The Simulacrum: The False Choice of Modernism and Sedevacantism

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The Simulacrum: The False Choice of Modernism and Sedevacantism

The Catholic Trumpet | November 25, 2024


In these unparalleled times of crisis, faithful Catholics are faced with two opposing temptations: blind obedience to modernist Rome and the error of sedevacantism. Both distort the truth and undermine the indefectibility of the Church, creating what can only be described as a simulacrum—a counterfeit reality, carefully crafted to lead souls astray.

Recently, The Catholic Trumpet was addressed in a post from a sedevacantist website, Questions for The Catholic Trumpet, which posed critical questions about our stance:

“Only the Church, through her divine authority, can judge a pope in matters of heresy, and this occurs only after his death.”

The questions raised include:

1. Why can’t a layman judge, in conscience, a putative pope guilty of the sin of (public) heresy before an official judgment of the Church?
2. If a putative pope is suspect of heresy, why does the Church have to wait until after his death to judge him guilty of heresy?

We appreciate the opportunity to clarify our position and to reaffirm the Church’s timeless teachings. These questions, while seemingly simple, expose the confusion born from the two false extremes of modernism and sedevacantism, both of which obscure the perennial truths of the Faith.

The Catholic Church remains the Mystical Body of Christ, guided by the Holy Ghost, and her indefectibility ensures that she will never fail, even amidst the gravest of crises. Our response to these errors is neither a synthesis nor a reaction but a defense of the perennial teaching of the Catholic Church as handed down through Sacred Tradition.


Clarifications on Judging a Pope and the Role of the Faithful

1. Why the Church Alone Can Judge a Pope
The authority to judge a pope resides solely with the Church, as established by Christ in His divine constitution of the hierarchy. Private individuals, while able to observe contradictions in a pope’s actions or teachings, lack the authority to declare him a formal heretic or depose him. This principle protects the Church’s unity and visibility, as declared infallibly at Vatican I.

+Archbishop Lefebvre emphasized this when addressing the complexities of papal authority:

“The visibility of the Church is too necessary to its existence for it to be possible that God would allow that visibility to disappear for decades.” (The New Mass and the Pope, 1979)

The example of Pope Honorius I reaffirms this principle: though his writings were later condemned, the Church waited until after his death to issue her judgment. This prudence preserved the Church’s hierarchical structure and prevented destabilization.


2. Sedevacantism: A Hegelian Trap

Sedevacantism, while rejecting modernist obedience, falls into the opposite error of denying the visible authority of the Church entirely. It creates a false dialectic: either accept a heretical pope or deny the existence of the papacy altogether. This false dichotomy undermines the promises of Christ, who assured us, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against [the Church]” (Matt. 16:18).

+Archbishop Lefebvre warned against this extreme, calling it "a complete mess":

“The solution of sedevacantism is not a solution... We must keep a little the solution of common sense... to recognize that there is a successor on the throne of Peter, and that it is necessary to strongly oppose him, because of the errors he spreads.” (Conference, 1989)

While we sympathize with those who have fallen into this error out of zeal for the Faith, we must firmly reject it as incompatible with Catholic teaching. Both modernism and sedevacantism undermine the unity and indefectibility of the Church, albeit in different ways. Modernism distorts doctrine to accommodate novelty, while sedevacantism abandons the Church’s visible structure to safeguard perceived doctrinal purity. Both lead to schism and confusion, contrary to Christ’s design for His Church.

Archbishop Lefebvre exposed this simulacrum when he observed:

“Either we endorse the revolution in the Church, and participate in the destruction of the Church, or we leave the Church completely and find ourselves where? Who with? What with? How would we be linked to the apostles?”
(Conference, Econe, 1984)

True fidelity lies in adhering to the Faith as handed down by the Apostles, rejecting error without abandoning the visible Church. This is not a middle ground or synthesis but the consistent teaching of Catholic Tradition.


The Simulacrum of the Eclipse Church

The false dichotomy of modernism and sedevacantism forms a simulacrum, a counterfeit Church that exists within the eclipse described by Our Lady of La Salette. This diabolical ring encircles the visible Church, obscuring her from the faithful while ensnaring souls in errors of disobedience and despair.

+Archbishop Lefebvre captured the essence of this counterfeit:

“We remain as we are now, we want to keep Tradition. But neither do we want to separate ourselves completely from the Pope, saying, ‘There is no longer a pope, there is no longer anything, there is no more authority.’ That solution doesn’t work either.” (Conference, 1984)

The simulacrum thrives on division, presenting Catholics with false choices that lead away from the perennial Faith. Recognizing and rejecting this counterfeit is essential for fidelity to Christ and His Church.


Reject the Counterfeit

To those ensnared by dogmatic sedevacantism, we call you back to the visible Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, which remains indefectible and cannot be eclipsed by error. Reject the false claim that the Chair of Peter has been abandoned, and return to the one true Ark of Salvation.

To those who blindly adhere to modernist Rome, we admonish you to reject the errors and heresies of Vatican II and its counterfeit church, which promotes novelty and compromise under the guise of continuity. Stop perpetuating the eclipse of the true Church by clinging to modernism, which distorts the Faith and undermines Tradition.

Both dogmatic sedevacantism and modernism represent false positions within the simulacrum of the Church’s eclipse. True fidelity requires breaking free from this counterfeit reality, neither denying the visible authority of the Church nor succumbing to heretical novelties. Trust in the promises of Christ, the triumph of the Immaculate Heart, and the divine restoration that will come through the Angelic Pontiff.

Let us reject all errors, resist modernist compromises, and remain faithful to the Church of all ages, confident that Christ will guide His Bride through this time of trial. May the Immaculate Heart of Mary intercede for us, and may her promised triumph restore all things in Christ.


Vive le Christ Roi!

The Catholic Trumpet