Problems may arise for legitimacy!
The Western Schism
Inquirers sometimes ask, “Have there not been for periods of history two or three popes or claimants to the papacy at the same time, as, for instance, during the great Western Schism from 1378 to 1417? Can we be sure that the right pope emerged after the trouble?” Yes, there were several claimants to the papacy at the same time, but only one pope. (There can be several claimants to the American presidency at once, but only one president at a time.)
All Catholics knew there could be only one pope. The question was which of the claimants was the true pope. News traveled slowly in those days. National groups confused the issue by indulging in propaganda for their own candidate. There was confusion and scandal, but the succession from Peter was never broken.
Because of civil wars in Italy, in 1309 Clement V moved to Avignon in the south of France. The next five popes were French; they lived at Avignon, but they were, of course, bishops of Rome. Pope Gregory XI died in 1378, and the conclave met in Rome to choose his successor. Urban VI, an Italian archbishop, was chosen. Thirteen French cardinals then said the wish of the Roman people to have an Italian pope had influenced the conclave in its choice, so they chose Cardinal Robert, of Geneva, as Clement VII. The Roman cardinals naturally declared this election schismatical, but the rival lines went on for nearly forty years side by side.
Clement VII was an anti-pope (a false claimant to the papacy) from 1378 to 1394. Anti-pope Benedict XIII succeeded him, and France, Lorraine, Scotland (France’s ally), Naples, and Spain declared for Benedict and regarded him as being legitimately chosen. Other countries stood by Urban VI. The confusion was increased when a local council of bishops at Pisa tried to heal the schism in 1409, but only succeeded in producing yet another anti-pope, Alexander V, who lasted for a year and was followed by John XXIII (1410-1415), who is not to be confused with the authentic Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963. The solution finally came when the anti-pope John XXIII resigned, Benedict XIII was deposed, and Gregory XII, Uban’s third successor, laid down his office for the sake of peace. The Council of Constance then cleared the way for Martin V’s election.
The Western Schism is an indication of the power of Christ in his Church. No merely human institution could have survived such a test of its unity. The foundation of that unity is Peter’s authority vested in the bishop of Rome. Unity survived; its foundation survived.
Doubt about who was the rightful pope during the years of schism does not affect the position of later popes. The papacy is not handed on by one bishop of Rome to another through the laying on of hands, any more than the British prime minister hands on his office to another. As a pope does not receive his office from his predecessor, the identity of that predecessor does not really concern him. A man is pope because the Church recognizes him as bishop of Rome, the successor of Peter.
Once universal agreement was reached after the Western Schism as to whom the Church recognized as bishop of Rome, that person’s position as pope was clear. Who his predecessors were during the period of doubts is of no importance. His position depended on the permanence of the See of Rome, not on the identity of its bishops.
It is well worthy of note that even during the darkest days of the Great Schism nobody doubted the fact of the unity of the Church as a visible society. No one was prepared to see distinct organizations within the Church, each demanding obedience. On the contrary, everyone knew that there was but one visible authority left to his Church by Christ; all knew that the holder of that authority was the bishop of Rome; all were anxious that the identity of that person should be finally decided.
The basic truth emerges as the constant belief of the Church: Where the bishop of Rome is, there is Peter; where Peter is, there is Christ; therefore, where the bishop of Rome is, there is Christ.
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