Fr. Paul Kramer: Benedict XVI Still Pope – Enter the Resignationists

Update on “Fr.” Kramer’s Rejection of Francis

Rev. Paul Kramer: “Benedict XVI Still Pope”
– The Rise of “Resignationism”

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On November 29, 2013, we had happily reported that the well-known resistance traditionalist Rev. Paul Kramer, editor of The Devil’s Final Battle, had rejected Jorge Bergoglio’s claim to be the Pope of the Catholic Church and declared that the Holy See was vacant. Shortly thereafter, however, Kramer began claiming that Benedict XVI — officially the “Pope Emeritus” — was still reigning despite his resignation effective February 28 of this year. Here is what he posted on his Facebook page the day after announcing “sede vacante”:

The reason Kramer gives for his new position is that he believes Ratzinger’s resignation to have been invalid because it was obtained, so he is convinced, through coercion (acc. to Novus Ordo and also Catholic Church law, resignations obtained through fear unjustly inflicted are invalid; see Novus Ordo Canon 188; Catholic Canon 185). In an interview conducted with him (linked further below), Kramer claims he has ‘inside’ information confirming Benedict’s resignation to have been forced.

A few months ago, we had already predicted that eventually there would emerge a group of people whom we might call “neo-sedevacantists” — those who admit that Francis isn’t the Pope but, instead of agreeing with the classical sedevacantist position, insist that the last true Pope was Benedict XVI (rather than Pius XII). Apparently this view is now beginning to gain ground, but with an added twist: These people are convinced Benedict XVI is still the Pope!

Are we witnessing the beginning of a new movement? Will more people now be willing to recognize Francis for the apostate that he clearly is because now they have this “new” option to fall back on — that Benedict is in fact still the Pope? (Clearly, this is a much softer and much less disturbing position for many compared to Sedevacantism — yet entirely untenable, as Benedict himself was never Pope for an instant, and the fact that Benedict XVI himself acknowledges Francis as “Pope” is not helping either.) This position — that Benedict’s resignation was invalid and he is still the legitimately reigning Pope, and Francis an imposter — we propose to call “Resignationism”, and its adherents “Resignationists.”

At this point, “Fr.” Kramer is clearly the most prominent representative of this new Resignationist movement. On his Facebook page, he posted a link to the prophecies of the Ven. Anne Catherine Emmerich, which he believes foretold “Bergoglio’s false church.” Yet, as the Daily Catholic pointed out in a column published many years ago, the very false church Kramer denounces didn’t just arrive with Francis but has been around since the Second Vatican Council. It is incredibly difficult to see how Kramer can conclude that Francis is a charlatan but his five predecessors weren’t. But that is a topic for another post.

Meanwhile, other blogs have picked up on Kramer’s rejection of Francis. The Spanish-speaking Amor de la Verdad has a post on it here; Ecce Christianus published an analysis here; and Radio Spada even conducted an interview with the Rev. Kramer at this link.

It is clear that this story is still unfolding, and we will continue to update you at this blog for any significant new developments.