The Siri Thesis: Sede Vacante Or 'Sede Remota' ?

The Siri Thesis is incorrect. [Edit: inexact] There was no hidden pope during the first few decades of the antipapacy established 1958. Siri was elected, it is true, and it may be true that his reign is prorogued as suggested here; but what is important to emphasize is that, as stated in 2 Thessalonians 2 (verses 6-7), the papacy which restrains the 'man of sin' and "withholdeth (him), that he may be revealed in his time" does not hold if a pope did actually exist but was hidden. No, St. Paul in Thessalonians was more explicit: he stated that (the papacy) was "taken out of the way" or "removed from the enemy's path".

This means that the papacy was removed as though it were null; it was not applicable; it was 'removed from the circles of the world'. It's not ended (St. Paul did not say that), but is completely removed for these times, as if it was abrogated as an institution. This was necessary for the antichrist to come, because he and the true pope cannot exist in the world at the same time, and this must include the antichrist's forerunners, the false popes. This also means that, during this period, no one can be elected in any case.

Since then, the requirement to have the name of the pope in the canon of the Mass is null. And, for the years 1958-1962, having the name of a false pope attached to the Tridentine did not matter. Not only was the papal chair empty (sedevacante) but it is not there to be found at all under Heaven (sederemota).

This is the reason why Roncalli established the altered mass on July 25, 1962, via the Apostolic Constitution Rubricarum Instructum, just a few months before the opening of Vatican '2' on October 11, 1962. The dragon could not yet undermine the bishops by having them recognize a false pope, and so be in schism; as if the papacy, for all intents and purposes, was no longer required; but he had to make unauthorized changes to induce them to move away from the legitimate mass of St. Pius V, and so fall into schism in that manner.

This may also mean that no canonical mission or papal mandate is now required for legitimate priests and bishops to operate in the world. 

In the examination of the "time and times, and half a time" for the second half of Apocalypse 12, in which the woman flees into the desert (out of the dioceses), this did not fit exactly with the length of Vatican '2', which was a little over three years (Oct. 11, 1962 until Dec. 8, 1965); but if the altered mass (July 25, 1962) is taken into account in the way described, it is indeed three and a half years - exactly.

 

*The 1962 missal was not binding on the Eastern Rite; thus the Church was "nourished for a 'time and times, and half a time' from the face of the serpent" (Apoc. 12:14).

 

**Siri could not have fallen from the papacy due to what is called by some cowardice, and by others acts of unfaithfulness by recognizing a false pope over and above himself. There was no papacy on earth any longer from which to fall, or else his own was 'prorogued' (Apoc. 12:5 is applicable to both notions). Another way is to view it like this: "What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder". God can separate things: the papacy from the pope, or the seat of the papacy from the world itself, which would amount to the same thing. But this is not a punishment: As St. Paul told us, "he who checks (the conspiracy of revolt) now will be able to check it, until he is removed from the enemy’s path" (2 Thess. 2:7~Knox). This was done by God to prevent the enemy from separating them, as Christ's promise to St. Peter indicates. [[ Dec.30/25 edit/clarification: It was to prevent the whole Church from being in the state of schism due to a technicality. See also Apoc. 2:24 about the "depths of Satan" ]]. This accounts for the relevant verses both of Apocalypse and Thessalonians.

*** On days: There are precisely 2,600 days inclusive from Siri's suppressed election on Oct. 26, 1958 until the close of Vatican '2' on Dec. 8, 1965, taking into account leap years. This is 45 days over precisely seven years. In Daniel 12:11-12, the time of the 'abomination unto desolation' is given as 1,290 days; but then: "Blessed is he that waiteth, and so cometh unto a thousand three hundred thirty-five days". The meaning of this is not known.

The time from Siri's election until the day before Roncalli's false version of the mass (Oct. 26, 1958 - July 24, 1962) is 1,367 days inclusive. This is considerably greater than 1,260 days. But the number is meant to indicate a time period of at least 3.5 years (two and forty months = 30 * 42 = 1,260). The years are thus truncated from 365 to 360, as each month is assumed to be 30 days. It would seem that the years and months are also truncated when indicating the general time period of the first half of chapter twelve. Thus, all of 1959, 1960, 1961 and the first six months of 1962 (not July) is "1,260 days" without part years or months.

(See "Faith Undermined (1958-1965)" for Apocalypse chapter 12.)