TO HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV: WE IMPLORE YOU TO DECLARE THE IMPEDED SEE OF BENEDICT XVI AND/OR TO INITIATE THE RELEVANT TRIAL

Holy Father,

for 12 years now, a significant portion of the People of God throughout the world has had no clear certainty about the lawfulness of the Supreme Pontiff, and the Church has never wanted to provide clear and definitive explanations about the Petrine succession between Pope Benedict XVI and Francis.

This silence persists despite the petition filed with the Secretariat of State on November 8, 2023, which has since reached 18,700 signatures: https://www.petizioni.com/riconoscimento_della_sede_impedita_di_benedetto_xvi_e_convocazione_del_conclave   

The whole situation causes enormous scandal and anguish for the faithful, with very serious repercussions on the legitimacy of the Sacraments, not to mention the confusion of many priests and the flourishing of new schismatic movements. It is fact-based that Pope Benedict XVI's Declaratio of resignation did not comply with canon 332.2 due to his failure to renounce the Petrine office (munus), and this, according to articles 76 and 77 of the constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, makes his resignation null and void “without any declaration to that effect.” Furthermore, the original Latin text of the Declaratio was modified, as a comparison between what was verbally uttered by the Holy Father Benedict XVI and the written version provided by the Secretariat of State at the time shows. Neither Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (then Secretary of State) nor Monsignor Giampiero Gloder (then coordinator of the final drafting of pontifical texts) denied, after an appropriate public petition, https://www.petizioni.com/petizione_a_ser_card_tarcisio_bertone_ha_cambiato_lei_il_testo_della_declaratio_di_benedetto_xvi   that they had made changes to the original text of the Declaratio, as reported by Monsignor Georg Gaenswein and by journalist Peter Seewald.

During five years of rigorous study, with a team of canonists, Latinists, Church historians, and other professionals, we have established how Pope Benedict XVI declared, on February 11, 2013, a “decisio” on his IMPEDED SEE and the imminent usurpation of the Petrine throne by a “handful of cardinals.” All of this was filed with the Criminal Court of Vatican City State on June 6, 2024, in a petition supplemented by two subsequent additions on February 13 and on November 11, 2025. A summary of the documentation has already been made public some time ago and can be freely downloaded from this link: https://www.codiceratzinger.eu/_files/ugd/162863_6991b1f648d54b9ba07c22fa537664d0.pdf 

If you have already been made aware of these very serious facts, we implore you to declare as soon as possible and publicly the Impeded See of Benedict XVI (and possibly, in continuum, your own Impeded See) and/or to open a public trial on the matter, considering that preliminary investigations have already been underway for some time.                                      

We also implore you to release the report drawn up at the end of the 2025 conclave (art. 70 UDG) to make it clear whether your election took place only through the vote of all 133 participating cardinals, or whether there was a reconfirmation by the 25 electing cardinals only appointed before 2013, as rumours might hint. Being confident that you will welcome us with your paternal kindness, we take the liberty of addressing this heartfelt appeal to you on the basis of the rights and duties of the faithful (canons 208-223), considering the very serious spiritual risks connected to the salvation of souls arising from this no longer sustainable uncertainty.

With our highest regard and esteem,  

Andrea Cionci and the following petitioners      

Andrea Cionci    Contact the author of the petition