Hello CAF!
Did the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen ever have a response to the claim that the Chair of St. Peter is supposedly vacant? I think my timeline may be a bit faulty (can’t remember his feast day vs. when most Sedes claim St. Peter’s Chair to be vacated).
Thank you and God bless all!
- I think there is a moratorium on discussions of Sedevacantism around here, and I’ve even known users who were banned for endorsing that view, so tread lightly here.
- I am not aware of any response of Ven. Fulton Sheen to this thesis, as it did not have much traction at that time. There is a letter of his warning about the SSPX floating around the Internet, but I’m not linking to it here because the only site I found it hosted on is a quasi-Sedevacantist site itself. The text (as copied from there) is:
September 21, 1978
Dear Barbara:
I thank you for your kind letter and I admire you as the mother of eight small children. I am sure you are busy, but happy.
If you have any influence on your friend I would beg you to influence her to leave the so-called Society of Saint Pius X. This group has no ecclesiastical approval, and indeed, it can lead her and possibly her family into schism and even heresy.
The Vatican Council approved the updating of the Liturgy and amongst the changes were those recommended for the Mass. The changes made by Pope Paul VI were not doctrinal changes, they merely changed from Latin to the vernacular. There have been many changes in the Mass down through the centuries.
The Lord never said Mass in Latin; He used the language of the time. Moreover, the change in translation does not alter the meaning of the text. I am always looking for translations that make the Scriptures more understandable and clear.
Since I never write to anyone unless they have written to me I shall not write to Mrs. Richardon. I beg of you to tell her that she should withdraw from that schismatical sect as soon as possible, or suffer the consequence of possibly finding herself outside the Church.
God love you!
Based on this text, I doubt he would have thought much of Sedevacantism.
