Joaquín Sáenz y Arriaga (12 October 1899 – 28 April 1976) was a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

from 1916 to 1952 he was later a harsh critic of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

decisions and of the post-conciliar

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. In 1972, he was declared

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

by the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

bishops' conference of Mexico. He is considered to be one of the first promoters of

sedevacantism Sedevacantism ( la, Sedevacantismus) 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 pope's espousal of one or more heresies and that therefore, for ...

Biography

Joaquín Sáenz y Arriaga was born on 12 October 1899 in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. As a young man, he was brought up in the spirit of the

Cristero The Cristero War ( es, Guerra Cristera), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or es, La Cristiada, label=none, italics=no , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 1 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementa ...

movement,

Miguel Pro José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez, also known as Blessed Miguel Pro, SJ (January 13, 1891 – November 23, 1927) was a Mexican Jesuit priest executed under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles on the false charges of bombing and att ...

, and other Catholics who fought against the government of Mexico in the 1920s. Sáenz placed great emphasis on the Catholic doctrine of the Kingship of Christ.

Traditionalism and sedevacantism

When the reforms of the

began to be implemented in Mexico and

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, it was Sáenz who led the fight against them. His uncompromising

traditionalism Traditionalism is the adherence to traditional beliefs or practices. It may also refer to: Religion * Traditional religion, a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group * Traditionalism (19th-century Catholicism), a 19th–cen ...

led to a rejection of the new Conciliar Church, and he was among the first to propound the theological conclusion of

, which maintains that, since the death of

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

, there has been a state of

sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...

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because the following so-called

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

s espoused the

heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

teachings of the sham

. He later incorporated these ideas in his books ''La nueva iglesia montiniana'' (The new Montinian Church) (1971), and ''Sede Vacante: Paulo VI no es Papa legítimo'' (Sede Vacante: Paul VI is not a legitimate Pope) (1973). In these books, he stated that

Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

had forfeited his papal authority through public, pertinacious and manifest heresy, a position which he had reportedly held for some time. He was a catalyzing influence on lay and clerical Catholic traditionalists who opposed the Second Vatican Council in Mexico and North America, persuading them to defend and maintain the "True Faith", and setting up independent chapels and churches.

Excommunication

In reaction to his activities, the Mexican

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Miguel Darío Miranda y Gómez Miguel Darío Miranda y Gómez (December 19, 1895 – March 15, 1986) was a Mexican Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Mexico City from 1956 to 1977, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969. Biography Miguel M ...

officially declared that Sáenz had incurred

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

. In response, Father

Moisés Carmona Moisés Carmona Rivera (31 October 1912 – ?) was a sedevacantist traditionalist Catholic bishop from Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, who propagated sedevacantism in Mexico. He was one of the bishops consecrated by the Vietnamese sedevac ...

, Sáenz' associate and disciple wrote:

''Unión Católica Trento''

In the 1970s, Sáenz, together with Carmona and Father Adolfo Zamora, founded the '' Unión Católica Trento'' (''Tridentine Catholic Union''), during which time he also advised American Catholic traditionalists to form their own organizations, which resulted in Father Francis E. Fenton's founding of the

Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement The Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement (ORCM) is a Traditionalist Catholic group of priests founded by Robert McKenna and Francis E. Fenton, acting on the suggestions of Joaquín Sáenz y Arriaga and was the U.S. organization parallel to the Mexican ...

, the

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parallel of the ''Unión Católica Trento''.

Death

In his last testament, written on 25 April 1976, Sáenz wrote: and he added: He died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

, three days after, on 28 April 1976.Rius Facius, Antonio (1980). ''¡Excomulgado!'' 'Excommunicated!'' - trajectory and thought of presbyter Dr. Joaquín Sáenz Arriaga México: Costa Amic Editores (endnotes are taken from the 1983 edition), pp. 180-89.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saenz Arriaga, Joaquin 1899 births 1976 deaths Anti-Protestantism Sedevacantists Former Jesuits People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Mexican anti-communists Mexican Jesuits Mexican traditionalist Catholics Dissident Roman Catholic theologians Deaths from prostate cancer Deaths from cancer in Mexico 20th-century Mexican Roman Catholic priests