Bp. Tissier de Mallerais on Sedevacantism
Jan 22, 2020 16:41:28 GMT
Post by Admin on Jan 22, 2020 16:41:28 GMT
Taken from Supplied Jurisdiction and Traditional Priests:
The following is extracted from Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais's notes for a conference given to the Catholic Study Groups
in Paris, March 9-10, 1991.
* * *
"... there are two dangerous attitudes which exist in the present crisis in the Church, and which are opposed to the sense of the Church. Neither of these opinions is in conformity with the divine constitution of the Church: whether it be the error by excess, an error in the direction of too much, or the error by default, in the direction of too little."
The error by excess: "The Catholic hierarchy no longer exists. Let us therefore create a new one!"
The error in the direction of too much is to say that all bishops, or nearly all, have apostatized from the Catholic Faith, or at least that they no longer preach it and that consequently there is no longer a legitimate hierarchy: that there is no longer a legitimate pope nor legitimate bishops in the Church. Hence the true Catholic hierarchy, and the only one which exists, consists of traditional priests alone. According to this idea, it is the traditional clergy alone, with their exterior hierarchical organization, which would make up the hierarchy of the Church. Consequently one of the bishops would have to be elected as pope and this would complete the hierarchical appearance!
Certain sects have not hesitated to do just this: they have fallen into the trap. This is quite obviously false. We refuse this analysis and its consequences. Without a doubt we can indeed question the legitimacy of certain bishops, and one can even have questions concerning that of the pope himself. But these are but questions. We do not have the authority to decide on these questions.
The Church will herself judge. A future council or pope will decide on the mysterious situation of this Pope John Paul II and his predecessor Pope Paul VI. It is not for us to judge. We do not have the power. Even a single bishop does not have the power to decide on these things. It is the Church who will have to resolve this problem as she will without doubt do.
It will without doubt not make a decision saying "This pope was not pope." I do not think so, for this has never happened in the Church, to say that this pope was not a pope. But it will be declared: "This was a bad pope... who professed errors... and even heresies!" Hence we cannot say that the hierarchy of the Church no longer exists. It has in large part defaulted, but we cannot say that it no longer exists. We cannot say this.
[Emphasis mine.]