Benedict XVI: Superhero, Villain or Victim?

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope Francis

Was the 2013 renunciation of Benedict XVI a valid act of resignation?

Almost immediately after issuing the Declaratio of 10 February 2013, there were serious scholars, clerics and religious – men holier and more learned than I – calling its validity into question. Their arguments were largely based upon the Latin text of the Declaratio wherein it is evident that BXVI did not intend to resign the papal munus (understood by canonists to mean office), but rather only the ministerium (that is, the active exercise thereof).

In May of 2016, Archbishop Gänswein, himself a Doctor of Canon Law, confirmed as much when he publicly stated:

He renounced not his duties, which are, irrevocable, but the concrete execution of them.

Commenting further on Benedict’s intent, Gänswein plainly said that Benedict’s act had “profoundly and permanently transformed papal ministry.” It has thus been, according to him, “expanded” into a “quasi-shared ministry” that has “a collegial and synodal dimension.”

Any attempt to so split the papacy would, of course, render the act invalid. In light of this, I wrote shortly thereafter:

While some, no doubt, will take the position that Benedict’s resignation is valid until proven otherwise, I choose as my starting point … what the Catholic Church has always believed, taught and practiced. As such, I cannot help but conclude that the alleged resignation of Benedict XVI is invalid until proven otherwise.

I have also noted in this space, on many occasions, that there are numerous good reasons to believe that BXVI was forced to step down, or aside as the case may be. Furthermore, he has indicated to the outside world that he is in some sense imprisoned (e.g., he referred to himself as a “cloistered monk” whose state “does not allow” him to leave apart from the “invitation” of “the Pope”).

In sum, there are serious reasons to believe that foul play was, and is, involved in this matter. As I write, with Archbishop Gänswein appearing ever more clearly as the St. Gallen Mafia’s inside man, this sense is growing even among those who once dismissed such claims as mere conspiracy theories.

In all cases, an invalid resignation would necessarily mean that conclave 2013 and its results are likewise invalid; i.e., Francis is an anti-pope.

My opinion on these matters hasn’t changed.

I have, however, come to recognize that there are far bigger issues at hand, specifically, those concerning the true identity of the institution that Benedict once led and the office from which he allegedly resigned, the same that “Francis” presently claims to lead and to occupy.

Those familiar with this blog know very well that I do not for a moment believe that theirs is the Holy Roman Catholic Church, dispensing to the innocent as it has, and does, so much poison. The implications of this awareness are tremendous, and I am prayerfully doing my best to make sense of them.

In the meantime, I am convinced beyond all doubt that Jorge Bergoglio simply is not Catholic; the man is a blasphemous heretic who has made it plain to all with eyes to see that he has severed himself from the Body of the Church, if indeed he was ever attached to it.

He is, therefore, an anti-pope for this reason as well.

Given that very few among us are well-versed in either Latin or Canon Law, not to mention the fact that there is a great deal that we simply cannot know surrounding the events of February 2013, it is my opinion that the latter reasoning (Jorge’s notorious, pertinacious heresy) is more readily accessible to the moderately well-formed layman’s mind. As such, this is where I tend to focus my attention with regard to the Bergoglian anti-papacy.

As for those far bigger issues, I realize that many sincere readers do not share my concerns; i.e., a good number of readers tend to view the conciliar church as the Holy Roman Catholic Church, albeit infected with Modernism even to the Office of Peter. All of us are on a quest to discover the truth, and I was in just this place not that long ago.

For this reason, I believe that there is value in demonstrating that Jorge Bergoglio is an anti-pope due to his heresy, even apart from those bigger issues, for the benefit of those who, at present, cannot see them. Truth, one hopes, will then lead to more truth…

My own opinions hopefully made clear, let’s return to the topic at hand.

I have no bones to pick with those who are making objective observations that support the position that the so-called resignation of BXVI was invalid.

Where I am compelled to issue a warning concerns the fanciful notions that some have begun to attach to Benedict, spinning his cowardly and confusing behavior, as well as his scandalous silence, into a deliberate and heroic attempt to save the Church from diabolical forces.

The reason I have chosen to address the matter in this space is that even some otherwise clear-minded “traditionalists” are evidently beginning to latch on to this narrative, in spite of the fact that it is impregnated with the poison of conciliar conservatism.

In my experience, one of the most prolific outlets disseminating these ideas is the From Rome blog, which is run by Brother Alexis Bugnolo, a man whose sincerity I do not doubt in the least, but whose ideas (in part) are dangerous nonetheless.

In a recent and rather lengthy post (which I invite you to read HERE), Br. Bugnolo proposed to inform readers “what happened [re: Benedict’s renunciation] and why it happened and what it all means.”

After sifting through certain pieces of evidence and speculating as to their significance, he ultimately, and with great confidence, proposes:

From all this, then, we can say decisively and with great certitude that the Declaratio was written to oppose the St Gallen Mafia and to lay down a maneuver against them. It was not a surrender, but it was made to look like a surrender. [Emphasis in original]

In short, Br. Bugnolo believes that Benedict, by making room for the Bergoglian anti-papacy and sitting silent in the face of the evils he is promoting with reckless abandon on a near daily basis, is somehow outsmarting the bad guys and protecting the Church.

The purpose of the Declaratio was NOT to renounce the papal office, it was to Uproot the College of Cardinals as an institution from the Church, so as to save the Catholic Church from the complete Masonic infiltration of that institution. [Emphasis in original]

According to Br. Bugnolo’s version of what happened and what it all means, Benedict XVI is not the only putative pope whose mozetta is best viewed as a superhero’s cape. In a previous post, he told readers:

Pope John Paul II strengthened the Bulwark of the Church against the AntiChurch.

If this doesn’t raise a red flag for traditional Catholics, nothing will! And yet, some still delight in Br. Bugnolo’s creative musings, which paint Benedict as a misunderstood martyr, valiantly going it alone for the sake of Christ’s Church.

As the post under discussion makes clear, Br. Bugnolo imagines that John Paul II was a visionary who laid the groundwork for Benedict’s allegedly brilliant maneuver:

… it was Pope John Paul II, in 1983, who by adding munus as the canonically required object of the verb “renounce” in canon 332 §2, actually created the canonical possibility of an invalid renunciation in the case of a pope who renounced something other than the petrine munus! [which] allowed a Roman Pontiff to give the appearance of a valid resignation, so as to deceive the forces of Freemasonry in the Church. [Emphasis in original]

In furtherance of this theory, Br. Bugnolo asserts:

For since the man who is the pope has the canonical right to renounce the petrine munus, it follows ex maiore that he has the moral right to renounce anything less than the munus. In cases of grave threat, he also has the moral right to dissimulate.

The logic (if you will) is obviously flawed inasmuch as it validates what every serious Catholic recognizes as invalid; namely, the utterly false notion that the Papacy is comprised of individual parts (an office and a ministry) that are subject to division. Rather is it the case that the Papacy is, by the will of Christ who established it, one; it is whole and indivisible. Therefore, the man who is pope does not have the right to renounce only a portion thereof, as if to retain what allegedly remains, no more than a member of the Church has the moral right to renounce a portion of the one true faith and yet remain numbered among her faithful.

In any case, Br. Bugnolo finds cause to conclude:

In this way, both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have acted with great foresight and angelic prudence.

Evidently, Br. Bugnolo is confused concerning the duty of the pope as elucidated by the First Vatican Council:

This gift of truth and never-failing faith was therefore divinely conferred on Peter and his successors in this See so that they might discharge their exalted office for the salvation of all, and so that the whole flock of Christ might be kept away by them from the poisonous food of error and be nourished with the sustenance of heavenly doctrine. (Pastor Aeternus),

Get that? The popes are divinely endowed with gifts that enable them to discharge their office – not flee from it by concocting fake resignations therefrom, thus making room for a blaspheming heretic anti-pope who will deceive God’s people – as if doing so somehow serves to protect the flock from the poisonous food of error. The very idea is absurd!

With regard to Benedict’s shameful silence in the face of Amoris Laetitia (as discussed in my previous post), Br. Bugnolo seems willing to give him a pass. It’s as if Brother has either forgotten, or changed his mind about, the following post on the From Rome blog, dated April 9, 2016: This ‘Amoris Laetitia’ cannot be tolerated in silence

In this post, written by “The Editor” (perhaps Br. Bugnolo himself), we find:

On account of the universal scandal given by it [Amoris Laetitia], on account of its universal reception by the press as signifying the abandonment of Scripture and Tradition as the remote Rule of Faith in the Church; inasmuch as it is recognized by all and the author itself to contain novel doctrines, which contradict the past ones and past pastoral practice, every Catholic is obliged to REJECT and CONDEMN it AND DISREGARD the authority the author pretends to exercise in it. [Emphasis in original]

Get that? Every Catholic! He went on to conclude:

In the coming day and weeks, we shall see which of these [Cardinals of the Roman Church, the clergy of Rome and the bishops of the Catholic Church] cleaves to Christ and which deny him by an effeminate silence.

How much more does this apply to the man one considers the Bishop of Rome! And yet, more than three-and-a-half years have since passed and Benedict XVI’s most noteworthy response to Amoris Laetitia (beyond praising its author) has been nothing but effeminate silence!

No, with Benedict XVI were are not witnessing the behavior of a pope acting to “save the Church;” rather, we have before us a man who more readily fits the following taken from the same post on the From Rome blog:

Finally, it is obvious on account of the gravest moral obligation of charity for the whole Church, that these three groups [Cardinals of the Roman Church, the clergy of Rome and the bishops of the Catholic Church] are obliged to act, and that if they do not act, each of them individually merits ETERNAL DAMNATION for having loved themselves more than Christ and His Church. [Emphasis in original]

In conclusion, it bears repeating, I believe that Br. Bugnolo is entirely sincere. He’s obviously very knowledgable in Latin and Canon Law, and he makes a good contribution to discussions concerning the validity of Benedict’s apparent renunciation.

That said, readers would do well to dismiss – or better still, avoid altogether – his fanciful theories suggesting that BXVI is somehow providing a service to the Church, protecting her and the faithful in her care from the menace of evil men.

aka Modernist war

Latest Comments

  1. mothermostforgiving January 16, 2020
  2. my2cents January 16, 2020
  3. JPeters January 16, 2020
  4. Evangeline January 16, 2020
  5. A Simple Man January 16, 2020
  6. utahagen January 16, 2020
  7. Johnno January 16, 2020
  8. my2cents January 16, 2020
  9. CatholicKingdom January 16, 2020
  10. JPeters January 16, 2020
  11. JPeters January 16, 2020
  12. JPeters January 16, 2020
  13. my2cents January 16, 2020
  14. A Simple Man January 16, 2020
  15. A Simple Man January 16, 2020
  16. JPeters January 16, 2020
  17. JPeters January 16, 2020
  18. Marie Tageye January 16, 2020
  19. Marie Tageye January 16, 2020
  20. Marie Tageye January 16, 2020
  21. Marie Tageye January 16, 2020
  22. Marie Tageye January 16, 2020
  23. Marie Tageye January 16, 2020
  24. A Simple Man January 16, 2020
  25. A Simple Beggar January 16, 2020
  26. Marie Tageye January 17, 2020
  27. Marie Tageye January 17, 2020
  28. Romanus sum January 17, 2020
  29. my2cents January 17, 2020
  30. mothermostforgiving January 17, 2020
  31. Louie January 17, 2020
  32. my2cents January 17, 2020
  33. Catherine Sarto January 17, 2020
  34. Catherine Sarto January 17, 2020
  35. Ratio January 17, 2020
  36. Lynda January 17, 2020
  37. Lynda January 17, 2020
  38. Lynda January 17, 2020
  39. Lynda January 17, 2020
  40. 2Vermont January 17, 2020
  41. M.C. January 17, 2020
  42. Marie Tageye January 17, 2020
  43. M.C. January 17, 2020
  44. Marie Tageye January 17, 2020
  45. Marie Tageye January 17, 2020
  46. Marie Tageye January 17, 2020
  47. Marie Tageye January 17, 2020
  48. Marie Tageye January 17, 2020
  49. Charmaine January 17, 2020
  50. A Simple Man January 17, 2020
  51. Joseph a Christian January 18, 2020
  52. Joseph a Christian January 18, 2020
  53. james_o January 18, 2020
  54. Lynda January 18, 2020
  55. Lynda January 18, 2020
  56. A Simple Man January 18, 2020
  57. paultdale January 18, 2020
  58. Romanus sum January 18, 2020
  59. Romanus sum January 18, 2020
  60. james_o January 18, 2020
  61. james_o January 18, 2020
  62. 2Vermont January 18, 2020
  63. 2Vermont January 18, 2020
  64. james_o January 18, 2020
  65. M.C. January 18, 2020
  66. Lynda January 18, 2020
  67. paultdale January 18, 2020
  68. A Simple Man January 18, 2020
  69. A Simple Beggar January 18, 2020
  70. james_o January 18, 2020
  71. Seeker January 18, 2020
  72. KyleOfCanada January 18, 2020
  73. Tom A January 18, 2020
  74. A Simple Beggar January 18, 2020
  75. A Simple Beggar January 18, 2020
  76. A Simple Man January 18, 2020
  77. A Simple Man January 18, 2020
  78. james_o January 19, 2020
  79. james_o January 19, 2020
  80. 2Vermont January 19, 2020
  81. Seeker January 19, 2020
  82. my2cents January 19, 2020
  83. james_o January 19, 2020
  84. A Simple Beggar January 19, 2020
  85. A Simple Beggar January 19, 2020
  86. A Simple Man January 19, 2020
  87. Lynda January 19, 2020
  88. A Simple Beggar January 19, 2020
  89. Marie Tageye January 19, 2020
  90. Marie Tageye January 19, 2020
  91. A Simple Man January 19, 2020
  92. Marie Tageye January 19, 2020
  93. A Simple Beggar January 19, 2020
  94. Marie Tageye January 19, 2020
  95. Tom A January 19, 2020
  96. Tom A January 19, 2020
  97. Tom A January 19, 2020
  98. A Simple Beggar January 19, 2020
  99. Tom A January 19, 2020
  100. A Simple Beggar January 19, 2020
  101. A Simple Beggar January 19, 2020
  102. A Simple Man January 20, 2020
  103. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  104. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  105. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  106. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  107. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  108. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  109. 2Vermont January 20, 2020
  110. Tom A January 20, 2020
  111. Melanie January 20, 2020
  112. A Simple Beggar January 20, 2020
  113. A Simple Beggar January 20, 2020
  114. my2cents January 20, 2020
  115. A Simple Man January 20, 2020
  116. A Simple Man January 20, 2020
  117. Melanie January 20, 2020
  118. A Simple Beggar January 20, 2020
  119. james_o January 20, 2020
  120. A Simple Beggar January 20, 2020
  121. Lynda January 20, 2020
  122. A Simple Beggar January 20, 2020
  123. james_o January 20, 2020
  124. Lynda January 20, 2020
  125. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  126. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  127. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  128. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  129. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  130. A Simple Beggar January 20, 2020
  131. A Simple Beggar January 20, 2020
  132. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  133. A Simple Beggar January 20, 2020
  134. A Simple Man January 20, 2020
  135. A Simple Beggar January 20, 2020
  136. james_o January 20, 2020
  137. A Simple Beggar January 20, 2020
  138. A Simple Man January 20, 2020
  139. Marie Tageye January 20, 2020
  140. Ursula January 21, 2020
  141. james_o January 21, 2020
  142. 2Vermont January 21, 2020
  143. Ursula January 21, 2020
  144. Ursula January 21, 2020
  145. 2Vermont January 21, 2020
  146. james_o January 21, 2020
  147. Ursula January 21, 2020
  148. A Simple Beggar January 21, 2020
  149. A Simple Beggar January 21, 2020
  150. A Simple Beggar January 21, 2020
  151. 2Vermont January 21, 2020
  152. Ursula January 21, 2020
  153. Ursula January 21, 2020
  154. james_o January 21, 2020
  155. Tom A January 21, 2020
  156. A Simple Beggar January 21, 2020
  157. Marie Tageye January 21, 2020
  158. 2Vermont January 21, 2020
  159. james_o January 21, 2020
  160. Tom A January 21, 2020
  161. Marie Tageye January 21, 2020
  162. Marie Tageye January 21, 2020
  163. Marie Tageye January 21, 2020
  164. Marie Tageye January 22, 2020
  165. 2Vermont January 22, 2020
  166. Ursula January 22, 2020
  167. Marie Tageye January 22, 2020
  168. Ursula January 22, 2020
  169. Marie Tageye January 22, 2020
  170. Marie Tageye January 22, 2020
  171. Marie Tageye January 22, 2020
  172. james_o January 22, 2020
  173. A Simple Beggar January 22, 2020
  174. A Simple Beggar January 22, 2020
  175. A Simple Beggar January 22, 2020
  176. A Simple Beggar January 22, 2020
  177. A Simple Man January 23, 2020
  178. Ursula January 23, 2020
  179. A Simple Man January 23, 2020
  180. A Simple Beggar January 23, 2020
  181. A Simple Beggar January 23, 2020
  182. james_o January 23, 2020
  183. A Simple Beggar January 23, 2020
  184. Tom A January 23, 2020
  185. A Simple Man January 23, 2020
  186. Marie Tageye January 23, 2020
  187. Marie Tageye January 23, 2020
  188. Marie Tageye January 23, 2020
  189. Ursula January 23, 2020
  190. Marie Tageye January 23, 2020
  191. A Simple Man January 23, 2020
  192. Marie Tageye January 23, 2020
  193. Marie Tageye January 23, 2020
  194. Marie Tageye January 23, 2020
  195. james_o January 24, 2020
  196. In caritas January 24, 2020
  197. Tom A January 24, 2020
  198. james_o January 24, 2020
  199. Ursula January 24, 2020
  200. Fleur de Lis January 24, 2020
  201. A Simple Beggar January 24, 2020
  202. M.C. January 24, 2020
  203. Melanie January 24, 2020
  204. Tom A January 24, 2020
  205. Tom A January 24, 2020
  206. 2Vermont January 24, 2020
  207. Marie Tageye January 24, 2020
  208. Marie Tageye January 24, 2020
  209. Marie Tageye January 24, 2020
  210. Melanie January 24, 2020
  211. Melanie January 24, 2020
  212. Marie Tageye January 24, 2020
  213. Marie Tageye January 24, 2020
  214. Marie Tageye January 24, 2020
  215. Marie Tageye January 24, 2020
  216. Marie Tageye January 24, 2020
  217. Marie Tageye January 24, 2020
  218. A Simple Man January 24, 2020
  219. paultdale January 25, 2020
  220. james_o January 25, 2020
  221. Ursula January 25, 2020
  222. james_o January 25, 2020
  223. A Simple Beggar January 25, 2020
  224. A Simple Man January 25, 2020
  225. In caritas January 26, 2020
  226. james_o January 27, 2020
  227. In caritas January 27, 2020
  228. Marie Tageye January 27, 2020
  229. Marie Tageye January 27, 2020
  230. Melanie January 27, 2020
  231. SEDEVCT January 27, 2020
  232. james_o January 27, 2020
  233. Marie Tageye January 27, 2020
  234. Marie Tageye January 27, 2020
  235. Marie Tageye January 27, 2020
  236. Marie Tageye January 27, 2020
  237. Marie Tageye January 27, 2020
  238. A Simple Man January 27, 2020
  239. Marie Tageye January 27, 2020
  240. Melanie January 27, 2020
  241. Tom A January 27, 2020
  242. my2cents January 27, 2020
  243. Tom A January 27, 2020
  244. Lynda January 27, 2020
  245. In caritas January 28, 2020
  246. In caritas January 28, 2020
  247. In caritas January 28, 2020
  248. In caritas January 28, 2020
  249. A Simple Man January 28, 2020
  250. In caritas January 28, 2020
  251. In caritas January 28, 2020
  252. SEDEVCT January 28, 2020
  253. A Simple Man January 28, 2020
  254. In caritas January 28, 2020
  255. In caritas January 28, 2020
  256. james_o January 28, 2020
  257. SEDEVCT January 28, 2020
  258. In caritas January 29, 2020
  259. In caritas January 29, 2020
  260. A Simple Man January 29, 2020
  261. In caritas January 29, 2020