Commentaries Index
"Catholicism in the Land of Make Believe" continued

Welcome to the Land of Make Believe

Tridentine Catholic

     Some of the groups that have recently formed (or rather deformed out of the Church) profess an ecclesial theology that is irrational and unreflective as the logic of a child who hasn’t developed a grasp of reality.  A select number of these groups have separated themselves from the Church due primarily to disagreements on liturgy and ecumenism.  While they continually open new parishes and ordain new priests and bishops without the consent of the Pope, they still claim the name “Roman Catholic” even though they have been formally excommunicated by the Church.  To justify their disregard for the Church’s juridical authority they claim that the Vatican has fallen away from the “true teachings” of Christ by promoting “modernist” liturgy and encouraging “association with heretics” through ecumenism.  To simplify this explanation:  Catholics who attend Masses in the vernacular and agree with the principles of the Second Vatican Council are not truly living as Roman Catholics.  Only those who ignore the decrees of the last ecumenical council as well as the directives of the Pope based on that council and are guided by those under the banner of their “spiritual” jurisdiction are truly living as Roman Catholics.  In the Land of Make Believe this logic is totally acceptable and its adherents are awaiting a “good” pope to eventually be elected and restore the Church to its “former glory”.

Sedevacantist Catholic

     For those who attempt to demonstrate a better grasp of logic, there is another category of Pseudo-catholics that open churches and schools and confer the sacraments without the approval of the Bishop of Rome, while still maintaining the name “Roman Catholic”.  These religious sects, often referred to as sedevacantists, believe that they don’t have to follow any decrees or directives given by Rome because the Papal office is really unoccupied!  The “logic” of their assertions of a vacant papacy is the idea that a real Pope would not agree with the decrees of the Second Vatican Council.  Another “logical” explanation of sedevacantism is that every Pope who recognizes the Council is a heretic before he was elected, thus nullifying the legitimacy of his Papal reign.   According to the sedevacantists a “real” Pope would not only reverse all of the reforms of the Council, but would also decree that it was invalid.  In the Land of Make Believe a “true” Catholic can reject any Cardinal who was elected by an official Papal conclave and declare an ecumenical council heretical based upon their own private observations. 



Introduction
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Commentaries Index