Dead on Arrival: An Autopsy of “True or False Pope?”

Requiem for an Embarrassment

Dead on Arrival:

An Autopsy of Salza & Siscoe’s
True or False Pope?

In a brand-new 30-minute video, embedded below, a cancer-stricken Fr. Anthony Cekada provides a high-level dissection of the main problems with John Salza and Robert Siscoe’s attempt to refute Sedevacantism in their book True or False Pope? Refuting Sedevacantism and other Modern Errors. After eliminating various red herrings and emotional arguments made by the anti-sedevacantist duo, Fr. Cekada shows that the foundational argument of the entire book is fatally flawed: Salza and Siscoe, who claim to have researched this topic for 10 years, do not even get the basics right about the sin of heresy. They claim that the sin of heresy is necessarily, by definition, a matter of the internal forum alone, and so they effectively deny that there is such a thing as public sin. To Salza and Siscoe, the sin is internal and the crime is external, by definition. The truth, however, is different: As a sin, heresy can be internal or external, and if external, it can be secret (occult) or public, as the following snapshot from the video summarizes:

The crime of heresy is always external, it is true, but this is not the same as saying that only the crime can be external. The sin can be external as well, namely, whenever it is externalized by signs, acts, words, or omissions. The sedevacantist argument has always been based on the public sin of heresy, not the crime.

Fr. Cekada’s video response, Dead on Arrival: True or False Pope, can be viewed in the player below. The direct YouTube link is available here.

After this video, expect the usual response from Salza and Siscoe: Lots of nasty ad hominem attacks, a twisting of sedevacantist arguments, refusal to concede any error on their end at all, and a smug declaration that they have once again been victorious.

As for Novus Ordo Watch, we will shift into full gear against Salza and Siscoe once our web site has been upgraded (yes, our web site is getting a complete makeover, didn’t you hear about it in TRADCAST 014?!). Considering that they have still not retracted their libelous accusation against us from months ago, we are not in a terrible hurry, and our challenge still stands: RETRACT AND APOLOGIZE.