HOPELESS FOLLOWERS OF A DEAD ‘CHURCH’”? A Misunderstanding, an Irony, and When Insult Replaces Refutation
Serous theological questions deserve serious theological answers. Unfortunately, when arguments become difficult to answer, some prefer ridicule to reasoning. What a shame. Prologue: Errant Emotion on the Runway! Consider the following text: Granted, the word “Sedevacantists” lacks appeal, but “Catholics-practicing-the-Faith-during-the-Great-Apostasy-prophesied-by-countless-Popes-Saints-Mystics-the-Apostle-Paul-and-our-Blessed-Mother-not-to-mention-Jesus-Christ-our-Lord-Himself” is quite a mouthful. Miss neither the humor nor the point: Sedevacantists’ self-understanding is much grander and more justified than the label suggests. Now, in response to this a novus ordo enthusiast retorts with a burst of errant emotion: Hopeless-popeless followers of dead "Church" is more accurate. This is just one of the many common insults directed against sedevacantists; the uncompromising Catholics to-day. “Hopeless-popeless followers of a dead church.”?! The phrase is...