Conclavism

{{Short description|Electing of a rival pope by self-selected groups}} {{Distinguish|text=Conclavist, an assistant to a cardinal during a papal conclave}} {{one source|date=September 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}

'''Conclavism''' is the practice that has existed since the second half of the 20th century which consists in the convening of a pseudo-conclave to elect rival popes (antipopes) to the current pope of Rome. This method is used by some schismatic Catholics, often Sedevacantists, who do not accept the legitimacy of their present papacy. Those who hold the position that a conclave can be convened to elect an antipope to contest or rival the current Bishop of Rome are called ''conclavists''.<ref name=Chryssides/>

This claim is usually associated with claim known as ''sedevacantism'', which asserts that the present holder of the title Bishop of Rome is not ''pope'', which implies that the Holy See is vacant, or in a state of ''sede vacante''. Not all Sedevacantists are Conclavists.<ref name="Chryssides" />

The term "Conclavism" comes from the word "conclave", the term for a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, when that see is vacant.

Conclavism is different from what George Chryssides calls the "mysticalists" phenomenon, i.e. people declaring themselves popes after receiving a personal mystical revelation. This is because in the mysticalists' cases, no human institution is used to appoint a pope; an example of mysticalists is the Apostles of Infinite Love. Mysticalists are therefore not Conclavists according to this definition.<ref name="Chryssides" />

== Description ==

The description and explanation of conclavism of George Chryssides is:<ref name="Chryssides" /> {{Blockquote|text=Since most sedevacantists (although not all) object to Pope John XXIII's modernization of the Roman Catholic Church, they argue that he nullified his appointment to the papacy in 1958. It is therefore inferred that the conclave of cardinals who elected him was also invalid. Conclavists, however, hold that the method of electing a pope by a conclave remains the valid process and hence that it is necessary for a conclave to be reconstituted and convened. Since none of the members of that Pope John XXIII conclave remain alive, one must resort to the principle of ''epikeia'' ('reasonableness'), and that membership of a conclave should be drawn from the faithful community who are invited.}}

==History== Conclavism originated around the late 1960s and early 1970s, with one of the earliest proponents of the concept of reconvening a conclave being Joaquín Sáenz y Arriaga, a Mexican priest.<ref name="Chryssides" />

In the late 1980s, David Bawden promoted the idea of an antipapal election, and ultimately sent out over 200 copies of a book of his to the editors of all the sedevacantist publications he could find, and to all the priests listed in a directory of traditionalists as being sedevacantist.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pope Michael reply Bateman|url=http://catholiccouncil.homestead.com/PopeMichaelreplyBateman.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061015195357/http://catholiccouncil.homestead.com/PopeMichaelreplyBateman.html|archive-date=15 October 2006|access-date=25 December 2021|website=catholiccouncil.homestead.com}}</ref> He was then elected in 1990 by a group of six people who included himself and his parents, and took the name "Pope Michael".<ref>{{cite book|last=Fox|first=Robin|title=The Tribal Imagination: Civilization and the Savage Mind|year=2011|publisher=Harvard University Press|page=104|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MMm30y9a1G0C&pg=PA104|isbn=9780674059016}}</ref><ref name="Chryssides" />

==List of Papal claimants== * Michael I (David Allen Bawden): In 1990 six people, including Bawden's parents, elected Bawden, who took the name Pope Michael.<ref name="Chryssides">{{Cite book|last=Chryssides|first=George D.|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LgvvaMgTsZ0C&dq=%22Victor+von+Pentz%22&pg=PT75|title=Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements|date=2012|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7967-6|edition=2nd|pages=|language=en|chapter=CONCLAVISM.|author-link=George Chryssides}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Staff|date=6 December 2006|title=10 Most Bizarre People on Earth|url=https://www.oddee.com/item_65612.aspx|access-date=15 November 2021|website=Oddee|language=en-US}}</ref> He died on 2 August 2022 and was succeeded by Rogelio Martinez, who took the name of Pope Michael II, in July 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-10 |title=Habemus Papam!: Michael II |url=https://magnuslundberg.net/2023/08/10/habemus-papam-michael-ii/ |access-date= |website=Magnus Lundberg |language=en}}</ref> * Linus II (Victor von Pentz): Another conclave, this time held in Assisi, Italy, in 1994, elected South African Victor von Pentz, an ex-seminarian of the Society of St Pius X, as Pope Linus II. Linus took up residence in Hertfordshire, England.<ref name="Chryssides" /><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=_-IdqOpqbYYC&pg=PT56 Claudio Rendina, ''La santa casta della Chiesa''] (Newton Compton Editori 2010 {{ISBN|978-8-85412683-1}})</ref> He was inactive for most of his reign and died in 2021. <ref>{{Cite web|author=Magnus Lundberg|title=The Invisible Pope: Linus II and the 1994 Assisi Conclave|url=https://magnuslundberg.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/final-version4-linus-ii-1.pdf}}</ref> * Pius XIII (Lucian Pulvermacher): In October 1998, the U.S.-based {{Interlanguage link|True Catholic Church|pl|Prawdziwy Kościół Katolicki}} elected Pulvermacher as Pope Pius XIII.<ref name="Chryssides" /> He died on 30 November 2009. No successor was named. * Leo XIV (Oscar Michaelli): On 24 March 2006, a group of 34 calling themselves the "Catholic Apostolic Remnant Church" elected the Argentine Michaelli as Pope Leo XIV. On his death in 2008, Michaelli was succeeded by Juan Bautista Bonetti, who took the name of Pope Innocent XIV but resigned three months later. He was succeeded by Alejandro Tomas Cardinal Greico, who took the name of Pope Alexander IX.<ref name="Chryssides" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=15 May 2016|title=Modern Alternative Popes 20: A Papal Hoax|url=https://magnuslundberg.net/2016/05/15/modern-alternative-popes-20-a-papal-hoax/|access-date=10 January 2022|website=Magnus Lundberg|language=en}}</ref> By coincidence, the name "Leo XIV" would later be taken by American cardinal Robert Prevost upon his own election to the papacy in 2025.

==References==

Category:Conclavism