David Bawden
Encyclopedia
David Allen Bawden is a Traditionalist Catholic
recognized as Pope Michael I by a small group of conclavists
based in Delia
, Kansas
, USA. He was elected by a group of six lay
sedevacantists
, which included himself and his parents, as they felt the Catholic Church had departed too far from the teachings of Jesus, and that the popes elected since the death of Pope Pius XII
in 1958 were all invalid as they were "modernists"
. Conclavists and some sedevacantists believe that if the College of Cardinals
will not or cannot elect a valid pope, lay Catholics can do so, under the principle of "epikeia" (equity).
Unlike other papal claimants, David Bawden's election did not involve any previously ordained clergy
from the Catholic Church. Bawden attended two seminaries run by the Society of Saint Pius X, but did not receive orders from either.
in 1980. Bawden attended the semiary of Marcel Lefebvre
in Ecône, Switzerland and Kansas. He was asked to leave both schools.
In December 1983 Bawden wrote a letter to a group of friends outlining his belief that Rome no longer had authority. This was followed in November 1985 by the paper, "Jurisdiction, During the Great Apostasy", written in response to the writings of the traditionalist Roman Catholic priest Lucian Pulvermacher
, who was later elected by a small conclavist group as the antipope
Pius XIII; this expanded on Bawden's views that Rome no longer had jurisdiction, and was distributed worldwide.
In the early 1980s Teresa Benns wrote an article asking "all Catholics" to join together to hold an election, which was published in a small Traditionalist Catholic
newsletter. In 1990 Benns and Bawden published "Will the Catholic Church Survive the Twentieth Century" in order to state their claim that a Papal conclave
was necessary to fill the perceived vacancy in the Holy See
, as well as to refute the many heresies they ascribed to Traditionalists. Benns and Bawden claim to have invited all "orthodox" Catholics to join, but they received only six respondents.
The conclave was held on July 16, 1990 in Belvue, Kansas
in the United States
in a store owned by the Bawden family. There were six electors: David Bawden himself, his parents Mr. Kennett Bawden and Mrs. Clara Bawden, a Mr. & Mrs. Robert Hunt, and Teresa Benns, who had been the main motivator of the conclave. They then formed the conclave which elected Bawden, who took the regnal name
Michael. He said that his motivation came from Pope Leo XIII
's decision to institute the Invocation of St. Michael the Archangel and to add it to every low Tridentine Mass
. However, Paul VI did not include that invocation in the new, modern Mass of Paul VI
(or Novus Ordo). which he brought into being alongside the traditional form after the Second Vatican Council
.
Benns, one of the original six electors, has since withdrawn her support of Bawden, and she published a series of writings on the internet in 2007 questioning the canonical status of his election as pope. The central theses of Benns' opposition to Bawden is the claim that the laity cannot under any circumstance participate in the election of a pope, and that a mere layman cannot be elected Pope. Bawden condemned Benns' manuscript as heresy
. In 2009 his long-serving "papal secretary", the East Indian Lucio Mascarenhas was replaced at his own request by Phil Friedl, a young American who is studying for the priesthood under Bawden.
, Pope Paul VI
, Pope John Paul I
, Pope John Paul II
, and Pope Benedict XVI
were invalid because they are all modernist
s.
Pope Pius X
had in Lamentabili sane exitu
(supplementary to the general Syllabus of condemned errors
issued by Pope Pius IX
), condemned Modernism as heresy
, and in 1907 had issued Praestantia Scriptura in which he imposed automatic excommunication
upon all Modernists who remained within the church, stating:
The claim that Pope Pius XII's successors are modernists as conceived by Pope Pius X is dismissed as factually inaccurate by the vast majority of Catholics, who point out that to date every œcumenical council has seen some controversy, especially councils which perform major revision and reform work such as the Council of Trent
which codified the Tridentine Mass
and numerous other reforms in response to the Protestant Reformation
.
Bawden argues that because these previous Popes were heretic
s the papal position is vacant and in this case it is the duty of any good Catholic to put himself forward to lead the church.
, 1870), and it has always the right to supply itself with a Pope
. The official process of election, through a papal conclave
of the College of Cardinals
, is not a divinely ordered process for selection but a method created by the Church to replace earlier methods. Conclavists and some sedevacantists argue that if the College of Cardinals will not or cannot elect a valid pope, lay Catholics can do so, under the principle of "epikeia" (equity).
The view of some sedevacantists is that none of the appointments made since 1958 to the College of Cardinals
are valid, as the Popes who made them were themselves invalid. As there are no surviving members of the pre-1958 College of Cardinals, there is no college to do the electing, necessitating a new interim procedure to elect a new pope who would then fill the vacancies and so create a valid College of Cardinals.
in descent from the Old Catholic Arnold Harris Mathew.
interviewed Bawden for his 2004 book, What's the Matter with Kansas?
, and devoted a chapter to him. The book Alleluia America!: An Irish Journalist in Bush Country, by Irish journalist Carole Coleman
, contains an interview with Bawden. The 2005 book Conclave by John L. Allen, written before the death of John Paul II and election of Benedict XVI, begins with a description of the conclave at which Bawden was elected. Allen states that this shows that the ceremonials of a conclave are so familiar to Catholics that even a dissident group such as this tries to lay claim to them. At the 2008 Notre Dame Film Festival, a short documentary
entitled Pope Michael was premiered focusing on the daily activities of Bawden.
Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
recognized as Pope Michael I by a small group of conclavists
Conclavism
Conclavism is the belief and practice of some who, claiming that Pope Benedict XVI, Pope John Paul II and other recent occupants of the papal see are not true popes, elect someone else and propose him as the true pope to whom the allegiance of Catholics is due....
based in Delia
Delia, Kansas
Delia is a city in Jackson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 179. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Delia is located at ....
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, USA. He was elected by a group of six lay
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
sedevacantists
Sedevacantism
Sedevacantism is the position held by a minority of Traditionalist Catholics who hold that the present occupant of the papal see is not truly Pope and that, for lack of a valid Pope, the see has been vacant since the death of either Pope Pius XII in 1958 or Pope John XXIII in 1963.Sedevacantists...
, which included himself and his parents, as they felt the Catholic Church had departed too far from the teachings of Jesus, and that the popes elected since the death of Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
in 1958 were all invalid as they were "modernists"
Modernism (Roman Catholicism)
Modernism refers to theological opinions expressed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but with influence reaching into the 21st century, which are characterized by a break with the past. Catholic modernists form an amorphous group. The term "modernist" appears in Pope Pius X's 1907...
. Conclavists and some sedevacantists believe that if the College of Cardinals
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...
will not or cannot elect a valid pope, lay Catholics can do so, under the principle of "epikeia" (equity).
Unlike other papal claimants, David Bawden's election did not involve any previously ordained clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
from the Catholic Church. Bawden attended two seminaries run by the Society of Saint Pius X, but did not receive orders from either.
Background
Bawden and his family joined the Society of St. Pius XSociety of St. Pius X
The Society of Saint Pius X is an international Traditionalist Catholic organisation, founded in 1970 by the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre...
in 1980. Bawden attended the semiary of Marcel Lefebvre
Marcel Lefebvre
Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.In 1970,...
in Ecône, Switzerland and Kansas. He was asked to leave both schools.
In December 1983 Bawden wrote a letter to a group of friends outlining his belief that Rome no longer had authority. This was followed in November 1985 by the paper, "Jurisdiction, During the Great Apostasy", written in response to the writings of the traditionalist Roman Catholic priest Lucian Pulvermacher
Lucian Pulvermacher
Lucian Pulvermacher was a traditionalist Roman Catholic priest. He was the head of the "True Catholic Church," a small conclavist group that, without authorization from the Holy See of Rome, elected him Pope Pius XIII in October, 1998...
, who was later elected by a small conclavist group as the antipope
Antipope
An antipope is a person who opposes a legitimately elected or sitting Pope and makes a significantly accepted competing claim to be the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church. At times between the 3rd and mid-15th century, antipopes were typically those supported by a...
Pius XIII; this expanded on Bawden's views that Rome no longer had jurisdiction, and was distributed worldwide.
In the early 1980s Teresa Benns wrote an article asking "all Catholics" to join together to hold an election, which was published in a small Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
newsletter. In 1990 Benns and Bawden published "Will the Catholic Church Survive the Twentieth Century" in order to state their claim that a Papal conclave
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
was necessary to fill the perceived vacancy in the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, as well as to refute the many heresies they ascribed to Traditionalists. Benns and Bawden claim to have invited all "orthodox" Catholics to join, but they received only six respondents.
The conclave was held on July 16, 1990 in Belvue, Kansas
Belvue, Kansas
Belvue is a city in Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States. The population was 228 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Manhattan, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Belvue is located at ....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in a store owned by the Bawden family. There were six electors: David Bawden himself, his parents Mr. Kennett Bawden and Mrs. Clara Bawden, a Mr. & Mrs. Robert Hunt, and Teresa Benns, who had been the main motivator of the conclave. They then formed the conclave which elected Bawden, who took the regnal name
Regnal name
A regnal name, or reign name, is a formal name used by some monarchs and popes during their reigns. Since medieval times, monarchs have frequently chosen to use a name different from their own personal name when they inherit a throne....
Michael. He said that his motivation came from Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
's decision to institute the Invocation of St. Michael the Archangel and to add it to every low Tridentine Mass
Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...
. However, Paul VI did not include that invocation in the new, modern Mass of Paul VI
Mass of Paul VI
The Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Catholic Mass of the Roman Rite promulgated by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council...
(or Novus Ordo). which he brought into being alongside the traditional form after the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
.
Benns, one of the original six electors, has since withdrawn her support of Bawden, and she published a series of writings on the internet in 2007 questioning the canonical status of his election as pope. The central theses of Benns' opposition to Bawden is the claim that the laity cannot under any circumstance participate in the election of a pope, and that a mere layman cannot be elected Pope. Bawden condemned Benns' manuscript as heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
. In 2009 his long-serving "papal secretary", the East Indian Lucio Mascarenhas was replaced at his own request by Phil Friedl, a young American who is studying for the priesthood under Bawden.
Bawden's claim to the papacy
Bawden's position is that the elections of Pope John XXIIIPope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
, Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
, Pope John Paul I
Pope John Paul I
John Paul I , born Albino Luciani, , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes...
, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, and Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
were invalid because they are all modernist
Modernism (Roman Catholicism)
Modernism refers to theological opinions expressed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but with influence reaching into the 21st century, which are characterized by a break with the past. Catholic modernists form an amorphous group. The term "modernist" appears in Pope Pius X's 1907...
s.
Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
had in Lamentabili sane exitu
Lamentabili Sane Exitu
Lamentabili Sane Exitu is a 1907 syllabus, prepared by the Holy Office and confirmed by Pope Pius X, which condemned errors in the exegesis of Holy Scripture and in the history and interpretation of dogma...
(supplementary to the general Syllabus of condemned errors
Syllabus of Errors
The Syllabus of Errors was a document issued by Holy See under Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1864, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, on the same day as the Pope's encyclical Quanta Cura.- Format :...
issued by Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
), condemned Modernism as heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
, and in 1907 had issued Praestantia Scriptura in which he imposed automatic excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
upon all Modernists who remained within the church, stating:
We declare and determine that if anyone (which God forbid) should go forward so brazenly as to defend any proposition reprobated in either of these documents, he incurs by that very fact excommunication reserved to the Roman Pontiff.
The claim that Pope Pius XII's successors are modernists as conceived by Pope Pius X is dismissed as factually inaccurate by the vast majority of Catholics, who point out that to date every œcumenical council has seen some controversy, especially councils which perform major revision and reform work such as the Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
which codified the Tridentine Mass
Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...
and numerous other reforms in response to the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
.
Bawden argues that because these previous Popes were heretic
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
s the papal position is vacant and in this case it is the duty of any good Catholic to put himself forward to lead the church.
Justification for electing a Pope
According to Catholic theology, the church possesses Popes in perpetuity (First Vatican CouncilFirst Vatican Council
The First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...
, 1870), and it has always the right to supply itself with a Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
. The official process of election, through a papal conclave
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
of the College of Cardinals
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...
, is not a divinely ordered process for selection but a method created by the Church to replace earlier methods. Conclavists and some sedevacantists argue that if the College of Cardinals will not or cannot elect a valid pope, lay Catholics can do so, under the principle of "epikeia" (equity).
The view of some sedevacantists is that none of the appointments made since 1958 to the College of Cardinals
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...
are valid, as the Popes who made them were themselves invalid. As there are no surviving members of the pre-1958 College of Cardinals, there is no college to do the electing, necessitating a new interim procedure to elect a new pope who would then fill the vacancies and so create a valid College of Cardinals.
Holy Orders
Bawden has never been ordained as a priest, but has been looking for a dissident bishop to ordain him. In October 2006 it was reported that Bawden hoped in the near future to obtain priestly ordination and episcopal consecration from a person prepared to acknowledge his papal claim and claiming episcopal ordersApostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
in descent from the Old Catholic Arnold Harris Mathew.
Media coverage
More recently, however, Bawden's claim to the papacy has faced some increased attention and criticism from mainstream media. Thomas FrankThomas Frank
Thomas Frank is an American author, journalist and columnist for Harper's Magazine. He is a former columnist for the Wall Street Journal, authoring "The Tilting Yard" from 2008 to 2010....
interviewed Bawden for his 2004 book, What's the Matter with Kansas?
What's the Matter with Kansas?
What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America is a book by American journalist and historian Thomas Frank, which explores the rise of populist anti-elitist Conservatism in the United States, centering on the experience of Kansas, Frank's native state...
, and devoted a chapter to him. The book Alleluia America!: An Irish Journalist in Bush Country, by Irish journalist Carole Coleman
Carole Coleman
Carole Coleman is an Irish journalist. Originally from Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim, she was until recently the Washington correspondent for Raidió Teilifís Éireann . She is a journalism graduate of the Dublin Institute of Technology ....
, contains an interview with Bawden. The 2005 book Conclave by John L. Allen, written before the death of John Paul II and election of Benedict XVI, begins with a description of the conclave at which Bawden was elected. Allen states that this shows that the ceremonials of a conclave are so familiar to Catholics that even a dissident group such as this tries to lay claim to them. At the 2008 Notre Dame Film Festival, a short documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
entitled Pope Michael was premiered focusing on the daily activities of Bawden.