The Conclavist Antipope Michael I (David Bawden). Dutch Catholic TV's Interview with Pope Michael I.

David Allen Bawden (born September 22, 1959), is an American citizen who was appointed "Pope Michael I". He was elected by a group of six conclavists, that included himself and his parents, to fill the vacancy they consider to have been caused by the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958. He is one of a group of self-proclaimed papal claimants (or antipopes), including Fr. Lucian Pulvermacher (proclaimed Pius XIII) in Montana and the late Clemente Domínguez y Gómez (proclaimed Gregory XVII) in Spain. While it has been suggested that the Discordian popery of the world should also be included here, these do not claim to be popes in the sense traditionally understood by the Roman Catholic Church. Unlike other papal pretenders, David Bawden's election did not involve any previously ordained clergy from the Catholic Church. As he is not and has never been ordained a priest, David Bawden has never offered a Mass as "pope." Still picture from a videotaped interview by Dutch Catholic TV of His Holiness the Pope. ... Still picture from a videotaped interview by Dutch Catholic TV of His Holiness the Pope. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The word citizen may refer to: A person with a citizenship Citizen Watch Co. ... The current Pope is Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger), who was elected at the age of 78 on 19 April 2005. ... The Sistine Chapel is the location of the conclave. ... Pope Pius XII (Latin: ), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (March 2, 1876 – October 9, 1958), reigned as the 260th pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, and sovereign of Vatican City State from March 2, 1939 until his death. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Antipope Felix V, the last historical Antipope. ... Sedevacantist Pope Pius XIII Father Earl Lucian Pulvermacher, OFM Cap (born April 20, 1918) was elected Pope Pius XIII of the true Catholic Church, a small sedevacantist group, in October 1998. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Clemente Domínguez y Gómez (May 23, 1946 – March 22, 2005) was proclaimed Pope Gregory XVII by supporters of the Palmarian Catholic Church Catholic breakway movement in 1978. ... Discordianism has been described as both an elaborate joke disguised as a religion and a religion disguised as an elaborate joke. ... This article is about the sacrament. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... Roman Catholic priests in traditional clerical clothing. ...

Bawden's claim to the papacy

Dutch Catholic TV's Interview with Pope Michael I.

Bawden's position is that the elections of Pope John XXIII, Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul I, Pope John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI were invalid because they are all modernists. Pope Pius X had in Lamentabili Sane, condemned the heresy of Modernism. This Index was supplementary to the general Syllabus of Condemned Errors issued by Pope Pius IX. Still picture from a videotaped interview by Dutch Catholic TV of Bawden. ... Still picture from a videotaped interview by Dutch Catholic TV of Bawden. ... This article deals with the 20th-century pope. ... Pope Paul VI (Latin: ), (Italian: Paolo VI), born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini (September 26, 1897 – August 6, 1978), reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as sovereign of Vatican City from 1963 to 1978. ... The Servant of God Pope John Paul I (in Latin ), born Albino Luciani (October 17, 1912 – September 28, 1978), reigned as pope and as sovereign of Vatican City from August 26, 1978 to September 28, 1978. ... Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), (Italian: Giovanni Paolo II), born   (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005) reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from October 16... Papal Arms of Pope Benedict XVI. The papal tiara was replaced with a bishops mitre, and pallium of the Pope was added beneath the coat of arms. ... Modernism was a term used by Pope Pius X to describe the doctrines of a group of theologians (chiefly Alfred Loisy and George Tyrell), notably the assumption that the Christian Church and its dogma are human institutions that have evolved in time like other institutions, and which are expressed like... Pope Saint Pius X ( Latin: ) (June 2, 1835 — August 20, 1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was Pope from 1903 to 1914, succeeding Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903). ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... The Syllabus of Errors (Latin: Syllabus Errorum) was a document issued by Pope Pius IX in 1864 as an appendix to his encyclical Quanta Cura. ... Pius IX, born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti (May 13, 1792 – February 7, 1878), was Pope for a record pontificate (not counting the Apostle St. ...

In 1907 Pope Pius X had issued Praestantia Scriptura where he imposed automatic excommunication upon all Modernists who remained within the church. He stated: 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

We declare and determine that if anyone, which may God forbid, should go forward so brazenly as to defend any proposition reprobated in either of these documents, by that fact itself, he incurs excommunication reserved to the Roman Pontiff.

The claim that 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 ecumenical 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. The Council of Trent is the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ... A Tridentine Mass being celebrated in Bohermeen, Ireland in the 1950s. ... The Protestant Reformation, also referred to as the Protestant Revolution or Protestant Revolt, was a movement in the 16th century to reform the Catholic Church in Western Europe. ...

Claims against popes

Michael Bawden accuses Pope John XXIII of "modernistic heresy". He also has condemned Pope John Paul II's supposed association with pornography, specifically the appearance of "immodestly clad" acrobats at a performance in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican and the presence of "half-naked natives" at some of Pope John Paul II's masses in Papua New Guinea. Pornographic movies Pornography (from Greek πόρνη (porni) prostitute and γραφή (grafi) writing), more informally referred to as porn or porno, is the representation of the human body or sexual activity with the goal of sexual arousal. ... High wire act Acrobatics (from Greek Akros, high and bat, walking) is one of the performing arts, and is also practiced as a sport. ...

Justification for electing a pope

According to Catholic theology, the church possesses popes in perpetuity (First Vatican Council, 1870), and it has always the right to supply itself with the 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. Sedevacantists argue that if the College of Cardinals will not or cannot elect a valid pope, ordinary Catholics can do so, under the principle of "Epikeia". The First Vatican Council was summoned by Pope Pius IX by the bull Aeterni Patris of June 29, 1868. ... The Sistine Chapel is the location of the conclave. ... The Sacred College of Cardinals is the body of all Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

According to sedevacanists, none of the appointments made since 1958 to the College of Cardinals is valid, as the popes who made them were themselves invalid. As there are no surviving members of the pre-1958 College of Cardinals, according to their theory 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.

Process for his election

Acting on the basis of this, David Bawden was elected Pope by six people (including himself, his parents Mr. Kennett Bawden and Mrs. Clara Bawden, a Mr. & Mrs. Robert Hunt, and a Mrs. Teresa Stanfill-Benns, who had been the main motivator of the Election) on July 16, 1990 in Belvue, Kansas in the United States in a store owned by the Bawden family. July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ... Belvue is a city located in Pottawatomie County, Kansas. ...

Mrs. Benns and Mr. David Bawden, who together summoned the assembly to elect the pope in 1990, claim to have invited all orthodox Catholics to join, but received only six respondents. They then formed the assembly which elected Bawden, who took the reign name Michael. He said that his motivation came from Pope Leo XIII's decision to institute the Invocation of St. Michael Archangel, and to add it to every Tridentine Mass. ... Pope Leo XIII, born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci (March 2, 1810 – July 20, 1903), was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, having succeeded Pope Pius IX (1846–78) on February 20, 1878 and reigning until his death in 1903. ... Guido Renis archangel Michael (in the Capuchin church of Sta. ... A Tridentine Mass being celebrated in Bohermeen, Ireland in the 1950s. ...

That invocation was deleted following the Second Vatican Council by Paul VI. The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, (Vatican two) was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... Paul VI, Giovanni Battista Enrica Antonia Maria Montini (September 26, 1897 – August 6, 1978), served as Pope from 1963 to 1978. ...

Supporters of 'Pope Michael'

The movement to elect a Pope in opposition to the Pope in Rome did not begin in the mid 1970s with Fr. Saenz Arriaga, S.J. of Mexico, who wrote a book 'Sede Vacante', though there were rumors that he desired Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre to be elected. He visited Lefebvre in Houston, Texas in 1976, possibly to discuss a Papal Election - at least according to these unsourced rumours. Fr. Saenz Arriaga never organized an election of a rival pope, however had given birth to the movement which would later on become known as sedevacantism. He died two months later in Houston. Dr. Benjamin Franklin Dryden took up the cause, writing several articles to promote such an election and circulating them privately. Influenced by the rumors of a Papal Election in the early 1980s Teresa Benns wrote an article asking all Catholics to join together to hold such an election, which was published in a small "Traditionalist" newsletter. In 1987 Daniel Leonardi sent a letter to people throughout the world asking them to gather and promote and hold a Papal Election. At the same time David Bawden became convinced of the necessity of a Papal Election and began working with Benns, Leonardi, Ken Mock of America (father of the Conclavist movement), Patrick Henry of Stafford, Texas and several others to accomplish this project for the good of the Church. In 1990 Benns and Bawden published 'Will the Catholic Church Survive the Twentieth Century' in order to state their claim that a Papal Election was necessary, as well as to refute the many heresies they ascribed to Traditionalists. On July 16, 1990 a group of six, including Bawden, his parents and Benns, gathered and held their election, which elected David Bawden as Pope Michael. Mock and Henry arrived the evening before the election but left early the next day after advising Bawden via a phone answering machine that they had grave misgivings about the involvement of women in the electoral college. Antipope Felix V, the last historical Antipope. ... Fr. ... Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the Society of Saint Pius X. Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (November 29, 1905–March 25, 1991) was a leader of Catholics who oppose the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, especially in matters of ecumenism, collegiality, and the revision of the then existing Roman Missal, with... Sede vacante coat of arms, used when there is no reigning pope. ...

His claim to the papacy is generally ignored by the world at large and apart from a few articles and a single television interview, his presence has not spread beyond the Internet. Inasmuch as any of the conclavist "popes" have any material support, Bawden appears to have the largest amount, despite his following being extremely tiny.

Sedevacantist criticism of 'Pope Michael'

The vast majority of sedevacanists criticize the method of the election of "Pope Michael" because three of the six 'electors', including David Bawden himself, belonged to his family, and a fourth was his friend Teresa Benns, requiring only one other elector to vote for him. Another argument is that the election of a pope is primarily the election of a man to the bishopric of Rome. Traditionally, only members of the Roman diocese have the right to elect their bishop. David Bawden was never ordained, let alone consecrated a bishop, and no bishops were involved in his election.

Bawden can only count upon a very small group of possibly less than one-hundred supporters of his claims. 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 orders in descent from the Old Catholic Arnold Harris Mathew

Thomas Frank interviewed Bawden for his 2004 book, What's the Matter with Kansas?, and devoted a chapter to him. Thomas Frank (born 1965) is an American author who writes about what he calls cultural politics. He is the founder and editor of The Baffler and the author of several books, most recently Whats the Matter with Kansas?. Other writings include essays for Harpers Magazine, Le Monde diplomatique... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Whats the Matter with Kansas? (2004) is a book written by American journalist and historian Thomas Frank, which explores the rise of conservative populism in the United States through the lens of his native state of Kansas, which was once a hotbed of the left-wing Populist movement of...

The book ALLELUIA AMERICA by the Irish journalist Carol Coleman also contains an interview with Bawden.

See also

• Sedevacantism for a more general discussion of this particular post-Vatican II phenomenon
• Lucian Pulvermacher, Clemente Dominguez y Gomez and Manuel Corral for other primary Sedevacantist claimants to the Papacy
• Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, whose papal reigns "Pope Michael" and his supporters claim to be invalid and illicit.

Sede vacante coat of arms, used when there is no reigning pope. ... Sedevacantist Pope Pius XIII Father Earl Lucian Pulvermacher, OFM Cap (born April 20, 1918) was elected Pope Pius XIII of the true Catholic Church, a small sedevacantist group, in October 1998. ... Clemente Dom nguez y G mez (born May 23, 1946) was proclaimed Pope Gregory XVII by supporters of the Palmarian Catholic Church Catholic breakway movement in 1978. ... Manuel Corral - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The Blessed John XXIII wearing a Papal Tiara Angelo Roncalli was born in Sotto il Monte (province of Bergamo), Italy on November 25, 1881. ... Paul VI, Giovanni Battista Enrica Antonia Maria Montini (September 26, 1897 – August 6, 1978), served as Pope from 1963 to 1978. ... John Paul I, seen here on the papal throne, is wearing an inexpensive silver pectoral cross, not the standard golden cross worn by Popes and his uncut hair, simply brushed back, was considered unusual but more genuine and modest than the dandy coifs of the other Cardinals. ... Official papal image of John Paul II. His Holiness Pope John Paul II, né Karol Józef Wojtyła (born May 18, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland), is the current Pope — the Bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: ; born April 16, 1927 as Joseph Alois Ratzinger in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany) is the 265th reigning pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City. ...

External links

Links supportive to Bawden's claims

• The Vatican-In-Exile
• Michaelinum - The Catholic Resistance to the Modernist Apostasy
• Orthopapism
• Truth Is One, Michaelite assertion of David Bawden's claim to the Papacy
• Betrayed Catholics
• Adveniat Regnum Tuum
• Vatican City Roma
• Catholic Unity Initiative

Neutral articles about Bawden

• Article from the Columbia Daily Tribune