"
Roman Catholic"
sect asserting that all
Pope/
Papal elections since
Pius XII are
invalid, and thus that the current
Pope is not "really" the Pope. "Sede vacantes" means, in
Latin, "vacant seat." The idea is that the "seat" of the Pope is not validly filled, and is thus "vacant."
This view puts its adherents in a difficult position. If a person is a
Roman Catholic, is not that person bound in
obedience to the
Pope? And if not, who exactly is the ultimate authority?
In fact the sede vacantes are schismatics, people who differ from the Catholic Church not on doctrinal grounds, but on grounds of authority.
In addition, most sede vacantes adherents are violently anti-Semitic. The reasons for this are obscure. An easy example is Mel Gibson, an adherent of the sede vactantes view, who was arrested in Los Angeles for driving while intoxicated. Upon his arrest he blamed the Jews for his predicament.