October 9th, 2012 – an Oppressing Anniversary
By Peter A. X. Armbruster
Translation: Elisabeth Meurer
In the early morning hours of October 9th, 1958, His Holiness Pope Pius XII died, by now the last Pope of the catholic church. Since then, for about 54 years now, the state of sedevacancy has been going on, a wound slowly leading to death: the devastation of the church, ist unhindered demolition, flight, retirement and decline. Whether the reoccupation of the papacy is required for the church and whether therefore sedevacancy would have to be remedied, this question is easy to be answered.
1. The church of the II. Vatican Council is different from the ‚pre-conciliar‘ catholic church in doctrine, cult and practice. Therefore, by the terms ‚pre-‚ and ‚post-`conciliar catholic thurch not only so to speak different aggregate states of the same body ‚Church‘ are indicated, but it is a matter of a break in the identity and in the nature of the church. Therefore the new church is not the up-to-date continuation of the catholic church but its adversary. It has suched the ‚old‘ catholic church from its inside and from its substancy and has (almost) destroyed it. Since then there have been two entities: the modern ‚conciliar church‘, visible in its possessions and in its community and visibly organized in its functions and office-bearers, the ‚old‘ catholic church, however, disorganized because of being without jurisdictional hierarchy and thus without functions, the priests working for it therefore being without (ordinary) ecclesiastical mission (by an ecclesiastical superior), without missio, the faithful scattered in singular groups or in complete isolation. The catholic church is no longer visible, it is visible neither as a community nor as a hierarchically graded organization. It continues to exist in singular priests and faithful somewhere by remainders in the underground. The divine promise says, however, that the church will continue to exist until the end of this world: „…I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it“ (Matthew 16, 18). According to its nature, the church will necessarily not perish before the end of this world. It will neither vanish by itself nor be destroyed from the outside.
2. The complete and intact church consists of the teaching, leading and grace-dispensing church and the listening one: So it includes the functions of shepherds, teachers and priests of the church: the jurisdictional hierarchy. But Christ did not transmit the functions of shepherds, teachers and priests to all disciples: Christ gave the power laid down in the church to the apostles alone and to no one else: „In my first report, dear Theophilus, I am referring to everything Jesus did from the beginning until the day of his assumption into heaven after he had fiven his orderst o his chosen apostles in the Holy Spirit.“ (Acts 1, 1 and 2) And Christ has submitted His church together with the apostles to the office of Peter: Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.“ (Matthew 16, 18) The papal office belongs to the nature of the church: Without continuous papal office there is no regular ecclesiastical power, no regular jurisdiction. According to its constitution given to it by Christ, its founder and head, the church is led on earth by the vicar of Christ, his representative, the bishop of Rome; one shepherd and one flock: By the appointment of a (true) Pope to come the living clerical profession, the living function of shepherds and the function of priests, the jurisdictional hierarchy of the church are already completely re-established. Therefore the church necessarily can and will not be changed perpetually in its nature before the end of this world in the way that it would continue to vegetate in some way, the ecclesiastical hierarchy of functions being finally destroyed, as a torso without head and face and therefore without a leader and a connection, dismembered into single members. Therefore it is not those rejecting papacy and thus the ecclesiastical hierarchy itself or thinking these can be done without who are called sedevancantists, but such people who are adherents of the catholic church and thus adherents of the papacy and the ecclesiastical hierarchy but who, however, do not consider the church of Vatican II to be the catholic church and do not think its popes and ist function bearers to be popes and clergymen of the catholic church. In a pithy way one could express it as follows: Sedevacantists are those who are convinced that at present there is no pope and no ecclesiastical hierarchy at the head of the church and of them a sparts o fit but who – for the sake of the complete and intact church – have not given up hope for the ‚appearance‘ of future popes and thus for the re-establishment of the hierarchy of the church.
3. There is no reason for doing without the restoration of the church because oft he pretended „expiry“ of the world and, along with it, of the Church Militant. Only when the whole gospel, and not only heretical garbles o fit, has been preached to the whole world, and not only to part o fit, to all people, and not only to some of them, this world will come to an end. „All the people THOU created, join, fall down before THEE, Almighty, they give glory to THY name: For THOU art great and workest great miracles: THOU allone art GOD!“ (Psalm 86 (85), 9 and 10); „and this good news of the Kingdom will be announced in the whole world as a testimony to all people, then the end will come.“ (Matthew 24, 14); „At first the message of salvytion has to be announced to all people“ (Marc 13, 10); „Jesus came tot hem, spoke tot hem and said: All power is given to me in heaven and on earth. Therefore go and make disciples of all people and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teach them to observe everything I have ordered to you. And behold, I am with you all days until the end of the world.“ (NT, Matthew 28, 18-20) The portents of the Day of Judgment stated in the Holy Scripture have by no means been completely fulfilled until now – wars, persecution of the church, pandemics or global disasters, the great apostasy or decades of sedevacancy are by no means synonymous with the Day of Judgment. Therefore the end of the world cannot be imminent
4. As God does not usually let any pope rain down from the sky, the continuation of the church also depends on human participation: The teaching as well as the listening church consist of human beings. Therefore, the promise of the survival of the church also includes the strict commandment of maintaining the church, directed to those on whose participation the survival of the church depends as well: Therefore, the members of the Church Militant are, for their part, committed before God to participate at the survival of the Church Militant; they have to elect a pope in case of sedevacancy, and the elected one is committed before God to accept and execute the function unless he is excused. Christ’s promise of the church surviving until the end of the world therefore includes the commandment to immediately elect a vicar of Christ on earth whenever the See of St. Peter is vacant.
5. But how to ‚procure‘ a pope under the present circumstances? – „The election of the pope is merely the business of the cardinals.“ (item 32 of the constitution „Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis“ of December 8th, 1945 promulgated by Pope Pius XII). There are no cardinals among the ‚sedevacantists‘.
6. Could this duty not be fulfilled exceptionally and, so to speak, by way of a loan by cardinals of the church of the II. Vatican Council, with the presumption that those would be willing to? Cardinals, the only persons authorized to elect a pope, are those who have to be appointed by a true pope and thus have obtained this function within the catholic church and have kept it as well. They are there no more, for according to the valid canon law the office bearers of the II. Vatican Church do not bear any office within the catholic church: The motors and supporters of the ‚reforms‘ realized in the II. Vatican church did not obtain any function within the church at all, if they were not baptized or apostates. Otherwise they lost their former functions formerly obtained in the catholic church because of their changing into public heretics or apostates. Ort hey even occupied them in case of unpublished heresy or apostasy without being allowed to or having the right to do so. And those office bearers of the catholic church, who, at that time, were only ‚fellow-travelers‘ of the ‚innovators‘, abandoned the function formerly given to them in the catholic church just because they went into apostasy with the former, thus joining a non-catholic religious community, the church of Vatican II, and going into schism at the same time. For by their publicly joining a non-catholic religious community, which they had executed by adopting all the innovations of the conciliar church, they have abandoned the ecclesiastical function they had formerly taken within the catholic church. They lost their functions in the church by resigning, thus by abandoning them tot he extent to which that conciliar church separated and dissociated from the catholic church: Cardinals belonging to the catholic church as its office bearers are not there. As there is no (true) pope (of the catholic church) who could appoint cardinals (of the catholic church), thus, in the present case of sedevacancy, no cardinals can be procured. But if there are no cardinals, a pope cannot be elected nor be procured: If the hen is lacking at the farm, no eggs will be layed, no eggs will be hatched, there will be noh en at the farm. Thus, the wording of the conclave rules of the church: The election of a pope is merely a matter of the cardinals“ seems, with regards to the unforeseen circumstances, the lack of cardinals, to be opposed to the divine commandment: The constitution of the church requests the immediate election of a pope in case of sedevacancy. However, the decisions of the church about the procedure of the papal election seem to forbid just this election because the authorized delegates, the cardinals, are missing.
7. Is there a solution to this difficult situation? Yes, church law itself shows the way: It makes possible that despite the rule: „The election of the pope is merely a matter of the cardinals“, a pope can also be elected without cardinals: Motivation and purpose of the legislator cannot have been making the occcupation of the vacant See of St. Peter depend on cardinals being there in ordert o thwart the requested election of a vicar of Christ on earth whinever the See of St. Peter is vacant if they are missing, but to prepare a regular procedure of election in case of vacancy of the Papal See with the purpose to clearly fix the persons authorized to election immediately. So the election will not be retarded of thwarted by thus arising previous questions, doubts or moot questions about who should be authorized to elect a pope and who should not. The church legislator, the reigning pope as a vicar of Christ should never have been allowed to finally thwart the election of a pope necessary in case of sedevacancy if there were no cardinals and could thus not have been able to make such a rule. For otherwise he would have had to offend a divine commandment according to which, in case of vacancy of the Papal See, the members of the Church Militant are absolutely committed to occupy the latter again by election: Such an offence of the office-bearer Peter against divine law when decreeing the conclave rule is, however, just impossible according to divine promise: „Whatever thou wilt bind on earth, will also be bound in heaven.“
8. The solution to this problem which is correct within the valid church law is therefore the following: The church law valid for the due election of a pope silently presumes that there are cardinals. In fact, it does not regulate the case which has not been considered beforehand but which is possible and given at present, namely: that there are no (more) cardinals. The valid conclave rules of Pope Pius XII do not consider the unimaginable fact that the function of cardinals and, generally, functions within the community of the faithful are not occupied (any more): The popes as legislators would surely have made provisions to assure the observance of the divine commandment of the absolute participation of the members of the Church Militant in the occupation of the See of St. Peter in case of vacancy if only they had been able to premeditate the monstrosity that a time was to come when there would be no more cardinals but the hierarchy of functions would have vanished completely. The silence of the legislator concerning this situation we have to face now, namely the complete lack of cardinals, does not include a prohibition to elect a pope. The conclave rule „Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis“ does not prevent the election of a pope.
9. Thus the valid church law does not have nor pretend to have any validity so far with regards to the requirement that only cardinals may be the electors for the presently given situation where cardinals are missing. A law valid with the precondition unspoken as being considered as naturally given, namely that there are cardinals, is not valid as far as its precondition – the existence of cardinals – is not given. There is in so far a case which has to be regulated, which is not regulated in the valid church law. So there is a „gap in law“. There are in so far gaps in the valid church law, because it surely does not regulate the case how to proceed in case of sedevacancy if there is a complete lack in cardinals – a case not premeditated by the church legislator. In church law, dealing with a church law issue necessary to be regulated and which is lacking a legal regulation, the procedure of finding of justice in case of a ‚gap in law‘ is regulated, namely in canon 20 CIC: If… a legal determination is missing, then fill in … this gap in law with the help of one oft he following means quoted… b) In such a situation one can also adhere to the general principles of law, but one also needs to consider the canonical equity.“ That the election of a pope has to be executed whenever the See of St. Peter is vacant is a divine commandment (about the continuance of the church until the end of the world). For the church is necessary; as Christ has given his orders to the apostles (only) but has put the church together with the apostles under the office of Peter, the restoration of the function of the pope is also necessary for the restoration of the church whhich is necessary tob e done as soon as possible. Only the necessary cardinals are missing. So to fill in this gap in law concerning the regulation of the necessary election of a pope other persons have to execute the election of a pope if cardinals are missing, in replacement of the cardinals (appointed by a true pope) who are missing and who cannot be furnished in order to fulfill aim and object of the dicisive constitution „Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis“, namely to execute the election of a successor of St. Peter in case of vacancy and thus prevent serious damage to the church which would be caused to the church now being without hierarchy by waiting until the Greek calends.
10. However, the electors must be authorized to the election of a Pope by the valid church law, for Canon 219 CIC defines: „By accepting the validly executed election, the pope obtains the highest and full jurisdictional power by divine right.“ The same is said in Canon 109. P. 3 CIC: „The pope receives the highest jurisdictional power immediately from God, as soon as he has accepted the lawfully executed election. So the election has to be executed ‚validly‘ and ‚lawfully‘. This presupposes that the electors are authorized to elect.
11. Such electors replacing the cardinals not being there can, however, not possess the ordinary official powers principally necessary for this, the jurisdiction. For church law has not comprehended the case of a due election of a pope without the existence of cardinals and has therefore not regulated it. However, Canon 209 CIC defines: A supplement of jurisdiction (the supply, i. e. the replacement of the missing jurisdictional power) in the area of law and in the area of conscience will be executed by the church in the cases which are mentioned in this canon … Furthermore, the church gives supplement if there is a positive, really well-foundet doubt regarding jursidiction.“ The fact alone that, in Canon 20 CIC, the church law grants the possibility that the ecclesiastical legislator has overlooked issues to be regulated and has not listed them and as far as there is a gap in law with the consequence of an ‚indistinction in law‘, which has to be filled according to the instructions of Canon 20 CIC, proves that the completion of the official power by the church according to Canon 209 CIC has to be executed also and just in those cases in which, on one hand legal uncertainty and the need of regulation have arisen due to a gap in law, but on the other hand ecclesiastical official acts will become necessary which, for their part, require official power: The church replaces the (missing regular) official power according to Canon 209 CIC in the cases in which, on one hand, there is no doubt that no (regular) official power has been given, but on the other hand, there are good reasons to suppose that the church would have given or would give official power if only it had previously taken into consiceration the possibility that such an atypical case might and would have to be regulated and that this would requrire acts of official power of the church: As the promise of the survival of the church until the end of this world also contains the strict commandment to those on the participation of whom the survival of the church also depends and to fill in the gap in law concerning the regulation of the necessary election of a pope if cardinals are missing, other persons need to elect a pope in replacement of the cardinals who are missing and cannot be supplied. For if one correctly thinks the election of a pope in case of secevacancy to be a duty of divine right, then, for reasons of the constitution of the church necessarily other persons (instead of the missing cardinals) are, in replacement. Obliged to execute the election of a pope in case of sedevacancy. So these persons obliged in replacement to elect a pope must necessarily have the autorization, the official power for this election – unless by divine right, then still by the right of the infallible church. Certainly not by regularly granted official power, but by official power supplied by the church according to Canon 209 CIC. By its nature, Canon 209 CIC is a kind of emergency decree of the church to avert any damage from itself and its members: The regulation of Canon 209 CIC, the „supplemented“, the replaced jurisdictional power because of the „well-founded presumption with approvable, probable content concerning the legarl situation“ is a kind of stopgap just for the emergencies when the church itself assumingly approves or even requires the execution of the jurisdictional power but on the other hand is unable to provide the regularly granted jurisdictional power, thus when the official power is missing and cannot be supplied in time.
12. Applying these explanations to the present situation of the lost jurisdictional hierarchy means that because of the commonwealth of the church the participants of the conclave are autorized, namely endowed with emergency jurisdiction supplemented by the church, to be allowed to execute those actions of restoratíon of the church hierarchy: The „doubt“ in the sense of Canon 209 CIC is „positive“, is therefore a well-founded assumption because important, actually compelling reasons fo the right to execute such acts of jurisdictional power supplemented by the church can be deduced from the commonwealth of the church and its members: Without any doubt, the church is necessary, therefore: without any doubt the church hierarchy has to be restored for this. Therefore, without any doubt, a pope has to be elected. Without any doubt, the participants of the conclave have to act in a way authorized and entitled by church law. So the electors who will execute the election of the next pope in replacement of the missing cardinals in order to put an end to decades of sedevacancy and the decades of breakdown of the church hierarchy act as fully authorized and entitled in the sense of church law on the basis of „supplemented“, replaced jurisdictional power in the sense of Canon 209 CIC.
13. Exactly the same is also true for the priests who, as members of the ordination hierarchy but nevertheless currently without function, i. e. without jurisdictional hierarchy and thus without (regular) ecclesiastical mission by a superior called to do so, thus without missio but in accordance with the church and for its survival ordain priests and bishops, offer mass, preach and administer sacraments to the faithful. They act lawfully, for even the valid church law has not been able to take into consideration the monstrosity that a time would come when the functions within the church have vanished altogether and only the priesthood, the hierarchy of ordination has remained: Pulpit and church building have been demolished, only the altar has remained. „No more leader has remained to him of all the sons she gave birth to, none to take her hand of all the sons she brought up.“ (Isaiah 51, 18) The relevant regulations of CIC are not valid just because their preconditions are not fulfilled: Silent precondition (as it is presumed to be self-evident – is the existence of the church’s jurisdictional hierarchy – no one may arrogate a function in church besides and thus against the jurisdictional hierarchy of the church by the execution of church ministration. But if the jurisdictional hierarchy of the church does not exist any more and if there is thus no more (regular) ecclesiastical mission, such actions executed by persons without a function as help in an emergency, which save the priesthood from decline or administer sacraments to the faithful to God and teach the true faith are not only allowed but necessary: However, among the priests, the levites, there will never be missing a man in front of my face who makes burnt-offerings and makes meal offerings go up in smoke and always prepares sacrifices.“ (Jeremy 33, 18) The church law which of course continues to be valid is thus not valid in so far because its preconditions – the existence of the ecclesiastical jurisdictional hierarchy – are missing. So it does not paralyse: Those, who administer sacraments (to the faithful), who offer the holy mass and announce the gospel, ordain priests and bishops, act, in so far, with (extraordinary) jurisdictional power of the church according to Canon 209 CIC because of „well-founded presumption with approvable, probable content concerning the legal situation“: While executing without mission of their function during all these decades, the priests among the „sedevacantists“ time and again act legally from time to time, namely: in each case by supplicated jurisdictional power, supplicated ecclesiastical mission according to Canon 209 CIC, although they lack the regular missio, the mission by the (non-existing) church authorities.
14. Concerning their (Note of the autor: the cardinals‘) attributes it is regulated that at least they have the ordination of a priest …“ (Canon 232, § 1, p. 2 CIC) The restoration of the church’s jurisdictional hierarchy by the act of the papal election is threfore merely the duty of the members of ordination hierarchy appointed afterwards and as a replacement to do so, thus of the priests who bear witness to the present vacancy of the See of St. Peter: They allone are authorized and called to the papal election – and not lay people, for Canon 166 CIC defines: „If lay people, by infringement of the canonical freedom, interfere in some way in a church election, then it is invalid right away.“ The re-establishment of the jurisdictional hierarchy can and needs to be executed by the members of the ordination hierarchy alone. Here is another reason for the fact that, even if they wanted to, the clergy of the church of the II. Vatican council ordained according to the rite of Paul VI are not suitable for a papal election: That church has ‚changed‘ the rite of the ordination of a priest in 1969. However, the change o frites made then was not made in the way that the pope of the catholic church would have replaced the ‚old‘ rite of the catholic church by a ‚new‘ rite of the catholic church, but the ‚pope‘ Paul VI of the ‚church of Vatican II‘ has abolished the rite of the catholic church and established a rite of his own, namely the rite of the church of Vatican II. He as leader of an uncatholic community was, however, not able to ‚change‘, to ‚correct‘ the rite of the catholic church or to declare it as ‚invalid‘ in any way. Therefore that community has taken the same path as then the anglicans did after their separating from the catholic church: They abloished the administration of the ordination of a priest, which is only effictive if done according to the rite of the catholic church, for their community (…) introduced a different rite of their own which is not useful to convey the priestly power. This external reason which ist he condition of the invalidity lf the ordinations leads at the same time to the inefficiency of the ordinations for an internal reason: The administrators of the ordinations have since then been lacking the „intention“ required at the administration of (by the administration of the ordination) „doing what the (catholic) church does (when administering the ordination)“, because by using the rite of the church of Vatican II, they show an opposite intention, namely of „doing what the church of Vatican II does“ when administering the ordination: The intention to execute the (invalid) rite of the conciliar church when ‚administering the ordination‘ – and not the (valid) one of the catholic church. Therefore the final decision of the church says: „… we promulgate and declare, that the ordinations which have been administered according to the anglican rite, are absolutely void and totally invalid… We decree that this writing with everything contained in it cannot be contested or contradicted at any time… (Pope Leo XIII in the apostolic sealed letter „APOSTOLICAE CURAE“ of September 13th, 1896).
15. The cardinals are freely appointed by the pope from the whole catholic world.“ (Canon 232, § 1 CIC): So the ‚emergency cardinals‘ are to be taken „from the whole catholic world.“ In adequate application of the rule concerning the exclusive right of vote of the cardinals, which is impossible to be observed, the electors destinated to the papal election need to be taken from the church of the whole earth as well as the board of cardinals – have to be taken from the church of the whole earth,, because this requirement of the rule of conclave directed to the board of cardinals can be adhered to in a figurative sense concerning the electors of the papal election and therefore has to be adhered to with application of filling in the gap according to Canon 20 CIC.
16. As the ‚emergency cardinals‘ lack the (regular) ecclesiastical mission, the mission by church leaders, here: by a pope who would have appointed them cardinals, these ‚emergency cardinals‘ need to be ‚called‘, ‚sent‘ as alectors of the next papal election. They need to have obtained their authorization to elect a pope in another way. Otherwise the electors, although being priests and in so far apt for the election, would lack the necessary ‚emergency mission‘ to be allowed to acta s ‚emergency cardinals‘. If such an ‚emergency mission‘ were not necessary and if a papal election by electors seemed to be ‚valid‘ without an ‚emergency mission‘ and thus effective, the following situation could arise: Somewhere in the world two or three priests have the inspiration to elect a pope of the catholic church and execute this election. In another place three or four other orthodox priests have the same inspiration – and elect another ‚pope‘: Now the church would have two Peters at the same time – but the, to tell the truth, it still has non. For these electors could not elect a pope ‚validly‘, i. e. effectively, because they, for their part, lacked the ‚emergency mission‘ to do so. For they did not observe the requirement of the unity of the church and therefore did not elect the pope of the catholic church but their ‚pope‘ each. Not later than at this point the ‚papal elections‘ among sedevacantists executed by now have failed, as far as they have even observed church law merely in outling, for example: that only clergymen have taken part in such an election. This authorization by church law to be allowed to elect the next pope as ‚emergency cardinals‘, this ‚emergency mission‘ will be obtained by the ‚emergency cardinals‘ only by means of a ‚valid‘, i. e. a legal ecclesiastical election: They need to be selected by others to do so. Those who, for their part, will select the ‚emergency cardinals‘ execute, as ‚helpers in an emergency‘ an activity which is (otherwise) reserved for the pope, Canon 232, § 1 CIC defines: „The cardinals are freely appointed by the pope from the whole catholic world.“ For this election, too, Canon 166 CIC is valid, which defines: „If lay people, impairing the canonical liberty, in some way interfere with a church election, then it is invalid right away.“ So this election, too, has to be executed by ordained people – and not by lay people. For the ‚emergency election‘ of ‚emergency cardinals‘ executed by other persons instead of a pope truely is a church election in the meaning of the regulation of Canon 166 CIC. This selection of the ‚emergency cardinals‘ for the papal election to come already has to be executed by clergymen only, by priests only. It must by no means be executed with the participation of lay people: The procedure of the selection of the electors appointed as ‚cardinals by virtue of the emergency decree of the church according to Canon 209 CIC‘ is without any doubt already part of the papal election, namely its first act: priests around the world being active among sedevacantists will, in so far, act as ‚emergency popes‘ by appointing among themselves – away from the hustle and bustle of media-filling events – ‚emergency cardinals‘ who, for their part, will afterwards – and also away from the publicity of media – elect the next pope. These electors, too, who will elect the ‚emergency cardinals‘, act in the same way as those priests among sedevacantists who administer sacraments, offer the holy Mass, preach and bless, and as the ‚emergency cardinals‘ themselves, entitled and authorized, namely by supplemented jurisdictional power of the church deducted from Canon 209 CIC: Only in this way, namely that the ‚emergency cardinals‘ are elected by all the priests of the remaining church if possible, it is granted that the ‚emergency cardinals‘ come from „the whole catholic world“ (Canon 232, § 1 CIC).
17. Those priests, who will elect the next pope by supplemented official power and will, in so far, take the task of ‚emergency cardinals‘, have to be „sent“ for their part. For reasons of the union of the church, this emergency mission has to be executed among persons belonging to the circle of all priests to be numbered among the catholic church – and not among the circle of the organizations close to the conciliar church.
18. Because of the union of the church, there may only be one procedure of election concerning the selection of the emergency cardinals, even if the single electors vote in different places and at different times: They may execute their right to vote only once. And after that only one assembly of the ‚emergency cardinals‘, only one conclave may take place to grant that a valid election is executed, namely: that only one person – and not several persons – is elected as the next pope. Only in this way it is excluded that various groups of priests execute separated ballots only concerning their group and so they differ in the election of the emergency cardinals and that situations of competition may arise: of different groups of emergency cardinals elected by different groups of priests, which then, in different elections, select several persons as ‚popes‘ by means of the papal election thus made invalid. The steps quoted here do not describe the vague possibility of a restoration, but this procedure holds the only and at the same time necessary way of restoration of the holy church which is therefore imposed by the church to its members as obligatory. It is only like that, only in this way, only by the ‚operation David‘, only by connecting all existing forces on the one focus, David’s throne that there will be the ‚implosion‘;it is only by this agglomeration of all energy available that this energy can be changed into ‚matter‘, namely, the matter of the next ruler on David’s throne, of the next Peter.
19. The election of the ‚emergency cardinals‘ for the papal election to come as well as the papal election itself may only be executed by clergymen, only by priests, it may by no means be executed with the participation of lay people: lay people can and have to draw the attention of the ordination-bearers to their duties. But this ‚privilege‘ of the ordination-bearers is in its essence strict obligation, absolute burden. – And above all this task has priority: „He who is not with me, is against me, and he who does not collect with me, desperses.“ (NT, Luke 11, 23). As on one hand, they have, indeed, again and again been executing justified acts of extraordinary jurisdictional power, namely the execution of the funcion of a priest by emergency decree of the church according to Canon 209 CIC for decades and continue to do so, how then could and can the ordination-bearers only imagine to be allowed to delay or refrain from their participation in acts of restoration of the ordinary jurisdictional power by their necessary participation in the restoration of the church hierarchy? „‘Is it, then, time for you to rest in your houses, the panelled ones, although this house is in ruins? Just think‘, says the Lord of hosts, ‚how have you fared until now! You sow much but harvest few.‘ … This is what the Lord of hosts says: Just think how you have fared until now! Then climb on the mountains! Bring wood here and build the house! This will please me and honour me.‘ This is what the Lord says: ‚You make space for much and see: It only became less. And what you gathered, I blew away. Why?‘ A saying oft he Lord of hosts. ‚For the sake of my house, which is in ruins, and everyone among you is only busy with his house. That is why the sky above you is keeping back its dew, and earth refuses to give the yield. And I called drought over land and mountains and over corn and must and oil and above everything the soil bears and above man and livestock and all hands‘ work“ (Aggaeus 1, 4-11). Without a hierarchy, the ‚groups‘ of the remaining church cannot form intact communities and above all not the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church and not create or intensify a community life without taking the risk of lapsing into schism. They need to be on the alert if, under the present circumstances of collapsed church hierarchy, they enact deceptive normality. By abandoning themselves to the appearance of a functioning community life, they take the risk of leaving the church as schismatics and sectarians according to the motto: „We are doing well, we have a functioning community life, what more do we need, do we really need the catholic church, we, the ‚community members‘ and our ‚parish priest‘ or our ‚bishop‘, we are ‚catholic church‘ enough for ourselves“ – what then distinguishes them from the other non-catholic denominations, who – separated from the true church – may also have leaders and an active community life?
20. But how does one recognize the priests of the holy church and distinguish them from those who have merely carried priesthood out of the church thus taking the part of the adversary of the church? One will recognize the priests to be numbered among the holy church by the fact that they will take an active part in the restoration of the church hierarchy by the papal electtion, unless they have not already been lonesome callers for the restoration of the church – and the others by the fact that they refrain from the project of the restoration of the church, that they oppose it, make excuses and keep themselves aloof: The ordination-bearers remaining in the catholic church, priests, are obliged to join up: The words: „Flock together! Yes, flock together, ye people one cannot love any more!“ (Sophonias 2,1) are not valid less but firstly for the priesthood. For it was the latter to whom the holy Pope Pius X adressed the admonishing words in his apostolic circular letter „Haerent animo“ of 8/4/1908: May everyone stand out for the christian love which is never led by selfishness. Far be the bristle of envy and discord arising in a human way, far be selfish ambitiousness, so that all your zealou striving in brotherly emulation unanimously serves the greater glory of God! A large, very miserable crowd of suffering, blind, lame and haggard is waiting for your merciful good deeds. They are very urgently waiting, surrounded by false delusions and seductions on all sides, in dense crowds the youth, the hope so dear of the civil life as well as the worship to God… Another means we have at heart to recommend is the close union of the priests among each other as it is right and proper for brother ministers… It is really recommendable, this union for the purpose of reciprocal help in emergencies, to protect the honour and to repulse the attacks of enemies and in similar situations. However, this union is most important for the purpose of supporting theological education and – even more urgent – to strengthen the constancy in the priest’s profession and to take care for the expansion of the salvation of souls in common agreement and in a joint effort. Church history testifies what a great blessing came from such unions in those times where priests gathered here and there for a common life. Shouldn’t it be possible to renew this in our days in the forms corresponding to the circumstances and tasks of time? Aren’t we allowed with good reason to hope for the former blessing from it (such a union of the priests) – to the joy of the church?“ Namely, if St. Pope Pius X, in the just quoted apostolic circular „Haerent animo“ admonished the priests to make a union among each other during the church hierarchy existing at that time, how much more must this be valid now in the situation of the holy church being without hierarchy? „In every community of human beings, whatever the reason of their union, it is most important for the success of the common cause that the members pursue the common aim with the utmost unanimity. Therefore we will take care to eliminate all disagreement and discord among catholics and to prevent new ones. They are rather supposed to be truly unanimous in acting and thinking. The enemies of God and of the church know only too well that every discord on our side in the battle and in the defence means the victory for them. Therefore thay have always been eager to cunningly sow the seed of discord and disagreement in the firmly closed ranks of catholics and to disturb the firm connection. Alas, hat they not succeeded so often in this project to the great disadvantage for the cause of the holy religion!“ (Pope Benedict XV, apostolic circular „Ad beatissimi Apostolorum“ of 11/1/1914) October 9th – this oppressing anniversary will repeat until the priests to be counted among the catholic church have finally executed everything which is necessary for the „appearance“ of a pope and will, just by doing so and only by doing so, have shown to be priests of the catholic church. Only then the sedevacancy which has been going on since October 9th, 1958, this state of defect leading to the death of church if going on indefinitely will come to an end. Kyrie eléison, Christe eléison, Kyrie eléison.
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