real explanation happening there, just beating of the drum. VampaVampa (talk) 02:07, 5 December 2023 (UTC)
 * You do realise that to say "the alleged occupiers of the Holy See are not valid popes" is logically circular?: yes, but I hold that it is better to be redundant than to risk a miscomprehension. Veverve (talk) 08:57, 16 December 2023 (UTC)
 * You do realise that to say "the alleged occupiers of the Holy See are not valid popes" is logically circular?: yes, but I hold that it is better to be redundant than to risk a miscomprehension. Veverve (talk) 08:57, 16 December 2023 (UTC)