The article "Totalism vs. the Cassiciacum Thesis" by Father Vili Lehtoranta, published on the St. Joseph Seminary website, addresses the comparison between two theological positions within Sedevacantism: Totalism and the Cassiciacum Thesis. The author was invited for an interview on the "Catholic Family Podcast" to discuss the Cassiciacum Thesis, which was defended by Bishop Donald Sanborn. The author, who worked with figures who rejected the Thesis, such as Bishop Daniel Dolan and Fr. Anthony Cekada, accepted the invitation to present his objections.
🤔 Is the Thesis Sedevacantism?Sedevacantism is the belief that the Papal See is vacant. Totalists believe the See has been vacant since the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, while the Thesis argues that the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) was valid, but he did not properly accept his election. The Cassiciacum Thesis is a theological position within Sedevacantism, developed by the French theologian Bishop Michel Guérard des Lauriers, to whom the work Work of Human Hands is dedicated as the author of the Ottaviani Intervention (Cekada, 2010, p. 3). The name "Cassiciacum" refers to the town of Cassiciacum (now Cassago Brianza, Italy), where St. Augustine retreated to study and write after his conversion to Christianity. The Cassiciacum Thesis proposes that the post-Vatican II popes were validly elected but did not properly accept their election to the papacy due to their adherence to modernism, a heresy condemned by the Catholic Church. This adherence to modernism is manifested, above all, in the promulgation and defense of the Mass of Paul VI, a rite that represents a doctrinal rupture and a "destruction of Catholic doctrine" (Cekada, 2010, p. 478). Therefore, according to this thesis, these popes are "popes materialiter" (materially popes) but not "popes formaliter" (formally popes), which means they occupy the papal position but do not exercise legitimate papal authority.
⛪ Where is the Hierarchy today?
The Thesis defends that the apostolic hierarchy continues with the modernist bishops in a material sense, while Totalists believe the true hierarchy lies with the traditionalist bishops who possess valid orders and the Catholic faith. From the Totalist perspective, the modernist hierarchy, by embracing and imposing a new rite, demonstrated an intention contrary to the good of the Church, effectively separating itself from it. The post-conciliar liturgical legislation itself, by promoting a systematic deregulation, shattered the unity of the Church's official prayer and allowed for the proliferation of doctrinal errors (Cekada, 2010, p. 483-484).
🌍 Where is the Catholic Church?
The Thesis sees Bergoglio's church as the true Catholic Church in its material structure, while Totalists consider it a new heretical church, separate from the true Church of Christ. The Totalist position is based on the principle that the identity of the Catholic Church is manifested in its doctrine, discipline, and, crucially, in its worship. The introduction of the Mass of Paul VI, with its theology of the assembly and its emptying of the concept of propitiatory sacrifice, represents the creation of an essentially new and non-Catholic rite, making the entity that promotes it a new religion (Cekada, 2010, p. 479).
👨⚖️ Is Bergoglio eligible for the Papacy?
The Thesis argues that Bergoglio could be validly elected Pope, but Totalists affirm that, as a heretic, he is ineligible for the papacy. The Totalist perspective is strengthened by the fact that a candidate's public heresy is not limited to verbal declarations but is manifested in public acts. By celebrating and imposing the Mass of Paul VI, a rite that in itself represents a "rupture with tradition" (Cekada, 2010, p. 471) and promotes a different faith, a candidate for the papacy demonstrates a pertinacity in heresy that makes him, by divine law, incapable of receiving papal authority.
✝️ Where will the Pope come from, then?
Three theories are suggested for the restoration of the papacy: direct divine intervention, an imperfect General Council, or the conversion of Bergoglio to the true Faith. Totalists rely on divine intervention. For the "conversion" of a materialiter pope to be theologically significant, it would require not just a personal abjuration of errors, but the complete abolition of the liturgical reform. It would be necessary to condemn the Mass of Paul VI and restore the Tridentine Mass, as the new rite is the primary vehicle through which the modernist apostasy was imposed on the Church. The mere acceptance of the traditional rite would not suffice; the new rite would have to be repudiated as delenda est—"it must be destroyed" (Cekada, 2010, p. 492).
🏁 Conclusion
The author concludes that the Cassiciacum Thesis, although an acceptable explanation in the past, is obsolete today. He argues that Bergoglio's church has nothing to do with the true Church of Christ. This conclusion aligns with the analysis that the Mass of Paul VI is not merely an inferior version of the traditional rite, but something fundamentally different, built on a Protestant and modernist theology. The entity that universally promotes such a rite, therefore, cannot be the same Catholic Church that would condemn it.
📚 References
Cekada, A. (2010). Obra de Mãos Humanas: Uma crítica teológica à Missa de Paulo VI. Philothea Press.
Lehtoranta, V. Totalism vs. the Cassiciacum Thesis. St. Joseph Seminary. Retrieved.
📚 About the Author
The Rev. Vili Lehtoranta is a traditionalist Catholic priest and a sedevacantist. He was born in 1978 in Turku, Finland, and was baptized in the Lutheran religion. After graduating from college, he converted to Catholicism and became a member of the local Catholic parish. In 2001, he began his studies at the theological faculty of the University of Helsinki. In 2006, he decided to leave his local parish upon discovering that the local Catholic hierarchy was not the true Catholic Church, as he believed. Lehtoranta was influenced by the writings of Fr. Anthony Cekada and, after visiting St. Gertrude the Great Roman Catholic Church in West Chester, Ohio, and Most Holy Trinity Seminary in Brooksville, Florida, he made his abjuration of errors and received conditional baptism. He graduated with a Master of Theology (Church History) from the University of Helsinki in 2007, and in September of the same year, he began his studies for the priesthood at Most Holy Trinity Seminary. He was ordained a priest on November 16, 2011, by Bishop Daniel Dolan at St. Gertrude the Great Church. Lehtoranta is the author of several books, including "The Nail of Jahel" and "The Cold Heart: Stories and Fairy Tales with Morals for Children and Young People". He is also known for his defense of the Traditional Latin Mass and for rejecting the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, especially those on ecumenism and religious liberty.