Sedeprivationism is a doctrinal position within
Traditionalist Catholicism
Traditionalist Catholicism is the set of beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, Christian liturgy, liturgical forms, Catholic devotions, devotions, and presentations of Catholic Church, Catholic teaching that existed in the Catholic Church befo ...
which holds that the current occupant of the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
is a duly-elected
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 ...
, but lacks the authority and ability to teach or to govern unless he recants the changes brought by 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) ...
. The doctrine asserts that since this council, occupants of the See of Peter are popes ''materialiter sed non formaliter'', that is "
materially but not formally". As such, sedeprivationists teach that
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
,
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 ...
,
Pope John Paul I
Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...
,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
, and
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
have not attained fullness of the papacy.
Sedeprivationism is held by some traditionalist Catholic groups such as the
Istituto Mater Boni Consilii
The Institute of the Mother of Good Counsel ( la, Istituto Mater Boni Consilii; IMBC) is a sedeprivationist traditionalist Catholic religious congregation based in Italy.
Adhering to the Thesis of Cassiciacum of the French theologian Bishop Mich ...
and
Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement, among others. The doctrine of Sedeprivationism traces its origin to the Thesis of Cassiciacum of the
Dominican Catholic theologian
Michel-Louis Guérard des Lauriers
Michel-Louis Guérard des Lauriers (25 October 1898 – 27 February 1988) was a French Dominican theologian and, later in life, a traditionalist Catholic bishop who supported sedevacantism and sedeprivationism and was excommunicated by the Hol ...
.
Etymology
The etymology of the term sedeprivationist "means that there is a privation in the occupant of the chair of Saint Peter, i.e. something lacking."
"Sedeprivationism" is composed of "''
sede
Sede may refer to:
People
* Gérard de Sède
* Marc Dion Sédé (born 1987), Ivorian football player
Places
* Sede, Ethiopia
* Sede, district of Santa Maria
Sede ("Seat") is a district of the municipality of Santa Maria, in the Brazilian stat ...
''" ("see" in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
) and "privationism" (Latin "''
privatio''", meaning "privation", and the
suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...
"ism").
American sedeprivationist Bishop
Donald Sanborn
Donald J. Sanborn (born February 19, 1950) is an American sedevacantist bishop, known for his advocacy of sedevacantism and sedeprivationism.
Most Holy Trinity Seminary
In 1995, Sanborn founded the sedevacantist Most Holy Trinity Seminary i ...
, however, disagrees with the use of the name, calling it "a completely dumb name".
[ He explained in 2009 that:
]
History
The doctrine of sedeprivationism, was formulated by the French Dominican theologian Michel-Louis Guérard des Lauriers
Michel-Louis Guérard des Lauriers (25 October 1898 – 27 February 1988) was a French Dominican theologian and, later in life, a traditionalist Catholic bishop who supported sedevacantism and sedeprivationism and was excommunicated by the Hol ...
(1898-1988). His thesis is known as the Thesis of Cassiciacum, because it was first published in the magazine ''Cahiers de Cassiciacum'' (Cassiciacum's papers), in the first issue of the magazine, in 1979. He was excommunicated in 1983.
The thesis states that John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
, like predecessors who came after John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
, was Pope only materially and not formally, and so was the valid electee of the October 1978 conclave. Although he never became Pope, he equally has never forfeited his claim on the papacy
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 ...
.
Thesis of Cassiciacum
The Thesis of Cassiciacum, which asserts the position of sedeprivationism, states that the See of Peter
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rom ...
is not obtained and must conform with one of two prescribed requirements of a legitimate papal election by the popes:
# The pope must be elected legitimately by valid designated electors. That aspect designates the papal candidate as '' materially'' elected and designated candidate to the office of pope.
# The newly chosen pope-elect must express his acceptance and that on giving his assent he receives from Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
the ''form
Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens.
Form also refers to:
*Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data
...
'' of the papacy: the indefectible power or authority promised to Saint Peter
Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...
and his successors by which the elected candidate ''formally'' becomes pope and actually takes hold of the office of the papacy.
The Thesis of Cassiciacum, as held by the Istituto Mater Boni Consilii
The Institute of the Mother of Good Counsel ( la, Istituto Mater Boni Consilii; IMBC) is a sedeprivationist traditionalist Catholic religious congregation based in Italy.
Adhering to the Thesis of Cassiciacum of the French theologian Bishop Mich ...
and others, contends that both aspects are required and that if any candidate fails either one, he would not be elected to the office of pope. The Catholics adhering to the thesis hold that all claimants of the papal office from at least 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 ...
to Francis
Francis may refer to:
People
*Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome
*Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Francis (surname)
Places
* Rural M ...
are invalid and do not hold the papal office except by right of designation because of a failure to receive the ''form'' of the papacy (i.e. the authority) because his ''acceptance'' is impeded by a defective intention arising from their manifest disposition of apostasy.
According to des Lauriers's thesis, 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 ...
, John Paul I
Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...
, John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
, and possibly John XXIII, were or are defective popes because of their alleged espousal of modernism
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
, which des Lauriers considers to be heresy
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 ...
. Thus, their consent to become pope was faulty or defective and so they were legally designated to be pope yet became deprived of attaining full succession to the authority of Peter. Des Lauriers's thesis holds that the Vatican II popes succeed as legal designees to the papacy and continue the line of Saint Peter materially, which means that the Vatican II popes are legitimate designees to be true popes but not formally. As such, they lack jurisdictional authority because of the obstacle that they posit to the reception of the authority. They are not the authority, true popes or true bishops, but they are legally in the position to ''become'' true popes and bishops if they remove the obstacle to the reception of the authority of the office. It is implicit that Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
and Francis
Francis may refer to:
People
*Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome
*Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Francis (surname)
Places
* Rural M ...
would have received the same judgement from des Lauriers.
In explaining the position of sedeprivationism, sedevacantist bishop Donald Sanborn
Donald J. Sanborn (born February 19, 1950) is an American sedevacantist bishop, known for his advocacy of sedevacantism and sedeprivationism.
Most Holy Trinity Seminary
In 1995, Sanborn founded the sedevacantist Most Holy Trinity Seminary i ...
writes:
Because the power of designation to office pertains to the purely legal and material side of authority, the Novus Ordites possess the power to legitimately designate to positions of power, until such time as this power is legally removed from them.
As a result, there is a material hierarchy in place, i.e., someone legally nominated to be a pope, and others legally nominated to be bishops, and others legally nominated to be electors of popes, but none of these has any jurisdiction, and obedience is owed to none of them. Because they lack the authority, which is the form which makes them to be what they are, Ratzinger is a false pope and the bishops are false bishops. The cardinals are true electors, to the extent that they are legally nominated to be designators of the pope. But their role pertains to the material order of authority, the order of designation only.
Summary
In summary:
#There is no real ''sede vacante'' state in the Catholic Church since a man fills the role of potential
Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. The term is used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways ranging from the simple re ...
pope.
#If the current potential pope recants from modernism
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
and returns to Catholicism, he will complete the process and attain to the fullness of the papacy, all else being equal.
Differences with sedevacantism
Sedeprivationism argues that since 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) ...
, the elected popes are materially popes, though they have not attained the fullness of that office due to what sedeprivationists perceive as them holding the heresy
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 ...
of Modernism
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
. This is contrasted with the position 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 ...
, which asserts a vacancy in the papal office; the term ''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 ...
'' means "empty chair" in reference to the See of Saint Peter.
See also
* Independent Catholicism
Independent Catholicism is an independent sacramental movement of clergy and laity who self-identify as Catholic (most often as Old Catholic or as Independent Catholic) and form "micro-churches claiming apostolic succession and valid sacramen ...
Notes
References
{{Traditionalist Catholicism
Traditionalist Catholicism
Catholic terminology