Whither Benepapism?
Benedict clearly declared he “renounced the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter.” No qualification of an “active ministry” here.
Benedict clearly declared he “renounced the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter.” No qualification of an “active ministry” here.
In a hilarious twist of God's Providence, a fringe group makes itself, reluctantly, mainstream.
You may not have realized it, but a new “Pope” will be elected this coming Monday, the 30th of January. Why do I put it in quotes? For two good reasons. The first is that you cannot elect a new Pope if there is one still alive; the second is that this whole story, more…
Sedevacantism: from Latin sedes, “seat, bench, throne,” and the verb vacare, “to be empty.” As a legal term denoting a temporary episcopal vacancy, sede vacante is unimpeachable. My objections begin with the addition of the notoriously modern suffix “-ism,” with all its implications of continuance and ideological coherence. Human societies, from the most primitive tribes…
The New Rite of Episcopal Consecration Valid, albeit deficient and problematic In fall 2005, Rev. Fr. Pierre Marie of the SSPX, a traditional Dominican Priest in Avrille, France, published a detailed and excellent study (which is now online here) in Sel de la Terre documenting that the New Rite of Episcopal Consecration (in use in the Latin…
Recently, I listened to a podcast from last summer by my friend and colleague, Trent Horn, titled, “Exposing Fr. Martin’s Slippery Tactics.” As usual, Trent was lucid, compelling, and impeccably intellectually honest and fair. Decrying those who assume the motives, intentions, and “real” beliefs of Fr. Martin, Trent asks a rhetorical question and issues a…
It appears that the prologue to my series on sedevacantism caused quite a stir, rankling and even riling up a boatload of belligerent BadTrads. A bunch of sour grapes if you ask me, and they failed on multiple fronts, not least of which was their fantastical lack of foresight – not to mention their apparent…
In our first essay we discussed some of the horrors of the three pornocracies of the Church, and suggested the term “Third Pornocracy” to be an accurate historical description of our own epoch. It is helpful, I believe, because the term truly describes the reality of how bad the corruption is, but it also reminds…
Pornocracy. The term was coined to refer to the period that Cardinal Baronius called “the dark age” (saeculum obscurum): the tenth century Papacy. Protestants attempted to use this term to discredit the Church as entirely corrupt, but they failed to realize that the Holy Ghost had used the same accusation against the Church of the…
If Monsignor Ronald Knox is correct, as I contend he is, then, “there is a recurrent situation in Church history—using the word ‘church’ in the widest sense—where an excess of charity threatens unity.” It’s the classic double-edged sword of otherwise good folks taking an otherwise pious proposition or practice a tad too far. To his…
I’m rather fond of one of my brother’s expressions. In reference to a snack I once offered him, it went something like this: “That’s not salsa, it’s tomato paste, lying about being salsa.” In his book, “12 Rules for Life,” Jordan Peterson makes a valid point: you can never go wrong by telling the truth.…