The Siri Thesis is the belief that Giuseppe Cardinal Siri, the long-serving and conservative Archbishop of Genoa, was actually elected Pope in the 1958 papal conclave, but that his election was then suppressed.[1]
By 2006, the Siri Thesis was believed to be held by hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, mostly in Traditionalist Catholic circles.[2]
Cardinal Siri himself was not involved with this belief; Siri entirely submitted to the authority of the official popes and remained in full communion with the Church, refusing to support any sedevacantist organization.
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The followers of the Siri Thesis claim that during the papal conclave of 1958, Cardinal Siri (the last Cardinal made by Pope Pius XII), who was considered the leading conservative candidate, was elected Pope on the first day of the conclave, October 26, and took the pontifical name of Gregory XVII[3].
Newspapers the world over carried the Associated Press picture of the white smoke emanating from the Sistine Chapel chimney from 5:55 PM until 6:00 PM on October 26, 1958.
White smoke indicates that a Pope has been elected, has accepted, and has chosen a name. However, no Pope appeared on October 26, 1958, despite the five minutes of white smoke.
Two days later, the white smoke again rose from the Sistine Chapel, and this time John XXIII (Angelo Roncalli) emerged. Supporters of the Siri Thesis believe that evidence indicates that Giuseppe Cardinal Siri was elected on October 26, 1958 when the white smoke was seen but no Pope emerged on the balcony, and that dire threats against the Cardinals and the Vatican were made during this time, emanating in part from the Kremlin. Some believe that the pressures included a nuclear threat against the Vatican itself if Siri were not set aside and a more acceptable candidate chosen.
The possibility of a nuclear threat gained steam when the late author, Malachi Martin, wrote of threats which involved "the very existence of the Vatican state" during a conclave on pages 600 to 610 in his book, The Keys of this Blood, which deals primarily with Siri and the 1963 conclave.
Under this line of thought, after such threats entered the conclave, the liberal and subversive factions amongst the cardinals in the conclave (particularly the French cardinals) supposedly pressured Siri to step aside in light of the alleged threats, claiming that his strong anti-Communist policies would lead, among other things, to widespread persecution of Catholics in the Eastern Europe. Siri then allegedly accepted this suggestion, and eventually stepped aside. This led to the election of Angelo Cardinal Roncalli two days later, who took the name John XXIII.
As stated above, Sirianists cite that white smoke initially billowed forth from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at 5:55 PM on October 26, 1958, thus signaling the election of a new Pope; the smoke then changed to black at 6 PM, signaling that a Pope had not been elected, which is claimed to be the work of the liberal cardinals.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation allegedly also claimed that Siri had indeed been elected on the third ballot on October 26, 1958.[1] This is found, complete with FBI document reference, in the book The Vatican Exposed: Money, Murder, and the Mafia by Paul L. Williams on pages 90–92. The document Williams referred to, allegedly declassified, can no longer be found. Williams, since questioned by interested readers, has adamantly refused to comment on why he included the alleged document and reference number in his book, or why the document can no longer be viewed.
What is unambiguously known is that Vatican Radio did conclude, on the basis of the five minutes of white smoke on October 26, 1958, that a Pope had been elected on the third ballot and announced it as such, telling listeners, "The smoke is white...There is absolutely no doubt. A Pope has been elected."[2]
After the white smoke appeared, the Swiss Guard assembled to give the ceremonial salute to the new pontiff, only to be ordered to withdraw again sometime later when no Pope emerged on the balcony, and after the white smoke had turned back to black.
However, according to Sirianist apologetics, Cardinal Siri's supposed resignation was invalid according to Canon 185 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, which states as Canon 188 in the 1983 Code of Canon Law: "Resignation made out of grave fear that is inflicted unjustly or out of malice, substantial error, or simony is invalid by the law itself."[4]
Malachi Martin later stated that Siri was elected a new Pope during the Papal conclave, October 1978. Martin publicly stated in March 1997 on Paranet Continuum radio programme Steel on Steel, hosted by John Loefller, that Siri received a written note after his initial election threatening him and his family with death should he accept.[5]
A small group of traditional Catholics rejects the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, and in some circles this rejection extends even to the validity of the post-Council Popes themselves; in their view, Pope Pius XII was the "last true Pope."[2]
A branch of sedevacantists, adherents of the thesis, who are also known as Sirianists to adversaries of the Thesis, also believe that John XXIII and his officially-recognized successors (Paul VI, 1963–78; John Paul I, 1978-78; John Paul II, 1978–2005; and Benedict XVI, 2005–present) are antipopes, while Siri reigned as the suppressed head of the Catholic Church until his death in 1989.[2]
Sirianism appears to be a major feature in what has been termed sedeimpeditism, which is distinguished from sedevacantism in that sedeimpeditists do not believe that the Holy See is vacant (sede vacante), but rather that a real legitimate Pope exists, but that he has been impeded by outside forces (sede impedita) from taking his office, which is still rightfully his.
Because some sedeimpeditists are even today not sedevacantists, some of them postulate that a true Pope in the Siri line may still exist somewhere in the world today, and thus they are also distinguished from conclavists, who are sedevacantists who took the next step and decided to elect their own Pope. A number of groups have attempted this step, including a group in Kansas, USA, who recognise David Bawdan as Pope Michael I in 1990, and group around the (late) Elizabeth Gerstner, which recognise a Victor von Pentz as Pope Linus II in 1994.
Sedeimpeditists who accept the Siri Thesis, believe that Giuseppe Siri was the "Pope in Exile" long prophesied by Catholic saints (see "Catholic Prophecy" by Yves Dupont, Tan, 1971) during what they view as the current "Eclipse of the Church", as allegedly predicted by Our Lady of La Salette in 1846 (a vision approved by the Church).
The authoritative biography of Cardinal Siri by Raimondo Spiazzi and other Italian biographers do not even mention the newspaper article,[6] possibly, because Italian articles are taken less seriously in Italy than in the USA and other English speaking countries. Hutton Gibson, who was a one time cautious supporter of the Siri Thesis, rejected the belief and asserted it was based largely on a mistranslation of an Italian newspaper article.[2][7] The change of white to black smoke was recorded by Silvio Negro for the evening edition of Corriere della Sera (Milan, Italy) on 27 October.[2] However, Negro, Gibson contends, was actually discussing an occurrence at the 1939 conclave in one key paragraph in the article.[2]
It should be noted that the Siri thesis was first promoted by Gary Giuffre in four installments of 'Exile of the Pope Elect'. At that time it was theorized that Siri was elected in the 1963 (not 1958) conclave and in both 1978 conclaves. All three times before he could be asked if he accepted election, enemies of the Catholic Church intervened, thus he remained 'pope-elect'. After Benns and Bawden proved the vacancy began in 1958 in 'Will the Catholic Church Survive the Twentieth Century?' Giuffre chanegd his story and in the fifth installment of 'Exile of the Pope Elect' came out with the current theory as presented above.
Fr. Peter Tran Van Khoat, who claims to have seen Siri personally in 1988 has been questioned in 1988 and 1989. In 1988 he said that Siri said nothing about being Pope, but that we should support him nonetheless. In 1989 Khoat decided that he now believed that John Paul II was Pope.
Also it should be noted that Siri presided over Vatican II and apparently signed all of its documents. He accepted the Novus Ordo Missae and celebrated it regularly. Also as reported by David Hobson, a current Siri proponent, Siri ordained men in the New Rite of Ordination. According to Traditionalists, these are all acts of heresy, which would end his claim to the papacy. Finally, Siri died leaving no successor or plan for succession, therefore with his death his claim died with him, if indeed he ever had one.