April 28, 2022 (Steven O’Reilly) – [Updated 11/2/2022] Roma Locuta Est continues to examine the various arguments of the Benepapists, i.e., those who believe Benedict is (still) pope. For example, we recently rebutted the latest “Mazza thesis” which he presented on Patrick Coffin’s podcast (see A closer look at Mr. Coffin’s evidence: Dr. Mazza’s Thesis … More Regarding the “Ratzinger Code”

April 22, 2022 (Steven O’Reilly) – Benepapism appears to have some momentum, with the publication of a couple or more books over the last couple years. Unfortunately, instead of presenting their case for the Church to one day adjudicate, or even presenting a list of questions to Benedict directly to resolve their doubts (see A … More A closer look at Mr. Coffin’s evidence: Dr. Mazza’s Thesis 3.0

March 30, 2022 (Steven O’Reilly) – [Updated 5/6/2022] Having recently completed a series of articles addressing the erroneous arguments of the “Benedict is (still) pope” [BiP] theory (see The Case against those who claim “Benedict is (still) pope”); I thought it might be worthwhile to take a look at Patrick Coffin’s recent video “Seven pieces … More Benepapism and Mr. Coffin’s “Seven Pieces of Information Francis is an anti-pope”

March 21, 2022 (Steven O’Reilly) – [Updated 8/1/2025] Over the last month Roma Locuta Est has published a series of articles focusing specifically on key documents related to the controversy surrounding the validity of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.  Links to the articles have been grouped together further below to serve as a resource … More The Case against those who claim “Benedict is (still) pope”

March 19, 2022 (Steven O’Reilly) – Over the last few weeks, Roma Locuta Est has published articles on key documents which have a bearing on the “Benedict is (still) pope” (BiP) controversy. My first four articles in this series cited Benedict’s own words, written and or spoken on four different occasions, to prove he truly … More Regarding Ganswein’s speech

March 7, 2022 (Steven O’Reilly) – [Updated 4/28/2022] Roma Locuta Est‘s last few posts looked at the last acts and words of Pope Benedict XVI before his resignation on February 28, 2013. This was done to further underline that Benedict’s last acts and words as Pope, upon critical examination, do not support the “Benedict is … More Regarding Benedict’s comments to the Pilgrims from Albano

February 27, 2022 (Steven O’Reilly) – This is the third in a recent series of articles focusing Pope Benedict XVI’s last documents which touch on questions related to the “Benedict is (still) pope” (BiP) theory. The first in this series focused on the Declaratio (see Regarding Benedict’s Declaratio). The second article looked at Pope Benedict … More Regarding Benedict’s Last Audience

February 27, 2022 (Steven O’Reilly) – Today is the 9th anniversary of Cardinal Bergoglio’s arrival in Rome, on February 27, 2013, the day before the effective date of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation. While one might think cardinals arriving in Rome at such a momentous time would first meet and greet one another over lunches, and … More 9th Anniversary of Bergoglio’s Arrival in Rome

February 23, 2022 (Steven O’Reilly) – Catholics following the “Benedict is (still) pope” (BiP) debate are undoubtedly familiar with the documents central to this debate. There is the Declaratio in which Pope Benedict XVI, on February 11, 2013, declared his intent to resign the papacy. BiP-ers, or “beneplenists,” claim deficiences in the wording of the … More Regarding Benedict’s Normas Nonnullas

February 21, 2022 (Steven O’Reilly) – As outlined in “A suggestion for Beneplenists before it is too late,”  Roma Locuta Est will publish over the next week or so a series of articles on some of the key documents in the “Benedict is (still) pope” (BiP) controversy, such as the Declaratio, Benedict’s last audience, and … More Regarding Benedict’s Declaratio