PETITION: CALL FOR ACTION BY THE CARDINALS TO DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF THE APOSTOLIC SEE (ART. 3 UDG)

  To the kind attention of all the Cardinals of the College of Cardinals and the Secretary of State, His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin  

Your Eminence,

after years of uncertainty and silence, the true nature of Pope Benedict XVI’s Declaratio of February 11, 2013*, has finally been brought to light. This was by no means an abdication, but rather a decisio, an act by which Pope Benedict XVI announced a situation of impeded see and the imminent usurpation of the Papacy, renouncing—to his own detriment the exercise of the ministerium (the exercise of governance) but not renouncing the munus petrinum (the papal title). The declaration is partly comparable to those of exile issued for various European monarchs, as in the case of King Alfonso XIII of Spain: https://www.romait.it/la-dichiarazione-di-esilio-di-alfonso-xiii-di-spagna-chiarisce-la-declaratio-di-benedetto-xvi.html 

Pursuant to canon 332 §2 of the Code of Canon Law, the resignation of the Roman Pontiff in order to be valid, it is essential that it concerns the munus. This defective object in Pope Benedict XVI’s Declaratio makes the act NULL AND VOID due to a substantial error, pursuant to canons 124 §2, 126, and 188 of the Code of Canon Law, which establish the nullity of acts performed in error regarding what constitutes the substance of the act itself. Furthermore, canons 412–415 provide a precise definition of the Impeded See, in which the Roman Pontiff does not lose his office but must renounce the exercise of it. The situation that arose after February 11, 2013, clearly falls within this legal category, with the result that the Apostolic See has never become vacant since that date onward.

The Latin text of the Declaratio and its translations have been poorly disguised and forged: Bishop Georg Gänswein himself confirms in the book “Nothing but the Truth” (2023) that Pope Benedict XVI’s original text was subject to “minor spelling corrections and some legal clarifications” by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and Bishop Giampiero Gloder, a fact not denied by those involved, following a public petition https://www.petizioni.com/petizione_a_ser_card_tarcisio_bertone_ha_cambiato_lei_il_testo_della_declaratio_di_benedetto_xvi , that was subsequently the object of a complaint filed with the Vatican Criminal Court.

The aim of these changes was to make the text appear to be a valid abdication by the pope; however, from a canonical standpoint, renouncing the ministerium alone does not result in a vacant Apostolic See. It follows that the subsequent conclave was convened without the essential prerequisite of a vacant See. Therefore, the election of Pope Francis is null and void by law, “without any declaration to that effect,” pursuant to Articles 76 and 77 of the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, which establish the nullity of elections conducted in violation of established norms and in the absence of the required legal conditions. This situation is not merely a theoretical matter, but directly affects the Church’s highest goods: - the salvation of souls, which is the supreme law of the Church (can. 1752), and is seriously compromised by the uncertainty regarding the legitimate authority; - the lawfulness of the sacraments, administered in communion with an authority that does not legitimately hold the munus petrinum; - the validity of canonizations and beatifications, which require the authority of the Roman Pontiff; - the reliability of the Magisterium, including that attributed to Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV, which lacks the necessary legal basis if it comes from individuals not legitimately invested with the office. Pursuant to Canon 212 §3 of the Code of Canon Law, which grants the faithful the right, and at times the duty, to express their concerns to their Pastors for the good of the Church,

We formally and urgently request that you fulfill the duties of the Cardinals as set forth in Article 3 of the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis: “It is the duty of all Cardinals to safeguard these rights [of the Apostolic See].

We herewith furthermore inform you that on 6 June 2024, a criminal complaint was filed with the Court of the Vatican City State, leading to the opening of a preliminary investigation (case no. 116/24). Pope Leo XIV was also informed of all this through a petition signed by over 1,500 faithful, https://www.petizioni.com/a_ss_leone_xiv_richiesta_di_notizie_su_procedimento_giudiziario_sede_impedita_di_benedetto_xvi  sent to the Secretariat of State on March 24, 2026, and to date no response has been received.  We therefore demand: - that the enduring validity of Benedict XVI’s pontificate until his death is declared; - that the See is declared vacant due to the death of Benedict XVI; - that the election of Pope Francis is declared null and void due to the original defect of a Vacant See; - that full clarity is provided on the canonical status of Pope Leo XIV; - that legal certainty regarding the authority of the Roman Pontiff is restored, as it is an essential condition for the validity of the ecclesial order. We are asking this of you with the utmost urgency, not least to spare the Holy Roman Church the catastrophic legal, institutional (and subsequently also economic) consequences arising from the LATERAN PACTS, which govern relations between the Church and the Italian State.

These pacts require the acceptance of the official statements of legitimate popes (such as Benedict XVI’s Declaratio) and demand certainty regarding the identity of the Roman Pontiff as a sovereign entity. Failure to issue a clarifying statement on a matter of such gravity would constitute a most serious moral and canonical responsibility, as it would be detrimental to the unity of the Church and to the salvation of souls.  

Confident that you will act in accordance with truth and justice, we extend our respects. 

The signatories

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* Correct translation of the text of the Declaratio as orally delivered by Pope Benedict XVI according to the canonical practice of vivae vocis oraculo:    

“Dearest Brothers, I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decisio of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the munus petrinum. I am well aware that this munus, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has diminished in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministerium entrusted to me. Therefore, fully aware of the weight of this act, I declare in full freedom to renounce, to my detriment, the ministry of Bishop of Rome, successor of Saint Peter, due to the misdeed of a handful of cardinals on the 19th of April 2005, so that from the 28th of February 2013, at the twentieth hour, the See of Rome, the See of St. Peter, remains empty, and I declare that a conclave must be convened for the election of a new Supreme Pontiff by those who are competent to do so. Dearest brothers, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the love and diligence with which you have shared the burden of my service with me and I ask pardon for all my defects.  And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in eradicating the new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.”  

Original latin text: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gdWvokV0QE  

Fratres carissimi,

non solum propter tres canonizationes ad hoc Consistorium vos convocavi, sed etiam ut vobis decisionem magni momenti pro Ecclesiae vita communicem. Conscientia mea iterum atque iterum coram Deo explorata ad cognitionem certam perveni vires meas ingravescente aetate non iam aptas esse ad munus Petrinum aeque administrandum. Bene conscius sum hoc munus secundum suam essentiam spiritualem non solum agendo et loquendo exsequi debere, sed non minus patiendo et orando. Attamen in mundo nostri temporis rapidis mutationibus subiecto et quaestionibus magni ponderis pro vita fidei perturbato ad navem Sancti Petri gubernandam et ad annuntiandum Evangelium etiam vigor quidam corporis et animae necessarius est, qui ultimis mensibus in me modo tali minuitur, ut incapacitatem meam ad ministerium mihi commissum bene administrandum agnoscere debeam. Quapropter bene conscius ponderis huius actus plena libertate declaro me ministerio Episcopi Romae, Successoris Sancti Petri, mihi per manus Cardinalium die 19 aprilis MMV commissum renuntiare ita ut a die 28 februarii MMXIII hora 20, sedes Romae, sedes Sancti Petri vacet et Conclave ad eligendum novum Summum Pontificem ab his quibus competit convocandum esse. Fratres carissimi, ex toto corde gratias ago vobis pro omni amore et labore, quo mecum pondus ministerii mei portastis et veniam peto pro omnibus defectibus meis. Nunc autem Sanctam Dei Ecclesiam curae Summi eius Pastoris, Domini nostri Iesu Christi confidimus sanctamque eius Matrem Mariam imploramus, ut patribus Cardinalibus in eligendo novo Summo Pontifice materna sua bonitate assistat. Quod ad me attinet etiam in futuro vita orationi dedicata Sanctae Ecclesiae Dei toto ex corde servire velim.     

Andrea Cionci    Contact the author of the petition