(LifeSiteNews) — The Francis papacy has been swirling out of control for more than a decade, and the advice from conservative prelates to attempt to keep your head down and look the other way has backfired with a vengeance, as once-faithful Catholics have turned to Greek Orthodoxy, Old Catholic and other sects. Confusion in the Church is rampant, with the vast majority of Catholics believing the impossible – that the Church has altered its teaching on homosexuality, on contraception, divorce and remarriage, gender, the death penalty, and pagan idol worship.
The possibility of questioning the legitimacy of the papacy of Pope Francis has been fought by nearly all conservative prelates in the Church, except for a few who have publicly stated that Francis has abandoned the papacy by his heresies. Those prelates, two retired and one in hiding, include Kazakhstan Archbishop Jan Paweł Lenga, Texas Bishop René Henry Gracida, and Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò.
Other theories suggest that Francis is not, and never has been, pope, because of a faulty election due to the machinations of the St. Gallen Mafia, which would result in a voided election according to the constitution on the election of popes penned by Pope St. John Paul II. And finally there is the theory that Benedict’s resignation was invalid, thus remaining the reigning pontiff, and Francis’ election was void, and that there should have been a papal election following the death of Benedict XVI.
That third theory has a different subtheory, one of which made for a best-selling book in Italy which posits the controversial thesis that Pope Benedict XVI did not actually resign the papacy, but tricked his powerful opponents in the Vatican to reveal themselves with a fake resignation.
Andrea Cionci, a native Roman Italian, art historian, journalist, and war correspondent is a regular contributor to several national newspapers and author of 2023 book The Ratzinger Code, which has sold more than 20,000 copies and translated into five languages.
I must say that I myself was not convinced by the full argument, especially since I watched as Pope Benedict lauded Pope Francis. But nonetheless, there are many serious and faithful Catholics, dozens of professors in fact, who do think the theory is credible. I spoke with one of those professors today – Prof. Erik Thaddeus Walters, Dr. phil., a philologist, theologian, and professor of history, Latin, and religious studies from John Cabot University in Rome, who has lived, studied, and worked in Rome for almost 30 years.
Dr. Walters unpacks Cionci’s thesis for us on the show today. Let us know what you think in the comments.
The John-Henry Westen Show is available by video on the show’s YouTube channel and right here on my LifeSite blog.
It is also available in audio format on platforms such as Spotify, Soundcloud, and Acast. We are awaiting approval for iTunes and Google Play as well. To subscribe to the audio version on various channels, visit the Acast webpage here.
We’ve created a special email list for the show so that we can notify you every week when we post a new episode. Please sign up now by clicking here. You can also subscribe to the YouTube channel, and you’ll be notified by YouTube when there is new content.
You can send me feedback, or ideas for show topics by emailing [email protected].
