What is Sedevacantism?

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Sedevacantism comes from the Latin sede vacante, meaning "empty (vacante) chair (chair)", meaning there is no occupant of the Chair of Peter.

Fr. Hardon, S.J., Catholic Dictionary definition:

SEDE VACANTE

The period during which an episcopal see or diocese is vacant, that is, without a bishop. Generally applied to the See of Rome. Procedures during this time follow the norms set down by Pope Paul VI in the apostolic constitution Romano Pontifici Eligendo (1975), superseding the directives of Pope Pius XII (1945), and Pope John XXIII (1962).

When a pope dies and the Chair of Peter is vacant. A sede vacante is like the term "interregnum". The Vatican flag during a time of sede vacante lacks the papal tiara:

sede vacante Vatican flag

Sedevacantists today are generally those who think there has been no valid pope after Pope Pius Pius XII. Mario Derksen, author of NovusOrdoWatch.org, is one such contemporary sedevacantist; cf. his post "Sedevacantism: The Vacancy of the Papal Throne since the Death of Pope Pius XII".

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What is Sedevacantism?

Sedevacantism is the belief that the Roman Catholic Church currently lacks a valid Pope. It implies that whoever currently holds the office does so in name only.

The term Sede Vacante used by Sedevacantists differs from the term Interregnum:

Sedevacantism is the claim, espoused by certain extreme traditionalist Catholics, that there is currently no valid pope because of a great apostasy by either the pope or the whole Church.

A Papal interregnum occurs upon the death or resignation of the Catholic Church's Pope, though this is generally known as a sede vacante (literally "when the seat is vacant"). The interregnum ends immediately upon election of a new Pope by the College of Cardinals.

Sedevacantism is a doctrinal position within traditionalist Catholicism which holds that 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.

The term sedevacantism is derived from the Latin phrase sede vacante, which means "with the chair [i.e. of the Bishop of Rome] being vacant". The phrase is commonly used to refer specifically to a vacancy of the Holy See from the death, the resignation, the falling into insanity, or the public heresy of a pope to the election of his successor.

Among those who maintain that the see of Rome, occupied by what they declare to be an illegitimate pope, was really vacant, some have chosen an alternative pope of their own, and thus in their view ended the vacancy of the see, and are known sometimes as conclavists.

The number of sedevacantists is largely unknown; some estimates range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.

Origin

Sedevacantism owes its origins to the rejection of the theological and disciplinary changes implemented following the Second Vatican Council (1962–65). Sedevacantists reject this Council, on the basis of their interpretation of its documents on ecumenism and religious liberty, among others, which they see as contradicting the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church and as denying the unique mission of Catholicism as the one true religion, outside of which there is no salvation. They also say that new disciplinary norms, such as the Mass of Paul VI, promulgated on 3 April 1969, undermine or conflict with the historical Catholic faith and are deemed blasphemous, while post-Vatican II teachings, particularly those related to ecumenism, are labelled heresies. They conclude, on the basis of their rejection of the revised Mass rite and of postconciliar Church teaching as false, that the popes involved are also false. Among even traditionalist Catholics, this is a quite divisive question.

Traditionalist Catholics other than sedevacantists recognize as legitimate the line of popes leading to and including Pope Francis. Sedevacantists, however, claim that the infallible Magisterium of the Catholic Church could not have decreed the changes made in the name of the Second Vatican Council, and conclude that those who issued these changes could not have been acting with the authority of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, they hold that Pope John XXIII and his successors left the true Catholic Church and thus lost legitimate authority in the Church. A formal heretic, they say, cannot be the Catholic pope.

The arms of the Holy See sede vacante, used by the Holy See from a Pope's death to the election of his successor.

The arms of the Holy See sede vacante, used by the Holy See from a Pope's death to the election of his successor.

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