Conclavism
Encyclopedia
Conclavism is the belief and practice of some who, claiming that Pope Benedict XVI
, Pope John Paul II
and other recent occupants of the papal see
are not true popes, elect someone else and propose him as the true pope to whom the allegiance of Catholics is due.
The term comes from the word "conclave", the term for a meeting of the College of Cardinals
convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, when the see
of Rome
is vacant.
A similar phenomenon is that of those (referred to as "mysticalists") who base their claim to the papacy on supposed personal supernatural revelations.
, which itself developed in the late 1960s and 1970s, in the years following the Second Vatican Council
. Though the sedevacantist pioneer Fr. Joaquín Sáenz y Arriaga of Mexico advocated holding a papal election in the mid-1970s and a number of other traditionalists discussed the idea in the following years, conclavism was primarily a movement of the 1990s, associated in particular with the English-speaking world
.
The first of the antipopes listed below, Pope Michael, began to promote the idea of a papal election in the late 1980s. Ultimately, he circulated notices to the editors of all sedevacantist publications that he could find, and notified all priests listed in a directory of traditionalists as being sedevacantists, sending in all over 200 copies of a book that he had written to recipients in 20 countries.
A U.S. traditionalist Catholic, Ken Mock, is sometimes credited with being the father of the conclavist movement. Mock's actual record of involvement in the various elections seems somewhat ambivalent. In the Bawden case, Pope Michael claims that Mock arrived the day before the election and attempted to stop it; he also claims that Mock later told Von Pentz that he (Michael) had abdicated in favour of him, and that he tried to stop the Von Pentz election.. He was involved in the preparations for the election of Pulvermacher, but he reportedly lost faith in him, coming to believe that he was rigging the election in his favour.
As can be seen, several of these individuals have styled themselves Peter II
, a name that is normally considered taboo for a Pope and which has apocalyptic
connotations in Catholic circles.
The first post-Vatican II antipope to come to wide public notice, Pope Gregory XVII of the Palmarian Catholic Church
, whose papal claim was asserted in 1978, fell into this category. Other antipopes of the same sort include the following:
Alleged divine appointment was also the basis for the pre-Vatican II (1950) claim of Michel Colin to the papacy as Clement XV. Colin's sect survives, divided into different factions, to this day.
movement of Kenya
can be considered as a special case within conclavism. It has its own popes and ecclesiastical structure, having broken with the official Church in the early 1960s, but it is geographically and ethnically concentrated in western Kenya and has no connection with sedevacantism or the doctrinal underpinnings of other conclavist groups. The current Legio Maria pope is Raphael Titus Otieno.
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
and other recent occupants of the papal see
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
are not true popes, elect someone else and propose him as the true pope to whom the allegiance of Catholics is due.
The term comes from the word "conclave", the term for a meeting of the College of Cardinals
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...
convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, when the see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of Rome
Diocese of Rome
The Diocese of Rome is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Rome, Italy. The bishop of Rome is the Pope, who is the Supreme Pontiff and leader of the Catholic Church...
is vacant.
A similar phenomenon is that of those (referred to as "mysticalists") who base their claim to the papacy on supposed personal supernatural revelations.
History
Conclavism as a phenomenon is inextricably linked with sedevacantismSedevacantism
Sedevacantism is the position held by a minority of Traditionalist Catholics who hold that the present occupant of the papal see is not truly Pope and that, for lack of a valid Pope, the see has been vacant since the death of either Pope Pius XII in 1958 or Pope John XXIII in 1963.Sedevacantists...
, which itself developed in the late 1960s and 1970s, in the years following the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
. Though the sedevacantist pioneer Fr. Joaquín Sáenz y Arriaga of Mexico advocated holding a papal election in the mid-1970s and a number of other traditionalists discussed the idea in the following years, conclavism was primarily a movement of the 1990s, associated in particular with the English-speaking world
English-speaking world
The English-speaking world consists of those countries or regions that use the English language to one degree or another. For more information, please see:Lists:* List of countries by English-speaking population...
.
The first of the antipopes listed below, Pope Michael, began to promote the idea of a papal election in the late 1980s. Ultimately, he circulated notices to the editors of all sedevacantist publications that he could find, and notified all priests listed in a directory of traditionalists as being sedevacantists, sending in all over 200 copies of a book that he had written to recipients in 20 countries.
A U.S. traditionalist Catholic, Ken Mock, is sometimes credited with being the father of the conclavist movement. Mock's actual record of involvement in the various elections seems somewhat ambivalent. In the Bawden case, Pope Michael claims that Mock arrived the day before the election and attempted to stop it; he also claims that Mock later told Von Pentz that he (Michael) had abdicated in favour of him, and that he tried to stop the Von Pentz election.. He was involved in the preparations for the election of Pulvermacher, but he reportedly lost faith in him, coming to believe that he was rigging the election in his favour.
Conclavist antipopes
- Pope Michael (1990). In 1990, Teresa Stanfill-Benns and David BawdenDavid BawdenDavid Allen Bawden , is a Traditionalist Catholic recognized as Pope Michael I by a small group of conclavists based in Delia, Kansas, USA...
of KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
in the USA, called for a conclave to elect a pope. They publicised their request around the world, but only six people participated in the election. On July 16, 1990, the six gathered in Belvue, Kansas, and elected Bawden who took the name Pope Michael. - Pope Linus II (1994). Another conclave, this time held in AssisiAssisi- Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
, Italy, elected the South African Victor von Pentz as Pope Linus II in 1994. Linus took up residence in HertfordshireHertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England. - Pope Pius XIII (1998). In October 1998, the U.S.-based "true Catholic Church" elected Fr. Lucian PulvermacherLucian PulvermacherLucian Pulvermacher was a traditionalist Roman Catholic priest. He was the head of the "True Catholic Church," a small conclavist group that, without authorization from the Holy See of Rome, elected him Pope Pius XIII in October, 1998...
as Pope Pius XIII. - Pope Leo XIV (2006). On 24 March 2006 a group of 34 episcopi vagantesEpiscopi vagantesEpiscopi vagantes are persons who have been consecrated as Christian bishops outside the structures and canon law of the established churches, and who are not in communion with any generally recognized diocese...
elected the Argentine Oscar Michaelli as Pope Leo XIV. On his death on 14 February 2007, he was succeeded by Juan Bautista Bonetti, who took the name of Pope Innocent XIV, but resigned on 29 May 2007. He was succeeded by Alejandro Tomas Greico, who took the name of Pope Alexander IX.
"Mysticalists"
Technically distinct from the above conclavist antipopes is the category of "popes" (sometimes called "mysticalists") whose claims to the papacy derive from alleged divine revelations or apparitions. In these cases, there is no "conclave" process, and hence the term "conclavism" is arguably inappropriate.As can be seen, several of these individuals have styled themselves Peter II
Pope Peter II
Pope Peter II is a hypothetical Papal name and, in recent times, a common name for sedevacantist group leaders styling themselves as popes.-The name and its connotations:...
, a name that is normally considered taboo for a Pope and which has apocalyptic
Apocalypticism
Apocalypticism is the religious belief that there will be an apocalypse, a term which originally referred to a revelation of God's will, but now usually refers to belief that the world will come to an end time very soon, even within one's own lifetime...
connotations in Catholic circles.
The first post-Vatican II antipope to come to wide public notice, Pope Gregory XVII of the Palmarian Catholic Church
Palmarian Catholic Church
The Christian Palmarian Church of the Carmelites of the Holy Face , commonly called the Palmarian Catholic Church , is a schismatic Catholic church with its own pope, Gregory XVIII.-Origins:...
, whose papal claim was asserted in 1978, fell into this category. Other antipopes of the same sort include the following:
- Pope Emmanuel, the Italian Gino Frediani (1913–1984), a priest of Gavinana, who asserted his claim in 1973.
- Pope Peter II, Chester Olszewski of PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, a former Episcopalian priest, who asserted his claim in 1977 or 1980 - Pope Gregory XIX, the American Reinaldus Michael Benjamins, who asserted his claim in 1983.
- Pope Adrian VII, better known to American Catholics as Francis SchuckardtFrancis SchuckardtFrancis Konrad Schuckardt was an American Traditionalist Catholic independent bishop and the first known bishop of the sedevacantist movement in the United States. Sedevacantism holds that Pope Paul VI —sometimes going back to include John XXIII— and his successors are not valid Popes...
of the Congregation of Mary Immaculate QueenCongregation of Mary Immaculate QueenThe Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen is a Sedevacantist Traditionalist Catholic religious congregation dedicated to promoting the message of Our Lady of Fatima and devotion to the Virgin Mary according to the teachings of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, whom they regard as their...
, who asserted his claim in 1984. - Pope Peter II, born Maurice Archieri, living in Paris or Le Perreux, France, who asserted his claim in 1995.
- Pope Peter Romanus II, born William KammWilliam KammWilliam Kamm also known as The Little Pebble or the antipope Peter II the Roman is the leader of a religious group called the Order of St. Charbel, which claims however to be part of the Roman Catholic Church and due to be approved by the hierarchy...
of CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany, a convicted sex offenderSex offenderA sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
currently in prison in Australia. Kamm, who is known as the "Little Pebble", apparently does not currently pretend to the papacy, but is claimed to be the next pope in waiting. - Pope Peter II, born Aime Baudet, of BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium. - Pope Peter II, born Julius Tischler, a German, about whom little is apparently known.
- Pope Peter-Athanasius II, who lives, according to different sources, in BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
or in Canada. - Pope Leo XIV, of AngoulêmeAngoulême-Main sights:In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville, the...
, France. - Pope Joseph I, of LucerneLucerneLucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
, Switzerland.
Alleged divine appointment was also the basis for the pre-Vatican II (1950) claim of Michel Colin to the papacy as Clement XV. Colin's sect survives, divided into different factions, to this day.
The Legio Maria
The Legio MariaLegio Maria
Legio Maria — also known as Legio Maria of African Church Mission, and Maria Legio — is an African Initiated Church or new religious movement initially among the Luo people of western Kenya which incorporates traditional Luo religious customs into a Catholic Christian framework...
movement of Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
can be considered as a special case within conclavism. It has its own popes and ecclesiastical structure, having broken with the official Church in the early 1960s, but it is geographically and ethnically concentrated in western Kenya and has no connection with sedevacantism or the doctrinal underpinnings of other conclavist groups. The current Legio Maria pope is Raphael Titus Otieno.
See also
- AntipopeAntipopeAn antipope is a person who opposes a legitimately elected or sitting Pope and makes a significantly accepted competing claim to be the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church. At times between the 3rd and mid-15th century, antipopes were typically those supported by a...
- SedevacantismSedevacantismSedevacantism is the position held by a minority of Traditionalist Catholics who hold that the present occupant of the papal see is not truly Pope and that, for lack of a valid Pope, the see has been vacant since the death of either Pope Pius XII in 1958 or Pope John XXIII in 1963.Sedevacantists...
- Episcopi vagantesEpiscopi vagantesEpiscopi vagantes are persons who have been consecrated as Christian bishops outside the structures and canon law of the established churches, and who are not in communion with any generally recognized diocese...
- Independent Catholic ChurchesIndependent Catholic ChurchesIndependent Catholic churches are Catholic congregations that are not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church or any other churches whose sacraments are recognized by the Roman Catholic Church...
- Traditionalist CatholicTraditionalist CatholicTraditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...