(LifeSiteNews) — LifeSite recently published Dr. Edmund Mazza’s analysis of why Benedict XVI’s arguably invalid resignation of the papacy would have caused the conclave that ostensibly elected Bishop Jorge Bergoglio to also be invalid. In addition to Dr. Mazza’s argument, which has persuaded many Catholics, there are at least two other serious arguments that Francis is not pope:
- That Francis has lost the papal office because he has “publicly and pertinaciously contradicted a number of central teachings of the Catholic faith,” as suggested in a May 2, 2024 “Call for the Resignation of Pope Francis”
- That Francis is the head of the anti-Catholic Synodal Church, and therefore an apostate who cannot simultaneously be head of the Catholic Church
Any of these three independent reasons could, if true, suffice to show that Jorge Bergoglio is not the pope. Thus, if Dr. Mazza’s argument is true, then Francis would not be pope even if he was perfectly orthodox and there was no such thing as the Synodal Church. Or, if Francis was validly elected, he would still not be pope if either of the other two arguments is true.
The rationale for evaluating whether Francis is the pope would be strong even if his words and deeds were relatively benign and we expected that the next conclave could elect a truly Catholic pope. However, that is clearly not the case: Francis is actively trying to destroy the Catholic Church and, to perpetuate that objective even after his death, he has stacked the College of Cardinals with like-minded opponents of true Catholicism. Thus, it is difficult to imagine a situation in which it would be more obvious that serious Catholics should consider what steps can be taken to remove Francis from the papacy (or declare that he never legitimately occupied it) and elect a truly Catholic pope…
There is another reason. The conclave violated three of the rules of Universi Domenici Gregis. Any one violations, said JPII, invalidates the election, and the person so elected has no right and there need be no declaration on the matter.